Healthy Media for Youth Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to: (1) increase the media literacy of girls and boys, and (2) support the empowerment of girls or boys in a variety of ways. Permits giving priority to grant applicants providing non-federal matching funds.
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in coordination with the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, to review, synthesize, and conduct or support research on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media on the psychological, sexual, physical, and interpersonal development of youth.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to convene a task force, to be known as the National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, to develop voluntary steps and goals for promoting healthy and positive depictions of girls and women in the media for the benefit of all youth.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4925 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4925
To authorize grants to promote media literacy and youth empowerment
programs, to authorize research on the role and impact of depictions of
girls and women in the media, to provide for the establishment of a
National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 24, 2010
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs.
Capps, and Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize grants to promote media literacy and youth empowerment
programs, to authorize research on the role and impact of depictions of
girls and women in the media, to provide for the establishment of a
National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Healthy Media for
Youth Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Grants to promote media literacy and youth empowerment
programs.
Sec. 4. Research on the role and impact of girls and women in the media
on youths' development.
Sec. 5. National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media.
Sec. 6. Limitation.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Media has become an integral part of youths' lives.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Study, Generation
M\2\ Media in Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds (2010), most 8- to
18-year-olds spend about 10 hours a day using just recreational
media.
(2) Girls feel pressure from the mainstream media to have
an ideal body type, and only 34 percent of girls report being
very satisfied with their bodies, according to the Girl Scout
Research Institute's, The New Normal? What Girls Say About
Healthy Living (2006).
(3) Sixty percent of teenage girls compare their bodies to
fashion models and almost 90 percent of girls say the fashion
industry places a lot of pressure on teenage girls to be thin,
according to the Girl Scout Research Institute survey, Girls
and Body Image (2010).
(4) This same research finds that body dissatisfaction
leads to unhealthy eating and dieting habits. More than half of
girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight, 42 percent
of girls know someone their age who forced themselves to throw
up after eating, 37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed
with an eating disorder, and 31 percent admit to starving
themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.
(5) Even young girls, 3rd through 5th grade, worry about
their appearance (54 percent), and specifically their weight
(37 percent) according to the Girls Inc. survey, The Supergirl
Dilemma: Girls Grapple with the Mounting Pressure of
Expectations (2006).
(6) The American Psychological Association's Report on the
Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most
common mental health problems among girls, eating disorders,
depression or depressed mood, and low self-esteem, are linked
to sexualization of girls and women in media.
(7) According to the same report, frequent exposure to
sexualized media images of girls can have negative consequences
on their sexual health and avoidance of sexual risk including
the dangerous, new phenomena known as sexting, which means
sending an explicit message or photo over a cell phone.
(8) The group AK Teens found that 30 percent of girls ages
9 to 15 have sent a sext. The Campaign to Prevent Teen
Pregnancy found that 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 19 have
texted partially or completely nude pictures of themselves or
someone they knew.
(9) Competition over narrow beauty standards and attention
from boys also damages girls' friendships, according to the
American Psychological Association report. Damaging girls'
friendships can have serious health consequences since their
relationships are crucial to their social and emotional health,
according to The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy
Living (2006).
(10) Sexualized messages and images of girls and women also
negatively impact boys. These negative effects include boys'
developing unrealistic and unhealthy expectations of girls' and
women's physical appearance, and may impair their ability to
develop healthy relationships with girls and women, according
to the American Psychological Association's report.
(11) Girls and women of color are disproportionately absent
from mainstream media. The Girl Scout Research Institute
survey, Girls and Body Image (2010), found that only 32 percent
of African-American girls think the fashion industry does a
good job of representing people of all races and ethnicities.
(12) Women and girls continue to be underrepresented in
leadership roles in the media. Geena Davis Institute on Gender
in the Media reports that less than one in three speaking
characters in children's movies are female. One study found
that only 10 percent of Sports Illustrated photographs were of
women during a 3-year period, according to the American
Psychological Association's Report on the Sexualization of
Girls (2007). Fifty-seven percent of music videos feature a
woman portrayed exclusively as a decorative, sexual object.
(13) The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media found
that the majority of female characters in children's movies are
praised for their appearance or physical beauty rather than
their personality, intelligence, or other talents, and are
often short-sighted and narrowly fixated on romantic
relationships that lack substantial connections or courtships.
Girls and boys watching children's programming may vicariously
learn that beauty is an essential part of being female and
critical for gaining attention and acceptance.
(14) Girls' aspirations are limited as they begin to
associate power, acceptance, and success with physical
appearance rather than academic or extracurricular
achievements, according to the American Psychological
Association.
