1.
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Healthy Media for Youth
Act
.
(b)The table of
contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Grants to promote media literacy and youth empowerment
programs.
Sec. 4. Research on the role and impact of girls and women in
the media on youths’ development.
Sec. 5. National Task Force on Girls and Women in the
Media.
Sec. 6. Limitation.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Media has become
an integral part of youths’ lives. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation
Study, Generation M² Media in Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds (2010), most 8- to
18-year-olds spend about 10 hours a day using just recreational media.
(2)Girls feel
pressure from the mainstream media to have an ideal body type, and only 34
percent of girls report being very satisfied with their bodies, according to
the Girl Scout Research Institute’s, The New Normal? What Girls Say About
Healthy Living (2006).
(3)Sixty percent of
teenage girls compare their bodies to fashion models and almost 90 percent of
girls say the fashion industry places a lot of pressure on teenage girls to be
thin, according to the Girl Scout Research Institute survey, Girls and Body
Image (2010).
(4)This same research
finds that body dissatisfaction leads to unhealthy eating and dieting habits.
More than half of girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight, 42 percent
of girls know someone their age who forced themselves to throw up after eating,
37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and 31
percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose
weight.
(5)Even young girls,
3rd through 5th grade, worry about their appearance (54 percent), and
specifically their weight (37 percent) according to the Girls Inc. survey, The
Supergirl Dilemma: Girls Grapple with the Mounting Pressure of Expectations
(2006).
(6)The American
Psychological Association’s Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found
that three of the most common mental health problems among girls, eating
disorders, depression or depressed mood, and low self-esteem, are linked to
sexualization of girls and women in media.
(7)According to the
same report, frequent exposure to sexualized media images of girls can have
negative consequences on their sexual health and avoidance of sexual risk
including the dangerous, new phenomena known as sexting, which means sending an
explicit message or photo over a cell phone.
(8)The group AK Teens
found that 30 percent of girls ages 9 to 15 have sent a sext. The Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 19 have texted
partially or completely nude pictures of themselves or someone they
knew.
(9)Competition over
narrow beauty standards and attention from boys also damages girls’
friendships, according to the American Psychological Association report.
Damaging girls’ friendships can have serious health consequences since their
relationships are crucial to their social and emotional health, according to
The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living (2006).
(10)Sexualized
messages and images of girls and women also negatively impact boys. These
negative effects include boys’ developing unrealistic and unhealthy
expectations of girls’ and women’s physical appearance, and may impair their
ability to develop healthy relationships with girls and women, according to the
American Psychological Association’s report.
(11)Girls and women
of color are disproportionately absent from mainstream media. The Girl Scout
Research Institute survey, Girls and Body Image (2010), found that only 32
percent of African-American girls think the fashion industry does a good job of
representing people of all races and ethnicities.
(12)Women and girls
continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in the media. Geena Davis
Institute on Gender in the Media reports that less than one in three speaking
characters in children’s movies are female. One study found that only 10
percent of Sports Illustrated photographs were of women during a 3-year period,
according to the American Psychological Association’s Report on the
Sexualization of Girls (2007). Fifty-seven percent of music videos feature a
woman portrayed exclusively as a decorative, sexual object.
(13)The Geena Davis
Institute on Gender in the Media found that the majority of female characters
in children’s movies are praised for their appearance or physical beauty rather
than their personality, intelligence, or other talents, and are often
short-sighted and narrowly fixated on romantic relationships that lack
substantial connections or courtships. Girls and boys watching children’s
programming may vicariously learn that beauty is an essential part of being
female and critical for gaining attention and acceptance.
(14)Girls’
aspirations are limited as they begin to associate power, acceptance, and
success with physical appearance rather than academic or extracurricular
achievements, according to the American Psychological Association.
(15)Violence against
women continues to be prevalent throughout media. The Parents Television
Council reports that between 2004 and 2009, violence against women and teenage
girls has increased on television programming at a rate of 120 percent compared
to the 2 percent increase of overall violence in television content.
(16)The Parents
Television Council warns that by depicting violence against women with
increasing frequency on television, or as a trivial, even humorous matter,
theses images may be contributing to an atmosphere in which young people view
aggression and violence against women as normative, even acceptable.
(17)Due to the
alarming side effects of youths’ exposure to negative messages about girls and
women in media, Congress supports efforts to ensure youth improve their media
literacy skills and consume positive messages about girls and women in the
media that promotes healthy and diverse body images, develops positive and
active female role models, and portrays equal and healthy relationships between
female and male characters.
