PROFS lecture title: "A Woman's Worth: Exploring Contributions of Media Use to Black and White Students' Beliefs about Gender, Sex, and Women's Bodies"

Sexually objectifying portrayals of women are a common presence in virtually every medium, including prime time television programs, television commercials, music videos, and magazines. How might frequent media use, which likely includes regular exposure to these portrayals, affect young viewers' beliefs about women? Although we know quite a bit about how exposure to the media's thin ideal affects women's body image, we know less about how the sexualized ideal affects women and men. In this talk I present data from several studies that explore how media exposure shapes young peoples' views about gender roles, sexual roles, women's bodies, and sexual relationships. I also explore the role of race, testing how these media effects work for Black and White youth.

PROFS is a monthly lecture series held at the Michigan Union that seeks to provide students with opportunities for intimate interaction with professors outside of the classroom. These monthly meetings differ each time in regards to the professor and their lecture topic.