Hyper-sexualised popstars like Miley Cyrus and Rihanna damage girls' self-esteem - and could harm education and job prospects - says leading academic

Teenage girls see sexualisation as ‘part and parcel’ of their lives because of the raunchy behaviour of pop stars such as Rihanna and Miley Cyrus, an academic claimed yesterday.

Their skimpy outfits and sexual dance moves are ruining the self-esteem of girls, according to Professor Dionne Taylor, an expert in criminal law.

She found the explicit dance moves and foul-mouthed lyrics fuel negative attitudes towards women and affect women’s confidence, education and even their employment prospects. 

Professor Taylor said ‘As a teenager I was told, “you’ve got a big bum” – the focus was always on my body parts.

‘There was a feeling that you had to conform in some ways to these images to be worthwhile.

‘I have a younger sister and she used to say she didn’t feel confident in herself and that was mainly derived from popular black music genres.

‘The majority of my participants said the hyper-sexualisation of music videos and magazines impacted on their confidence, education and employment. It damaged their self-esteem.’

An independent review into the sexualisation of childhood, carried out by Mothers’ Union chief executive Reg Bailey in 2011, recommended that the Government introduce age ratings on music videos.

I strongly agree with the introduction of age ratings as it is done in films. This will lead to a curb in the sexualisation of music videos