(15) Violence against women continues to be prevalent
throughout media. The Parents Television Council reports that
between 2004 and 2009, violence against women and teenage girls
has increased on television programming at a rate of 120
percent compared to the 2 percent increase of overall violence
in television content.
(16) The Parents Television Council warns that by depicting
violence against women with increasing frequency on television,
or as a trivial, even humorous matter, theses images may be
contributing to an atmosphere in which young people view
aggression and violence against women as normative, even
acceptable.
(17) Due to the alarming side effects of youths' exposure
to negative messages about girls and women in media, Congress
supports efforts to ensure youth improve their media literacy
skills and consume positive messages about girls and women in
the media that promotes healthy and diverse body images,
develops positive and active female role models, and portrays
equal and healthy relationships between female and male
characters.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROMOTE MEDIA LITERACY AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
PROGRAMS.
(a) Media Literacy.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to
nonprofit organizations to provide for the establishment,
operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to increase
the media literacy of girls and boys, including by--
(A) educating youth on how to apply their critical
thinking skills when consuming media images and
messages;
(B) promoting healthy, balanced, and positive media
depictions of girls and women among youth; and
(C) countering the perpetuation and damaging
effects of narrow, restrictive gender roles,
stereotypes, and expectations, including the
sexualization of female children, adolescents, and
adults.
(2) Activities.--Programs funded under this subsection may
include--
(A) education on analytical skills that promote
autonomy and critical understanding of how girls and
women are depicted in the media;
(B) age-appropriate education about negative
effects of the sexualization of female children,
adolescents, and adults;
(C) education about how traditional, restrictive
gender roles can be perpetuated through media;
(D) education about how depictions of girls and
women in the media can negatively affect youths' body
image, their choice of role models, relationships among
girls, and relationships and expectations between girls
and boys;
(E) education on how to use media to positively
influence others and to affect healthier cultural norms
and practices;
(F) education of parents, educators, and other
adults on how depictions of girls and women in the
media impact youth; or
(G) support for public or private partnerships that
encourage businesses, advertisers, the entertainment
industry, and other media content providers to promote
media content that--
(i) encourages healthy body images;
(ii) develops positive and active female
role models; and
(iii) portrays equal and healthy
relationships between female and male
characters.
(3) Report.--The Secretary shall require each grant
recipient under this subsection to submit to the Secretary a
report for each grant period that--
(A) describes how grant funds were used; and
(B) evaluates the effectiveness of the program
funded through the grant.
(b) Youth Empowerment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to
nonprofit organizations to provide for the establishment,
operation, coordination, and evaluation of programs to support
the empowerment of girls or boys in a variety of ways,
including by--
(A) encouraging youth empowerment through
extracurricular activities and programs; and
(B) supporting youth in a variety of ways that--
(i) develop self-esteem, skills, and
talents; and
(ii) celebrate characteristics unrelated to
sexual appeal or physical appearance.
(2) Activities.--Programs funds under this subsection may
include--
(A) assisting youth in critiquing and rejecting
sexualizing and objectifying messages within society;
(B) teaching youth how to create and use media that
contribute to social change, especially in their
communities;
(C) building confidence and self-efficacy;
(D) building leadership skills; or
(E) facilitating connections between girls and
women, and boys and men, as mentors.
(3) Targeted projects.--The Secretary shall ensure that
funding under this subsection is targeted towards (but need not
be exclusively restricted to) projects that are--
(A) focused in urban, rural, and other underserved
areas;
(B) gender-specific;
(C) focused on a variety of populations, including
racial and ethnic minorities and representatives of
several socioeconomic status groups;
(D) culturally and linguistically appropriate for
the populations being served; and
(E) developed in collaboration with the long-term
stakeholders.
(4) Report.--The Secretary shall require each grant
recipient under this subsection to submit to the Secretary a
report for each grant period that--
(A) describes how grant funds were used; and
(B) evaluates the effectiveness of the program
funded through the grant.
(c) Matching Funds.--In awarding grants under subsections (a) and
(b), the Secretary may give priority to applicants who agree to provide
matching contributions from non-Federal sources. Such contributions may
be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including equipment, training,
curricula, or a preexisting evaluation framework.
(d) Certain Requirements.--A grant may be made under subsection (a)
or (b) only if the applicant involved agrees to the following:
(1) Not more than 20 percent of the grant funds will be
used for administration, accounting, reporting, and program
oversight functions.
(2) The grant will be used to supplement and not supplant
funds from other sources for increasing the media literacy of,
and empowering, youth.
(3) The applicant will abide by any limitations deemed
appropriate by the Secretary on any charges to individuals
receiving services pursuant to the grant. As deemed appropriate
by the Secretary, such limitations on charges may vary based on
the financial circumstances of the individual receiving
services.
