ORIGINAL PAPER Endangered Girls and Incendiary Objects: Unpacking the Discourse on Sexualization R. Danielle Egan Æ Gail L. Hawkes Published online: 4 October 2008 Ó Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract In this article, we deconstruct the epistemological framework underlying recent discussions on the sexualization of girls. Conducting a close textual analysis of scholarly and activist writings and their media coverage in Australia, Britain and the United States we examine the foundational assumptions of the argument against sexualization and explore its potential social and political implications. It is our contention that the conceptualization of sexualization as both a process and outcome relies on an ambivalent and overly deterministic model which makes the danger of sexualizing materials uniform, but their outcome gender specific. The unintended consequence of this discourse is that girls are framed as passive recipients and their sexuality becomes the result of and reduced to sexualization. Keywords Sexualization Á Children Á Girls Á Sexuality Á Social class Á Popular culture Á Media Introduction Cultural apprehension about the impact and magnitude of the sexualization of girls has proliferated over the past five years. Whether in the form of academic literature chronicling the potential developmental, cognitive and physical risks associated with sexualizing materials, news media forecasting a ‘‘generation of girls’’ damaged by ‘‘sexy toys, clothes and cartoons’’ or frustrated mothers blogging about the unremitting onslaught of marketers trying to sell sexualizing products to their R. D. Egan (&) St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, USA e-mail: degan@stlawu.edu G. L. Hawkes University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia 123 Sexuality & Culture (2008) 12:291–311 DOI 10.1007/s12119-008-9036-8