ABSTRACT
Children’s sexuality is a contested topic in public, policy, and academic debate. Since the diffusion and increasing popularity of digital and online media, fears about children’s experiences with sex-related representations and information have mushroomed, allowing space for assumptions about children being at risk from exposure or engagement with such information. This chapter reflects critically upon the effects and communication risk approaches to children’s sexualisation, and their experiences with sexual content and sexting. It argues for the adoption of cultural studies perspectives that place the debate within its social and historical context and nuanced understandings of children’s sexuality.
