sexualization
Rendering something erotic
Sexualization is the act of making something sexual or viewing it in sexual terms.
The word often carries negative connotations—the sexualization of children in media, the sexualization of women in advertising.
To sexualize is to impose sexual meaning where it doesn't inherently belong, or to emphasize sexuality over other qualities: The costume sexualized the character unnecessarily.
Imbuing with carnal charge
- objectificationReducing humans to things
- fetishizationIrrational reverence for something
- provocativenessTendency to challenge reactions
- titillationPleasurable, teasing excitement
innuendo · suggestiveness · glamorization · commodification · hypersexualization · eroticization
Reducing humans to things
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
- hypersexualizationExcessive emphasis on sexuality
- misogynyHostility toward women
- backlashStrong negative reaction
exploitation · degradation · stereotyping · reductionism · dehumanization · victim-blaming · oversexualization · predatory
Power to act
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- self-expressionConveying one's inner world
- liberationRelease from constraint
reclamation · choice · ownership · assertiveness · self-determination · confidence · destigmatization · self-representation
Sexual development stage
- adolescenceTeenage developmental stage
- hormonesBloodstream signaling molecules
- coming-of-ageYouth becoming adulthood
- menarcheOnset of menstruation
Female nature or character
- masculinityMale gender characteristics
- queernessUnconventional identity or nature
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
erotization
Imbuing with carnal charge
- objectificationReducing humans to things
- fetishizationIrrational reverence for something
- provocativenessTendency to challenge reactions
titillation · innuendo · suggestiveness · glamorization · commodification · hypersexualization · eroticization
objectification
Reducing humans to things
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
- hypersexualizationExcessive emphasis on sexuality
- misogynyHostility toward women
backlash · exploitation · degradation · stereotyping · reductionism · dehumanization · victim-blaming · oversexualization · predatory · grooming
agency
Power to act
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- self-expressionConveying one's inner world
liberation · reclamation · choice · ownership · assertiveness · self-determination · confidence · destigmatization · self-representation
puberty
Sexual development stage
- adolescenceTeenage developmental stage
- hormonesBloodstream signaling molecules
- coming-of-ageYouth becoming adulthood
femininity
Female nature or character
- masculinityMale gender characteristics
- queernessUnconventional identity or nature
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
- coping mechanismsrepression, denial, projection, sublimation, rationalization
- gender mediagender representation, gender stereotypes, gender bias, media portrayal, media stereotypes
- feminist mediamale gaze, female gaze, Bechdel test, representation, spectatorship
- objectificationobjectification, dehumanization, commodification, male gaze, eroticization
- obsessionsobsession, fixation, monomania, preoccupation, mania
- gender rolesgender roles, masculinity, femininity, gender stereotypes, traditional roles
sexualizationasexualization
Removing sexual attributes
sanitization · neutralization · bowdlerization · censorship · modesty
sexualizationhumanization
Attributing personal characteristics
dignification · personalization · respect · empowerment · agency
sexualizationinnocence
Freedom from wrongdoing
purity · wholesomeness · sanitization · safeguarding · purification