Queer Women's Perspectives on Sexualization of Women in Media

Abstract

This study explored the perspectives of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women on the sexualization of women in media. Three focus groups at a Northeast university were attended by 12 sexual minority women who talked about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to sexualization. An interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed themes related to (1) how women and queer people are treated by the mainstream media; (2) the ways in which media compromises women's relationships to their own bodies and to other women; and (3) unique insights that queer sensibility contributes to the discourse of sexualization, including possibilities of empowering, transgressive female sexuality.

KEYWORDS:

• queer women
• sexualization
• media
• body image
• healthy sexuality

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Renee Randazzo

Renee Randazzo, MS, is a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston with a master of science in mental health counseling. She works as a Transgender Health Patient Advocate at Fenway Health. She counseled gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth during her training at Boston GLASS and counseled undergraduate art students during her internship at MassArt. Renee assists Dr. Sharon Lamb in her work on piloting a new curriculum for high school students called Sexual Ethics for a Caring Society. Her independent research interests include issues affecting queer populations, trans* inclusive feminism, development of girls and women, and the impact of media on sexuality. Before embarking on her counseling/research career, Renee spent 10 years working with youth in the nonprofit sector, focusing on individuals with special needs as well as on girls’ empowerment.

Kaelin Farmer

Kaelin Farmer, MS, received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and graduated in 2014 from the University of Massachusetts Boston with a master's degree in mental health counseling. Kaelin has worked as a research assistant for Sharon Lamb, EdD, and is currently working as a program director at The Edinburg Center in Lexington, MA. Kaelin's research interests include LGBTQ and transition age populations, gender and sexuality, trauma, expressive therapies, and mental health in East Asia.

Sharon Lamb

Sharon Lamb, EdD, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is also a practicing psychotherapist and board certified in Counseling Psychology. She is a coauthor of the APA Task Force Report on the Sexualization of Girls and is the author/coauthor/editor of eight books and more than 30 chapters and articles on girls’ sexual development, gender, abuse and victimization, and sex education as moral education. The Sexual Ethics for a Caring Society Curriculum (SECS-C) that she developed with her students is available online and in her 2013 book, Sex Education for Caring Schools, published by Teachers College Press.