I 

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. SA ́NCHEZ 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Healthy Media for Youth Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 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. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Media has become an integral part of 

6 youths’ lives. According to the Kaiser Family Foun7 dation Study, Generation M2 Media in Lives of 8- 

8 to 18-Year-Olds (2010), most 8- to 18-year-olds 

9 spend about 10 hours a day using just recreational 

10 media. 

11 (2) Girls feel pressure from the mainstream 

12 media to have an ideal body type, and only 34 per13 cent of girls report being very satisfied with their 

14 bodies, according to the Girl Scout Research Insti15 tute’s, The New Normal? What Girls Say About 

16 Healthy Living (2006). 

17 (3) Sixty percent of teenage girls compare their 

18 bodies to fashion models and almost 90 percent of 

19 girls say the fashion industry places a lot of pressure 

20 on teenage girls to be thin, according to the Girl 


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1 Scout Research Institute survey, Girls and Body 

2 Image (2010). 

3 (4) This same research finds that body dis4 satisfaction leads to unhealthy eating and dieting 

5 habits. More than half of girls (55 percent) admit 

6 they diet to lose weight, 42 percent of girls know 

7 someone their age who forced themselves to throw 

8 up after eating, 37 percent know someone who has 

9 been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and 31 per10 cent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat 

11 as a strategy to lose weight. 

12 (5) Even young girls, 3rd through 5th grade, 

13 worry about their appearance (54 percent), and spe14 cifically their weight (37 percent) according to the 

15 Girls Inc. survey, The Supergirl Dilemma: Girls 

16 Grapple with the Mounting Pressure of Expectations 

17 (2006). 

18 (6) The American Psychological Association’s 

19 Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found 

20 that three of the most common mental health prob21 lems among girls, eating disorders, depression or de22 pressed mood, and low self-esteem, are linked to 

23 sexualization of girls and women in media. 

24 (7) According to the same report, frequent ex25 posure to sexualized media images of girls can have 


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1 negative consequences on their sexual health and 

2 avoidance of sexual risk including the dangerous, 

3 new phenomena known as sexting, which means 

4 sending an explicit message or photo over a cell 

5 phone. 

6 (8) The group AK Teens found that 30 percent 

7 of girls ages 9 to 15 have sent a sext. The Campaign 

8 to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that 20 percent of 

9 youth ages 13 to 19 have texted partially or com10 pletely nude pictures of themselves or someone they 

11 knew. 

12 (9) Competition over narrow beauty standards 

13 and attention from boys also damages girls’ friend14 ships, according to the American Psychological Asso15 ciation report. Damaging girls’ friendships can have 

16 serious health consequences since their relationships 

17 are crucial to their social and emotional health, ac18 cording to The New Normal? What Girls Say About 

19 Healthy Living (2006). 

20 (10) Sexualized messages and images of girls 

21 and women also negatively impact boys. These nega22 tive effects include boys’ developing unrealistic and 

23 unhealthy expectations of girls’ and women’s phys24 ical appearance, and may impair their ability to de25 velop healthy relationships with girls and women, acVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:18 Mar 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4925.IH H4925

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1 cording to the American Psychological Association’s 

2 report. 

3 (11) Girls and women of color are dispropor4 tionately absent from mainstream media. The Girl 

5 Scout Research Institute survey, Girls and Body 

6 Image (2010), found that only 32 percent of Afri7 can-American girls think the fashion industry does a 

8 good job of representing people of all races and 

9 ethnicities. 

10 (12) Women and girls continue to be underrep11 resented in leadership roles in the media. Geena 

12 Davis Institute on Gender in the Media reports that 

13 less than one in three speaking characters in chil14 dren’s movies are female. One study found that only 

15 10 percent of Sports Illustrated photographs were of 

16 women during a 3-year period, according to the 

17 American Psychological Association’s Report on the 

18 Sexualization of Girls (2007). Fifty-seven percent of 

19 music videos feature a woman portrayed exclusively 

20 as a decorative, sexual object. 

