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Primary School Children's Imitation of Sexualised Music Videos and Artists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2013

Lesley-Anne Ey  and
C. Glenn Cupit
Lesley-Anne Ey*
Affiliation:
University of South Australia
C. Glenn Cupit
Affiliation:
University of South Australia
*
addresses for correspondence: Lesley-Anne Ey, University of South Australia, St Bernards Road, Magill SA 5072. E-mail: lesley-anne.ey@unisa.edu.au.
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Abstract

Music media contains high levels of sexual content and children spend a considerable amount of time interacting with it. This poses the question as to whether children internalise and imitate the sexual behaviours displayed by music artists. This study observed the self-presentation of 366 children aged 5–14 years at two Australian primary school discos. Children of all age groups were directly imitating both sexual and non-sexual dress and behaviours seen in contemporary music videos. Approximately one third of children observed presented in a sexualised way, which suggests children more broadly may be adopting sexualised behaviours at an early age. The prevalence and nature of sexualised behaviours by children, and the impact of this on children's socio-sexual development, are matters requiring further investigation.

Keywords

childrensexualisationimitationmusicmedia
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 115 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

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