Catharine Lumby

Healthy Sexual Development: A Multidisciplinary Framework for Research

ABSTRACT A group of Australian researchers from a range of disciplines involved in studying childrens sexual development developed a framework for researching healthy sexual development that was acceptable to all disciplines involved. The 15 domains identified were: freedom from unwanted activity; an understanding of consent; education about biological aspects; understanding of safety; relationship skills; agency; lifelong learning; resilience; open communication; sexual development should not be “aggressive, coercive or joyless;” self-acceptance; awareness and acceptance that sex is pleasurable; understanding of parental and societal values; awareness of public/private boundaries; and being competent in mediated sexuality.

Too Much? Too Young? The Sexualisation of Children Debate in Australia

This article considers the origins and focus of current Australian debates around the alleged ‘sexualisation’ of children and young people. It explores the popular discourses around youth and sexuality and unpacks the assumptions and contradictions that underwrite them, by addressing the terms of reference of the Australian Senates 2008 Sexualisation of Children in the Contemporary Media Inquiry. The article concludes by outlining some proposed public policy solutions to addressing current community concerns that children and teenagers are being inappropriately sexualised.

Playing by the rules : researching, teaching and learning sexual ethics with young men in the Australian National Rugby League

In 2004, the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) commissioned the Playing By The Rules research project in response to allegations of sexual assault by members of a professional rugby league team. This article offers an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches adopted by the team, and the subsequent workplace education programmes designed to promote ethical sexual behaviour and attitudes within NRL culture. The researchers reflect on contemporary thinking in the relatively new field of violence prevention education aimed at young men, and consider new critical approaches to the intersection of masculinities and sexual learning.

Between heat and light: The opportunity in moral panics

This paper argues that contemporary moral panic theorists are often too narrowly focused on either refining the sociological framings of moral panic theory or, alternatively, on applying that theory to case studies without asking how the theory might be used to frame strategic interventions into public debate and policy. It examines the way that conservative politicians and media commentators have appropriated the accusation that they are fuelling moral panic as proof that they are actively engaged in a fight for morality. It contends that moral panic theorists need to use their knowledge of how moral panics work in order to engage in strategic interventions into public debate and policy. It concludes with a call for scholars working on specific issues in the field to apply their research and redouble their efforts to ensure that evidence-based research is heard and understood.

What league? The representation of female athletes in Australian television sports coverage

This article explores why womens sport in Australia still struggles to attract sponsorship and mainstream media coverage despite evidence of high levels of participation and on-field successes. Data are drawn from the largest study of Australian print and television coverage of female athletes undertaken to date in Australia, as well as from a case study examining television coverage of the success of the Matildas, the Australian womens national football team, in winning the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Womens Asian Cup in 2010. This win was not only the highest ever accolade for any Australian national football team (male or female), but also guaranteed the Matildas a place in the 2011 FIFA Womens World Cup in Germany [where they reached the quarter-finals]. Given the close association between success on the field, sponsorship and television exposure, this article focuses specifically on television reporting. We present evidence of the starkly disproportionate amounts of coverage across this section of the news media, and explore the circular link between media coverage, sponsorship and the profile of womens sport.

Past the Post in Feminist Media Studies

Over the past decade, Feminist Media Studies has published a rich array of research ranging across highly theoretical interventions to detailed empirical studies of socioeconomic disadvantage affecting women. Reading over this archive, it is clear, however, that a number of buried binarisms continue to frame many debates in feminist media studies. This article considers one in particular: the putative divide between second-wave and “post-feminism.” More broadly, it considers how we might move beyond oppositional frames of reference to enact an ethics of engagement that produces a more nuanced relationship between speaking positions within the field and with the objects of our research. I was looking forward to taking part in an all-female panel at an Australian writer’s festival, until I discovered the topic we were being asked to address: “Is Feminism Dead?” A brief trawl of my computer files confirmed that I had had been asked to speak on a version of the same topic a total of fourteen times in the past decade. The panel, typically, included a “young feminist” and a Big Name second-waver. I was the filling in the generational sandwich. When the evening arrived the venue was packed with people of all ages. I found myself throwing away my notes and simply asking everyone in the audience who considered themselves to be a feminist to raise their hand. Confronted by a sea of female and male arms, I rested my case and entered a plea: “Take a look around you. Feminism is alive. Now can we please talk about something else?” Feminist Media Studies has been just one of many key fora in which debates about “post-feminism” and its implications for theory, politics, and culture have played out over the past decade. The debate in this journal has, of course, been more nuanced and productive than the pseudo-generational warfare that has passed for analysis in much of the popular media. As editors Lisa McLaughlin and Cynthia Carter wrote in 2006:

