Teasing

This article was written by Dr. Collie Conelly (http://www.independent.com/online_onlys/2007/02/teasing_a_real_problem_and_sol.html ) Teasing is a problem with children of all ages. Psychologists define teasing as an ambiguous message containing both humor and hostility. The ambiguity makes an appropriate response difficult.

Most children identify teasing as the number one concern that they have regarding school.

Children are typically told to ignore teasing or become aggressive with the teaser. The research on ignoring indicates that ignoring a teaser usually incites a more aggressive response from the teaser. Additionally, ignoring probably erodes the self-esteem of the target because of the inactive, helpless stance. Conversely, acting aggressive when teased is an active stance which could help self-esteem in the short run, but there are long term draw-backs. Aggressive action can easily escalate into a physical fight and recommending aggressive action communicates that harming another person is an acceptable value.

This article discusses an alternative respose to teasing called affiliative humor. As Dr. Conely describes, affiliative humor focuses upon the humorous part of the teasing message. By focusing upon the humor in the teasing message the target takes control of the interaction and transforms the interaction into a level interaction rather than a one-down interaction. The message is that we are both funny and clever. Affiliative humor jokes about the topic without putting any person down.

APA Report: Sexualization of Girls in Media is a Problem

The American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that the proliferation of sexual images of girls and young women in the media is harming their self-image and development.

It is surprising that it took the APA until 2007 to come up with this finding. I would have though that this would have been news in 1980. I am curious to know how much money APA spent on this study, and what percentage of my dues contributed to this area. Nevertheless, despite my cynicism, there are a few interesting findings:

• The report suggests that the volume of sexualized images has increased as more media content exists over a wider range of accessible technologies (Youtube.com, myspace.com, etc.) leading to increased exposure and pressure on young girls.
• They also looked at the way products are sold and advertised to young girls.The Task Force described sexualization as: "when a person's value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another's sexual use." They looked at people like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera
• Instead of simply blaming the media, the APA also looked at the attitudes of family members as a source of resilience or harm.
• The report suggests that the sexualization of girls impedes the healthy development of a girl or young woman in several different areas. For example by undermining her confidence and making her feel dissatisfied with her body, this can result in negative self-image and lead to feelings of shame, anxiety, eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem

I am also curious - is the APA looking at boys as closely as it is looking at girls. Boys make up a multitude of disorders as well. Don't get me wrong - we need to look at girls, but don't stop looking at boys...