Baldwin, Hagan Seek Healthy Media for Youth

Press Release

Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today introduced the Healthy Media for Youth Act in their respective chambers. The bill seeks to improve media literacy for youth and to encourage the promotion of healthier media messages about girls and women.

"I am pleased to join Congresswoman Baldwin to sponsor the Healthy Media for Youth Act to promote positive media messages about girls and women among our youth," said Sen. Hagan. "Children today are exposed to upwards of ten hours a day of recreational media. With this bill, Congresswoman Baldwin and Ms. Davis and I want to ensure our kids -- both boys and girls - have realistic and healthy views of the role women play in our society as they grow up," said Hagan.

"Starting in infancy, American children are still stereotyped by gender. As they grow, they're bombarded with print and video images that reinforce those gender stereotypes. Vulnerable young girls are exposed to unrealistic body images and, too often, see women in passive or supporting roles. The need for more positive images of girls in the media is clear," said Congresswoman Baldwin. "I'm proud to join Sen. Hagan in sponsoring legislation that will help girls and young women see themselves in a new and stronger light," said Baldwin, who co-chairs the Congressional Women's Caucus Task Force on Young Women.

Research undertaken by the Girl Scouts of the USA finds that 89% of girls say the fashion industry places a lot of pressure on teenage girls to be thin. Such emphasis on body image contributes to the increase in eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem in young girls. The American Psychological Association's (APA) Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most common mental health problems among girls--eating disorders, depression or depressed mood, and low self-esteem--are linked to the sexualization of girls and women in media.

"Girl Scouts of the USA thanks Sen. Hagan, Rep. Baldwin, and Geena Davis for joining together to promote positive media literacy and positive images of women and girls," said Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger.

According to the Geena Davis Institute of Gender in Media, despite being 50 percent of the U.S. population, in family films and television, male characters outweigh female characters nearly three to one and five to one in background or group scenes, a statistic that has remained the same since 1946. Only 27 percent of the speaking characters are female.

"I am proud to join with Sen. Hagan and Rep. Baldwin to promote gender equality, and positive portrayals of women and girls in the media," said Geena Davis, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of the research institute that bears her name. "What children see affects their attitudes toward male and female roles and impacts the value they place on girls and women in society. The Healthy Media for Youth Act will help ensure we are creating a positive media environment for all our children," Davis said.

The Healthy Media for Youth Act takes a three-pronged approach to promote healthy media messages about girls and women. First, the bill creates a competitive grant program to encourage and support media literacy programs and youth empowerment groups. The bill also facilitates research on how depictions of women and girls in the media affect youth. Finally, it establishes a National Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media, which will develop voluntary standards that promote healthy, balanced, and positive images of girls and women in the media for the benefit of all youth.

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