21 (13) The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in 

22 the Media found that the majority of female char23 acters in children’s movies are praised for their ap24 pearance or physical beauty rather than their per25 sonality, intelligence, or other talents, and are often 


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1 short-sighted and narrowly fixated on romantic rela2 tionships that lack substantial connections or court3 ships. Girls and boys watching children’s program4 ming may vicariously learn that beauty is an essen5 tial part of being female and critical for gaining at6 tention and acceptance. 

7 (14) Girls’ aspirations are limited as they begin 

8 to associate power, acceptance, and success with 

9 physical appearance rather than academic or extra10 curricular achievements, according to the American 

11 Psychological Association. 

12 (15) Violence against women continues to be 

13 prevalent throughout media. The Parents Television 

14 Council reports that between 2004 and 2009, vio15 lence against women and teenage girls has increased 

16 on television programming at a rate of 120 percent 

17 compared to the 2 percent increase of overall vio18 lence in television content. 

19 (16) The Parents Television Council warns that 

20 by depicting violence against women with increasing 

21 frequency on television, or as a trivial, even humor22 ous matter, theses images may be contributing to an 

23 atmosphere in which young people view aggression 

24 and violence against women as normative, even ac25 ceptable. 


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1 (17) Due to the alarming side effects of youths’ 

2 exposure to negative messages about girls and 

3 women in media, Congress supports efforts to ensure 

4 youth improve their media literacy skills and con5 sume positive messages about girls and women in 

6 the media that promotes healthy and diverse body 

7 images, develops positive and active female role mod8 els, and portrays equal and healthy relationships be9 tween female and male characters. 

10 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROMOTE MEDIA LITERACY AND 

11 YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) MEDIA LITERACY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

14 grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the 

15 establishment, operation, coordination, and evalua16 tion of programs to increase the media literacy of 

17 girls and boys, including by— 

18 (A) educating youth on how to apply their 

19 critical thinking skills when consuming media 

20 images and messages; 

21 (B) promoting healthy, balanced, and posi22 tive media depictions of girls and women among 

23 youth; and 

24 (C) countering the perpetuation and dam25 aging effects of narrow, restrictive gender roles, 


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1 stereotypes, and expectations, including the 

2 sexualization of female children, adolescents, 

3 and adults. 

4 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Programs funded under this 

5 subsection may include— 

6 (A) education on analytical skills that pro7 mote autonomy and critical understanding of 

8 how girls and women are depicted in the media; 

9 (B) age-appropriate education about nega10 tive effects of the sexualization of female chil11 dren, adolescents, and adults; 

12 (C) education about how traditional, re13 strictive gender roles can be perpetuated 

14 through media; 

15 (D) education about how depictions of girls 

16 and women in the media can negatively affect 

17 youths’ body image, their choice of role models, 

18 relationships among girls, and relationships and 

19 expectations between girls and boys; 

20 (E) education on how to use media to posi21 tively influence others and to affect healthier 

22 cultural norms and practices; 

23 (F) education of parents, educators, and 

24 other adults on how depictions of girls and 

25 women in the media impact youth; or 


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1 (G) support for public or private partner2 ships that encourage businesses, advertisers, 

3 the entertainment industry, and other media 

4 content providers to promote media content 

5 that— 

6 (i) encourages healthy body images; 

7 (ii) develops positive and active female 

8 role models; and 

9 (iii) portrays equal and healthy rela10 tionships between female and male char11 acters. 

12 (3) REPORT.—The Secretary shall require each 

13 grant recipient under this subsection to submit to 

14 the Secretary a report for each grant period that— 

15 (A) describes how grant funds were used; 

16 and 

17 (B) evaluates the effectiveness of the pro18 gram funded through the grant. 

19 (b) YOUTH EMPOWERMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

21 grants to nonprofit organizations to provide for the 

22 establishment, operation, coordination, and evalua23 tion of programs to support the empowerment of 

24 girls or boys in a variety of ways, including by— 


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1 (A) encouraging youth empowerment 

2 through extracurricular activities and programs; 

3 and 

4 (B) supporting youth in a variety of ways 

5 that— 

6 (i) develop self-esteem, skills, and tal7 ents; and 

8 (ii) celebrate characteristics unrelated 

9 to sexual appeal or physical appearance. 

