Jewish group lauds girl study

The International Council of Jewish Women commended an American Psychological Association study on images of girls in popular media. The recent release of “The Sexualization of Girls” precedes a meeting of the U.N. Commission for the Status of Women that will take place Feb. 26 to March 9 in New York. The commission plans to focus on the elimination of discrimination and violence against girls. In a statement to the United Nations condemning stereotypes of girls promoted in the media, the Jewish women’s council wrote that the study “found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising and media is harmful to girls’ self-image and healthy development.” The study examined television, music videos and lyrics, magazines, movies, video games, the Internet and consumer products geared toward females. “We applaud the APA for undertaking this study, and we hope that other leading professional organizations will join the call for the protection of young females against media pressure,” council president Leah Aharonov said.