sexualization

especially British, sex·u·al·i·sa·tion

[sek-shoo-uh-lahy-zey-shuhn, seks-yoo-]

noun

1. the act of endowing with sexual characteristics, or of excessively emphasizing those characteristics.

   In the real world, the sexualization of girls isn't confined to beauty pageants.

   Parents and other concerned adults have begun grassroots campaigns to counteract sexualization in advertising.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sexualization¹

sexual ( def. ) + -ization ( def. )

Example Sentences

Then there was the rampant sexualization of female musicians.

From Salon

At the same time, they’ve inherited a vocabulary that lets them talk about the toll of routine sexualization with a clarity that previous generations lacked.

From Salon

This doesn’t mean that men and boys don’t experience sexualization of their own.

From Salon

All of this, Gilbert writes, meant that young women “were the ultimate Millennial commodity, our bodies cheerfully co-opted and replicated as media content within the public domain. If we complained, we were vilified as prudes or scolds. This kind of sexualization was ‘empowering,’ everyone kept insisting.

From Slate

Books like "Pride Puppy" prevent the premature sexualization of kids, by answering questions about queer identity in age-appropriate ways.

From Salon