Are children being pushed prematurely into adulthood? SEXY INC. analyzes a worrying phenomenon: hypersexualization of our environment and its noxious effects on young people. In this illuminating inquiry by Quebec filmmaker Sophie Bissonnette, whose documentaries have won awards for three decades, psychologists, teachers and school nurses speak out and criticize a culture proving toxic to both girls and boys.

With a wealth of examples from music video, ads, fashion, and TV shows, the film gets to the nub of the problem, revealing how media and marketing target ever-younger audiences. Bissonnette’s eye-opening presentation explores the daily barrage exposing children at earlier and earlier ages to sexualized and sexist images that objectify girls while promoting stereotypes obsessed with shopping and “looking hot.” To push back, SEXY INC. offers adults helpful strategies for arming young people with critical skills and a sense of their own accomplishments and value. Girls in a peer group demonstrate insightful actions as they analyze online visuals and pop music icons.