(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and
submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report on the
grants awarded under subsections (a) and (b), including--
(1) a description of how the grant funds were used; and
(2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of such grants.
SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA
ON YOUTHS' DEVELOPMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with the
Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, shall review, synthesize, and conduct or support research
on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media on
the psychological, sexual, physical, and interpersonal development of
youth in the following areas:
(1) How depictions of girls and women in the media affect
youth in the following areas of childhood development:
(A) Cognitive areas such as mental health, self-
esteem, learning abilities, and problem solving skills.
(B) Physical areas such as diet, nutrition,
exercise, body image, substance abuse, and sleeping and
eating routines.
(C) Social behavioral areas such as relationships
with peers, interactions with parents and family
members, aggression, high-risk behaviors, sexual
behavior and development, and positive social
behaviors.
(2) How depictions of girls and women in the media affect
girls' and boys' perceptions in the following areas:
(A) Girls' perceptions and attitudes about girls'
and boys' abilities, equity, appearances, and
leadership potential.
(B) Boys' perceptions and attitudes about girls'
and boys' abilities, equity, appearances, and
leadership potential.
(3) How the sexualization and objectification of girls and
women in the media affects girls and boys.
(4) The impact of depictions of girls and women in the
media on youths' academic performance.
(5) The impact that depictions of girls and women in the
media has on girls and boys of diverse racial and ethnic
backgrounds and developmentally across age.
(6) How factors such as format, length of exposure, age of
youth, and nature of parental involvement impact youth.
(7) How food marketing and obesity campaigns affect girls'
and boys' body image, nutrition, and exercise, especially among
eating-disordered youth populations.
(8) Additional areas as designated by the Secretary.
(b) No Duplication.--The Secretary shall ensure that research
activities under this section do not duplicate other Federal research
activities.
(c) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a
report that--
(1) synthesizes the results of--
(A) research under this section; and
(B) other related research by the private or public
sector, including the Federal Government;
(2) disaggregates such results by gender, race, and
socioeconomic background;
(3) includes a compendium of key existing research on the
role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media;
and
(4) outlines gaps in research on the role and impact of
depictions of girl and women in the media and identifies areas
where future research is needed.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON GIRLS AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA.
(a) Purposes.--The Federal Communications Commission shall convene
a task force, to be known as the National Task Force on Girls and Women
in the Media, to develop voluntary steps and goals for promoting
healthy and positive depictions of girls and women in the media for the
benefit of all youth.
(b) Membership.--The Task Force shall include representatives of
the media industry, nonprofit and youth-serving organizations, academia
and research entities, psychologists and other child health
professionals, Federal agencies, and any other public or private entity
designated by the Federal Communications Commission.
(c) Responsibilities.--The Task Force shall identify--
(1) concerns with how the media regulated by the Federal
Communications Commission portrays girls and women;
(2) the impact of negative depictions of girls and women on
the development of youth; and
(3) voluntary steps and goals that the public and private
sectors can take to promote healthy and positive media
depictions of girls and women for the benefit of all youth.
(d) Initial Meeting.--The Federal Communications Commission shall
ensure that the Task Force holds its first meeting not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the first
meeting of the Task Force, the Federal Communications Commission shall
submit a report to Congress that contains--
(1) the findings of the Task Force under subsection (c);
and
(2) recommendations for areas of improvement regarding
depictions of girls and women in the media.
SEC. 6. LIMITATION.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may
not use amounts made available under this Act to conduct or support
activities or programs that are duplicative of activities or programs
already being carried out through the Department of Health and Human
Services or the Department of Education.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``media'' includes television programs, motion
pictures, video games, music and music videos, the Internet,
social media, digital video recorders, cell phones, magazines,
newspapers, advertisements, and other emerging technologies
designed for communication, entertainment, education, or
information.
(2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health
and Human Services.
(3) The term ``sexualization'' refers to a circumstance
when--
(A) a person's value comes only from his or her
sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other
characteristics;
(B) a person is held to a standard that equates
physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) and personal
value with appearing, acting, and being sexy;
(C) a person is sexually objectified--that is, made
into a thing for others' sexual use, rather than seen
as a person with the capacity for independent action
and decisionmaking; or
(D) sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a
person.
(4) The term ``Task Force'' means the National Task Force
on Girls and Women in the Media convened under section 5.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
For the purpose of carrying out sections 3 and 4, there is
authorized to be appropriated, in addition to any other amounts
available for such purpose, $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011
through 2015, of which--
(1) $18,000,000 is for section 3(a);
(2) $18,000,000 is for section 3(b); and
(3) $4,000,000 is for section 4.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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