In the Margins

Research has demonstrated that viewing sexualized media images can have a powerful detrimental impact on the social and emotional development of female adolescents who consume such content. But what are the effects on older women? This study explores how a cohort of 16 rural Australian women aged over sixty years think, feel and respond to the prevalence of sexualized imagery in the media. Five strong thematic categories emerged: concern for the harmful impacts of sexualised images on the vulnerable, the media's portrayal of sexual content with a focus on physical appearance and youth, descriptions of the impact of viewing sexualised images, moderators of the impact of sexualised images on wellbeing, and marginalization of women in the media. Findings from this study indicate that sexualized images in the media do have an impact on older women's self image and mental health in numerous ways and in a range of situations. This book explores the issues, often featuring the evocative words of the women themselves.