Editorial Review
Pop culture---and the advertising that surrounds it---teaches young girls and boys five myths about sex and sexuality:
-Girls don't choose boys, boys choose girls--but only sexy girls
-There's only one kind of sexy--slender, curvy, white beauty
-Girls should work to be that type of sexy
-The younger a girl is, the sexier she is
-Sexual violence can be hot
Together, these five myths make up the Lolita Effect, the mass media trends that work to undermine girls' self-confidence, that condone female objectification, and that tacitly foster sex crimes. But identifying these myths and breaking them down can help girls learn to recognize progressive and healthy sexuality and protect themselves from degrading media ideas and sexual vulnerability. In The Lolita Effect, Dr. M. Gigi Durham offers breakthrough strategies for empowering girls to make healthy decisions about their own sexuality.
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Customer Reviews
A book cover Humbert Humbert could enjoy alone in a closet... 
2008-05-20
The cover of this book engages in precisely what the book's title suggests it critiques.
Even though this is a topic I strongly feel needs urgent redress (that is how I found the book listing), I will not buy the book due to its exploitative and hypocritical cover.
Thought-provoking but occasionally uneven 
2008-05-01
I actually got my hands on a copy of The Lolita Effect about half a month ago in a bin of free books outside of a coffeehouse in Philadelphia. The copy I have is one of the unproofed galleys, so I will preface this review with the statement that some of my concerns may have already been addressed.
Overall, Durham provides some thought-provoking examples of how female sexuality is subverted by mass media and by culture. I learned of a few products I'd never heard of before (there's actually a pole dancing kit sold as a kids toy?) and was made more self-aware of existing products (I honestly hadn't given a second thought about what young girls wear these days, and was somewhat shocked to realize how sexually charged some of the sold clothing really is). She makes a good case for most of this trend being a matter of marketing rather than actually culturally ingrained. Even more useful, she includes sections at the end of each chapter on discussion topics, things which parents should talk to their children about. I've already passed my copy of the book on to a mother at my workplace who'd been complaining about how short girls' shorts had been getting. Overall, it was a good read, both engaging and informative.
The biggest problem I had with the book was one which Durham pointed out in the prologue of the book. Sex, especially when it comes to younger people, is a very polarized topic. It's hard to talk about it without being perceived as either saying "Sex is bad and you should avoid it" or "Sex is good and you should engage in it as often as possible." And, in the end, she largely avoids falling into either pole by avoiding the topic. She expresses her beliefs that sex is a positive thing, but that it should avoided until one is mature enough. When one is mature enough is, of course, never discussed and with the way she talks about rampant promiscuity, you're left with the impression that it doesn't matter how carefully you talk to your son or daughter; they're going to be engaging in sexual activities, and probably when they're too young to avoid getting damaged by it.
Ultimately, once one gets outside of the main topic of the "Lolita Effect", parts of the book get a bit uneven. As aforementioned, there's waffling on how to deal with the fact that children are engaging in sexual activity at a young age. Durham flops back and forth between the necessity of teaching children about sex at an early age and a fear of instilling in them a healthy fear for what can happen if they do engage in it. Lastly, there's a slightly annoying bit in the book where she denounces the American culture for how it's twisted sex as compared to European countries... which works until you notice that many of her statistics on increased sexual activity among children are regarding these European countries.
As I said before, these may have been fixed since the early copy I got my hands on. And, overall, it is a good read as long as you ignore the minor inconsistencies.
The Cover Story 2008-06-30
To those who may find the cover art hypocritical.
Might it be the cover is to grab the attention of someone who might not otherwise read the book? And NEEDS to read the book? Yes, maybe it sell more books, but to reach those who need the message, you need to reach the basic instinct first. They see the cover of the book, pick it up, read a bit of it... and maybe, you can get someone who hadn't thought about this before, to start thinking about it. Even if the book gets put back on the shelf, the idea has now entered that someone's conciousness. Let's face it, a book with NO face on it is not going to grab the attention of those who truly need thier eyes opened to the issue.
an eye-opener--a must-read for parents and teachers 
2008-05-20
I see there are a number of other positive reviews up already, but I wanted to add my two cents. Durham's argument is powerful and extremely accessible. I admit that I had never taken notice of a lot of the extremely harmful and negative trends in modern media that Durham points out, and I had certainly never drawn a connection between the exploitation of women in pop culture and some of its truly insidious effects (from teaching girls to undervalue themselves to inadvertently making themselves vulnerable to sex crimes and exploitation). Since I finished reading the book, I have started looking at the world in a slightly different way.
For me, the most helpful component was the conversation strategies at the end of each chapter. It seems like negotiating these conversations with your children would be difficult, but Durham provides real and usable dialogue starters and ideas for prompts. The book is a real tool as well as a major piece of news.
Every mother must read this! 2008-05-20
I recently came across this book and couldn't help but pick it up, being a mother of two teenage girls. Durham really approaches this topic with a fresh set of eyes, and discusses examples that we come across every day. This is a refreshingly smart look at what has (for me at least) been a really troubling issue. She talks about cultural trends without getting too academic and keeps it at a really relevant level. After reading this I feel much more comfortable discussing these things with my daughters. This is a must for anyone with young girls.
Important reading for all parents 2008-05-20
I just finished this book, and have since recommended it to everyone I know with daughters. The author not only compellingly illuminates this "lolita" phenomenon, but takes it a step further by giving parents tips on handling this media barrage, and starting a dialogue with their children. There's not much we can do about what the media portrays as "sexy," but we can educate our kids and ourselves about it. I enjoyed the author's level-headed, intelligent, and proactive approach.
Great. 2008-05-20
Durham is like a good advocate and mentor for young girls because she is on their side rather than pushing an overly puritanical or overly permissive agenda. One of the best things we can do for girls is help them to recognize distorted images in the media -- and especially, the profit motive behind these messages. Her approach will allow girls to feel empowered rather than censored or shamed.