3.Grants to promote
media literacy and youth empowerment programs
(a)
(1)The Secretary shall award grants to nonprofit
organizations to provide for the establishment, operation, coordination, and
evaluation of programs to increase the media literacy of girls and boys,
including by—
(A)educating youth on
how to apply their critical thinking skills when consuming media images and
messages;
(B)promoting healthy,
balanced, and positive media depictions of girls and women among youth;
and
(C)countering the
perpetuation and damaging effects of narrow, restrictive gender roles,
stereotypes, and expectations, including the sexualization of female children,
adolescents, and adults.
(2)Programs
funded under this subsection may include—
(A)education on
analytical skills that promote autonomy and critical understanding of how girls
and women are depicted in the media;
(B)age-appropriate
education about negative effects of the sexualization of female children,
adolescents, and adults;
(C)education about
how traditional, restrictive gender roles can be perpetuated through
media;
(D)education about
how depictions of girls and women in the media can negatively affect youths’
body image, their choice of role models, relationships among girls, and
relationships and expectations between girls and boys;
(E)education on how
to use media to positively influence others and to affect healthier cultural
norms and practices;
(F)education of
parents, educators, and other adults on how depictions of girls and women in
the media impact youth; or
(G)support for public
or private partnerships that encourage businesses, advertisers, the
entertainment industry, and other media content providers to promote media
content that—
(i)encourages healthy
body images;
(ii)develops positive
and active female role models; and
(iii)portrays equal
and healthy relationships between female and male characters.
(3)The
Secretary shall require each grant recipient under this subsection to submit to
the Secretary a report for each grant period that—
(A)describes how
grant funds were used; and
(B)evaluates the
effectiveness of the program funded through the grant.
(b)
(1)The Secretary shall
award grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the establishment,
operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to support the empowerment
of girls or boys in a variety of ways, including by—
(A)encouraging youth
empowerment through extracurricular activities and programs; and
(B)supporting youth
in a variety of ways that—
(i)develop
self-esteem, skills, and talents; and
(ii)celebrate
characteristics unrelated to sexual appeal or physical appearance.
(2)Programs
funds under this subsection may include—
(A)assisting youth in
critiquing and rejecting sexualizing and objectifying messages within
society;
(B)teaching youth how
to create and use media that contribute to social change, especially in their
communities;
(C)building
confidence and self-efficacy;
(D)building
leadership skills; or
(E)facilitating
connections between girls and women, and boys and men, as mentors.
(3)The Secretary shall ensure that funding under this
subsection is targeted towards (but need not be exclusively restricted to)
projects that are—
(A)focused in urban,
rural, and other underserved areas;
(B)gender-specific;
(C)focused on a
variety of populations, including racial and ethnic minorities and
representatives of several socioeconomic status groups;
(D)culturally and
linguistically appropriate for the populations being served; and
(E)developed in
collaboration with the long-term stakeholders.
(4)The Secretary shall require each grant
recipient under this subsection to submit to the Secretary a report for each
grant period that—
(A)describes how
grant funds were used; and
(B)evaluates the
effectiveness of the program funded through the grant.
(c)In awarding grants under subsections (a) and (b), the
Secretary may give priority to applicants who agree to provide matching
contributions from non-Federal sources. Such contributions may be in cash or in
kind, fairly evaluated, including equipment, training, curricula, or a
preexisting evaluation framework.
(d)A grant may be made under subsection (a) or (b) only
if the applicant involved agrees to the following:
(1)Not more than 20
percent of the grant funds will be used for administration, accounting,
reporting, and program oversight functions.
(2)The grant will be
used to supplement and not supplant funds from other sources for increasing the
media literacy of, and empowering, youth.
(3)The applicant will
abide by any limitations deemed appropriate by the Secretary on any charges to
individuals receiving services pursuant to the grant. As deemed appropriate by
the Secretary, such limitations on charges may vary based on the financial
circumstances of the individual receiving services.
(e)Not
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate
committees of the Congress a report on the grants awarded under subsections (a)
and (b), including—
(1)a
description of how the grant funds were used; and
(2)an evaluation of
the effectiveness of such grants.
