School's out for the summer, and on goes the TV.
Parents and experts concerned children are being regularly
exposed to sexually suggestive advertisements have called for a
ratings system and specific timeslots the ads can be shown.
Such scenes include young ladies modeling how underwear can make
them look sexier, like special bras that enhance body shape under a
summer dress.
Another suggestive ad shows how a speckled skin girl, dumped by
her lover, becomes popular again after using cosmetics that turn
her complexion fairer.
A survey by the Chinese Youth and Children's Research Center
earlier this year found that urban children watch TV about an hour
a day on average.
The survey covered more than 2,500 children in six major cities
including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
Similar surveys made in 1996 and 1992 found that children watch
TV for 38 minutes and 25 minutes a day on average respectively.
'Sex sells' is a longstanding mantra of the advertising
industry. Pretty girls and suggestive situations are being written
into ads even when they have little connection to the product being
sold.
Experts said young impressionable viewers are being
unnecessarily exposed to blatant overselling of sex in ads.
"These kind of adverts reflect the social discrimination on women,
which objectifies them. The ads only want to promote whether she
has a plump or sexy figure.
"Children and teenagers are passive receivers when they watch
the ads on TV. As they have a relatively immature mentality and in
the process of building their own sexual awareness toward the
opposite sex, they need helpful guides, not misleading ads."
Zong Chunshan
A counselor with Beijing Youth Counseling Center
"We are drafting a suggestion for forming a rating and auditing
system for adverts to put an end to misleading ads. The broadcast
time of adverts should be decided in accordance with their content,
especially during summer and winter vacations."
Tang Xilan
A Beijing People's Congress delegate
"I was shocked to hear my teenage daughter saying that she does
not want to eat cakes for fear of losing a good figure to attract
her male classmates. TV programs are flooded with sexy ads and some
bad ads were broadcast several times a day. Those ads make me sick
and I always change the channel when those ugly ads appear. But who
can change the channel for my daughter while I am not home during
the summer vacation?"
Wu Chunqin
A mother in Chongqing
(China Daily July 23, 2007)