Hypersexualized women say 'come hither'.

• Position: Mass Media

The portrayal of women in the popular media over the last several decades has become increasingly sexualized, even "pornified," a study by University at Buffalo (N.Y.) sociologists contends. The same is not true of men. These findings may be cause for concern since previous research has found sexualized images of women to have far-reaching negative consequences for both sexes.

The researchers examined the covers of Rolling Stone magazine from 1967-2009 to measure changes in the sexualization of men and women in popular media over time. 'We chose Rolling Stone because it is a well-established, pop-culture media outlet. It is not explicitly about sex or relationships; foremost it is about music--but it also covers politics, film, television, and current events, and so offers a useful window into how women and men are portrayed generally in popular culture," explains Erin Hatton, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology.

The authors concluded that representations of women and men indeed have become more sexualized over time and women continue to be more frequently sexualized than men. In the 1960s, they found that 11% of men and 44% of women were sexualized. In the 2000s, 17% of men and 83% of women were sexualized. Among those images, two...