4.Research on the
role and impact of girls and women in the media on youths’ development
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with the Director of the
National Institutes of Health and the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, shall review,
synthesize, and conduct or support research on the role and impact of
depictions of girls and women in the media on the psychological, sexual,
physical, and interpersonal development of youth in the following areas:
(1)How depictions of
girls and women in the media affect youth in the following areas of childhood
development:
(A)Cognitive areas
such as mental health, self-esteem, learning abilities, and problem solving
skills.
(B)Physical areas
such as diet, nutrition, exercise, body image, substance abuse, and sleeping
and eating routines.
(C)Social behavioral
areas such as relationships with peers, interactions with parents and family
members, aggression, high-risk behaviors, sexual behavior and development, and
positive social behaviors.
(2)How depictions of
girls and women in the media affect girls’ and boys’ perceptions in the
following areas:
(A)Girls’ perceptions
and attitudes about girls’ and boys’ abilities, equity, appearances, and
leadership potential.
(B)Boys’ perceptions
and attitudes about girls’ and boys’ abilities, equity, appearances, and
leadership potential.
(3)How the
sexualization and objectification of girls and women in the media affects girls
and boys.
(4)The impact of
depictions of girls and women in the media on youths’ academic
performance.
(5)The impact that
depictions of girls and women in the media has on girls and boys of diverse
racial and ethnic backgrounds and developmentally across age.
(6)How factors such
as format, length of exposure, age of youth, and nature of parental involvement
impact youth.
(7)How food marketing
and obesity campaigns affect girls’ and boys’ body image, nutrition, and
exercise, especially among eating-disordered youth populations.
(8)Additional areas
as designated by the Secretary.
(b)The Secretary shall ensure that research activities
under this section do not duplicate other Federal research activities.
(c)Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare
and submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report that—
(1)synthesizes the
results of—
(A)research under
this section; and
(B)other related
research by the private or public sector, including the Federal
Government;
(2)disaggregates such
results by gender, race, and socioeconomic background;
(3)includes a compendium of key existing
research on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media;
and
(4)outlines gaps in research on the role and
impact of depictions of girl and women in the media and identifies areas where
future research is needed.
5.National Task
Force on Girls and Women in the Media
(a)The
Federal Communications Commission shall convene a task force, to be known as
the National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, to develop voluntary
steps and goals for promoting healthy and positive depictions of girls and
women in the media for the benefit of all youth.
(b)The
Task Force shall include representatives of the media industry, nonprofit and
youth-serving organizations, academia and research entities, psychologists and
other child health professionals, Federal agencies, and any other public or
private entity designated by the Federal Communications Commission.
(c)The
Task Force shall identify—
(1)concerns with how
the media regulated by the Federal Communications Commission portrays girls and
women;
(2)the impact of
negative depictions of girls and women on the development of youth; and
(3)voluntary steps
and goals that the public and private sectors can take to promote healthy and
positive media depictions of girls and women for the benefit of all
youth.
(d)The Federal Communications Commission shall ensure that
the Task Force holds its first meeting not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(e)Not
later than 12 months after the date of the first meeting of the Task Force, the
Federal Communications Commission shall submit a report to Congress that
contains—
(1)the findings of
the Task Force under subsection (c); and
(2)recommendations
for areas of improvement regarding depictions of girls and women in the
media.
6.Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, the Secretary may not use amounts made available under this Act to conduct
or support activities or programs that are duplicative of activities or
programs already being carried out through the Department of Health and Human
Services or the Department of Education.
7.In this Act:
(1)The term media includes
television programs, motion pictures, video games, music and music videos, the
Internet, social media, digital video recorders, cell phones, magazines,
newspapers, advertisements, and other emerging technologies designed for
communication, entertainment, education, or information.
(2)The term
Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(3)The term
sexualization refers to a circumstance when—
(A)a person’s value
comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other
characteristics;
(B)a person is held
to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) and
personal value with appearing, acting, and being sexy;
(C)a person is
sexually objectified—that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather
than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and
decisionmaking; or
(D)sexuality is
inappropriately imposed upon a person.
(4)The term Task Force means the
National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media convened under section
5.
8.Authorization of
appropriationsFor the purpose
of carrying out sections 3 and 4, there is authorized to be appropriated, in
addition to any other amounts available for such purpose, $40,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2011 through 2015, of which—
(1)$18,000,000 is for
section 3(a);
(2)$18,000,000 is for
section 3(b); and
(3)$4,000,000 is for
section 4.