10 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Programs funds under this 

11 subsection may include— 

12 (A) assisting youth in critiquing and re13 jecting sexualizing and objectifying messages 

14 within society; 

15 (B) teaching youth how to create and use 

16 media that contribute to social change, espe17 cially in their communities; 

18 (C) building confidence and self-efficacy; 

19 (D) building leadership skills; or 

20 (E) facilitating connections between girls 

21 and women, and boys and men, as mentors. 

22 (3) TARGETED PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall 

23 ensure that funding under this subsection is tar24 geted towards (but need not be exclusively restricted 

25 to) projects that are— 


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1 (A) focused in urban, rural, and other un2 derserved areas; 

3 (B) gender-specific; 

4 (C) focused on a variety of populations, in5 cluding racial and ethnic minorities and rep6 resentatives of several socioeconomic status 

7 groups; 

8 (D) culturally and linguistically appro9 priate for the populations being served; and 

10 (E) developed in collaboration with the 

11 long-term stakeholders. 

12 (4) REPORT.—The Secretary shall require each 

13 grant recipient under this subsection to submit to 

14 the Secretary a report for each grant period that— 

15 (A) describes how grant funds were used; 

16 and 

17 (B) evaluates the effectiveness of the pro18 gram funded through the grant. 

19 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—In awarding grants under 

20 subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary may give priority 

21 to applicants who agree to provide matching contributions 

22 from non-Federal sources. Such contributions may be in 

23 cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including equipment, 

24 training, curricula, or a preexisting evaluation framework. 


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1 (d) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—A grant may be 

2 made under subsection (a) or (b) only if the applicant in3 volved agrees to the following: 

4 (1) Not more than 20 percent of the grant 

5 funds will be used for administration, accounting, re6 porting, and program oversight functions. 

7 (2) The grant will be used to supplement and 

8 not supplant funds from other sources for increasing 

9 the media literacy of, and empowering, youth. 

10 (3) The applicant will abide by any limitations 

11 deemed appropriate by the Secretary on any charges 

12 to individuals receiving services pursuant to the 

13 grant. As deemed appropriate by the Secretary, such 

14 limitations on charges may vary based on the finan15 cial circumstances of the individual receiving serv16 ices. 

17 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

19 Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

20 committees of the Congress a report on the grants award21 ed under subsections (a) and (b), including— 

22 (1) a description of how the grant funds were 

23 used; and 

24 (2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of such 

25 grants. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF GIRLS 

2 AND WOMEN IN THE MEDIA ON YOUTHS’ DE3 VELOPMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

5 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven6 tion and in coordination with the Director of the National 

7 Institutes of Health and the Director of the Eunice Ken8 nedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 

9 Human Development, shall review, synthesize, and con10 duct or support research on the role and impact of depic11 tions of girls and women in the media on the psychological, 

12 sexual, physical, and interpersonal development of youth 

13 in the following areas: 

14 (1) How depictions of girls and women in the 

15 media affect youth in the following areas of child16 hood development: 

17 (A) Cognitive areas such as mental health, 

18 self-esteem, learning abilities, and problem solv19 ing skills. 

20 (B) Physical areas such as diet, nutrition, 

21 exercise, body image, substance abuse, and 

22 sleeping and eating routines. 

23 (C) Social behavioral areas such as rela24 tionships with peers, interactions with parents 

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1 haviors, sexual behavior and development, and 

2 positive social behaviors. 

3 (2) How depictions of girls and women in the 

4 media affect girls’ and boys’ perceptions in the fol5 lowing areas: 

6 (A) Girls’ perceptions and attitudes about 

7 girls’ and boys’ abilities, equity, appearances, 

8 and leadership potential. 

9 (B) Boys’ perceptions and attitudes about 

10 girls’ and boys’ abilities, equity, appearances, 

11 and leadership potential. 

12 (3) How the sexualization and objectification of 

13 girls and women in the media affects girls and boys. 

14 (4) The impact of depictions of girls and 

15 women in the media on youths’ academic perform16 ance. 