Introduction: Children, Young People, Sexuality and the Media

Since the 2008 Australian Senate Inquiry into the Sexualisation of Children in the Contemporary Media Environment, both the British and Scottish governments have conducted their own inquiries into the role that mediated representations of sex and/or sexuality play in the lives of children and young people. At the same time, scholars, commentators, activists and educators have continued to debate the boundaries between ‘art’ and ‘pornography’ in representations of children and young people; and the boundaries between ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate’ content in popular and educational material for children and young people. This article introduces the multidisciplinary approach taken in this special issue of Media International Australia, which the editors hope will promote positive strategic approaches to promoting safety, agency and well-being for children and young people.

Apres Le Deluge: social media in learning and teaching

Abstract The increased visibility of social media in educational settings prompts discussion on the transformation it has on student communication, interaction and learning, but this is only one set of pedagogical dynamics needing consideration. Our roles as educators and how we respond to the deeper challenges to traditional pedagogy offered by a user-driven and convergent media environment also require attention. Whilst there is no doubt that social media renders the space between the social and the learning and teaching space fluid, integrating social media into pedagogical practice raises a series of questions about engaged students, knowledge production and the relationships between educators and students. Contributing to the growing body of research around social media and its role in the classroom, this article engages with existing literature in the field whilst drawing upon research conducted at Macquarie University. This research explored live social media practices in student learning and assessment, examining the challenges and opportunities in social media-based learning and teaching strategies. We contend, cautiously, that social media opens up new possibilities for engaging students in their own active learning. The extent to which it is able to do so, however, is dependent on how lecturers introduce new tools to their students and what pedagogical work they see these tools as enhancing.

P4.024 Do New Media Affect Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behaviours? A Systematic Review

Introduction There is considerable public concern that new media (including the Internet and mobile phones) could be exposing young people to high levels of sexual content and may impact risky behaviour and/or risk for sexually transmissible infections. Methods The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Medline, EMBASE and PsychINFO were searched to the end of August 2012. Articles were included if they described the statistical association between exposure to sexual content in new media (viewing or engaging) and sexual attitudes or behaviours in young people (defined as < 25 years). Results There were 3834 articles identified, and five met the inclusion criteria: all were cross-sectional designs (four convenience samples), with the largest study containing 6054 participants. In four studies the exposure was viewing sexually explicit websites (SEW); a range of outcomes were assessed however each outcome variable was only measured in one or two of the included studies. Viewing SEW was significantly associated with: first intercourse < 15 years of age, ever having a sexual partner, > 1 partner in last 3 months, multiple lifetime partners, unprotected sex at last sex, drug and alcohol use at last sex, acceptance of casual sexual relationships, having casual sexual relationships, notions of women as sex objects, and approval of extra-marital sex. “Sexting” (sending or receiving sexual texts) was the exposure in the fifth study and was associated with ever having unprotected sex. Conclusion The relationship between SEW and sexual behaviours and attitudes was inconsistent. Engagement with sexual media appeared to be associated with markers of higher sexual interest and/or activity, but study size, methodological approach and inconsistencies in outcome measures prevented us from drawing conclusions regarding causality. No study explored associations with positive aspects of sexual development (e.g. sexual communication, sexual assertiveness, relationship quality). Further research in this emerging area is needed.

Homer versus Homer : digital media, literacy and child protection

Despite growing work on the educational potential of digital media, literacy debates in Australia have remained locked in a banal opposition between serious educational aims and trivial entertainment media. To reinvigorate these debates, this article overviews progressive approaches to media literacy and case studies debates around the sexualisation of girls and young women in popular media. Ultimately, the authors — drawing on their submission to the recent Senate Inquiry on the subject — identify two ways to reset the media education and literacy agenda by incorporating a more productive engagement with digital media literacy.