17 (5) The impact that depictions of girls and 

18 women in the media has on girls and boys of diverse 

19 racial and ethnic backgrounds and developmentally 

20 across age. 

21 (6) How factors such as format, length of expo22 sure, age of youth, and nature of parental involve23 ment impact youth. 

24 (7) How food marketing and obesity campaigns 

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1 ercise, especially among eating-disordered youth pop2 ulations. 

3 (8) Additional areas as designated by the Sec4 retary. 

5 (b) NO DUPLICATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

6 that research activities under this section do not duplicate 

7 other Federal research activities. 

8 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

10 Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

11 committees of the Congress a report that— 

12 (1) synthesizes the results of— 

13 (A) research under this section; and 

14 (B) other related research by the private 

15 or public sector, including the Federal Govern16 ment; 

17 (2) disaggregates such results by gender, race, 

18 and socioeconomic background; 

19 (3) includes a compendium of key existing re20 search on the role and impact of depictions of girls 

21 and women in the media; and 

22 (4) outlines gaps in research on the role and 

23 impact of depictions of girl and women in the media 

24 and identifies areas where future research is needed. 


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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON GIRLS AND WOMEN IN 

2 THE MEDIA. 

3 (a) PURPOSES.—The Federal Communications Com4 mission shall convene a task force, to be known as the 

5 National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, 

6 to develop voluntary steps and goals for promoting healthy 

7 and positive depictions of girls and women in the media 

8 for the benefit of all youth. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall include 

10 representatives of the media industry, nonprofit and 

11 youth-serving organizations, academia and research enti12 ties, psychologists and other child health professionals, 

13 Federal agencies, and any other public or private entity 

14 designated by the Federal Communications Commission. 

15 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force shall iden16 tify— 

17 (1) concerns with how the media regulated by 

18 the Federal Communications Commission portrays 

19 girls and women; 

20 (2) the impact of negative depictions of girls 

21 and women on the development of youth; and 

22 (3) voluntary steps and goals that the public 

23 and private sectors can take to promote healthy and 

24 positive media depictions of girls and women for the 

25 benefit of all youth. 


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1 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—The Federal Communica2 tions Commission shall ensure that the Task Force holds 

3 its first meeting not later than 90 days after the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act. 

5 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

6 date of the first meeting of the Task Force, the Federal 

7 Communications Commission shall submit a report to 

8 Congress that contains— 

9 (1) the findings of the Task Force under sub10 section (c); and 

11 (2) recommendations for areas of improvement 

12 regarding depictions of girls and women in the 

13 media. 

14 SEC. 6. LIMITATION. 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 

16 Secretary may not use amounts made available under this 

17 Act to conduct or support activities or programs that are 

18 duplicative of activities or programs already being carried 

19 out through the Department of Health and Human Serv20 ices or the Department of Education. 

21 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) The term ‘‘media’’ includes television pro24 grams, motion pictures, video games, music and 

25 music videos, the Internet, social media, digital video 


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1 recorders, cell phones, magazines, newspapers, ad2 vertisements, and other emerging technologies de3 signed for communication, entertainment, education, 

4 or information. 

5 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

6 of Health and Human Services. 

7 (3) The term ‘‘sexualization’’ refers to a cir8 cumstance when— 

9 (A) a person’s value comes only from his 

10 or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclu11 sion of other characteristics; 

12 (B) a person is held to a standard that 

13 equates physical attractiveness (narrowly de14 fined) and personal value with appearing, act15 ing, and being sexy; 

16 (C) a person is sexually objectified—that 

17 is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, 

18 rather than seen as a person with the capacity 

19 for independent action and decisionmaking; or 

20 (D) sexuality is inappropriately imposed 

21 upon a person. 

22 (4) The term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the National 

23 Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media con24 vened under section 5. 


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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 For the purpose of carrying out sections 3 and 4, 

3 there is authorized to be appropriated, in addition to any 

4 other amounts available for such purpose, $40,000,000 for 

5 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015, of which— 

6 (1) $18,000,000 is for section 3(a); 

7 (2) $18,000,000 is for section 3(b); and 

8 (3) $4,000,000 is for section 4. 

Æ 


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