body image and sexual development. While there is a link between sexualizing content and adverse outcomes such as self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, an interest in sexual media content is a normal part of healthy sexual development during the preteen years." As young women watch these shows and movies, they start to worry more about their body image than anything. Some will go as far as even starving themselves to get the right image as the women they see on tv." To what extent do sexual content, appearance-related content, sexual objectification, and objectification occur in Flemish preteens’ favorite TV shows? And how are these different types of content related to gender roles? Seeking to address these questions, this article reports on a quantitative content analysis of 24 episodes from five TV shows popular among Flemish preteens." Objectification of women in the media is transmitted verbally and nonverbally, as well as directly and indirectly. Objectification is not only visual, but can also be expressed subtly by commenting on women's appearance in a humorous way, making jokes and gags, and using double meanings. To advocate against the objectification of women in the media, some programs are implementing projects on this issue. For instance, some trainings and handbooks are being developed by International organizations and nonprofit organizations for media professionals to improve the gender-sensitivity of media representations. Some shows focused entirely on successful professional women and their "quests for sex, pleasure and romantic love," such as Ally McBeal (1997–2002) and Sex and the City (1998–2004). Even if the main character in Ally McBeal was portrayed as desperate to find a husband, the show had other non-stereotypical female characters and "sided with the women." Sex and the City had assertive female protagonists, especially in matters of sex, and did not punish them for wanting pleasure, knowing how to get it, and being determined to do so, which can be seen especially in the case of Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall. Another female icon from the 1990s is Buffy Summers, the title character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who was portrayed as powerful, heroic, confident, and assertive, characteristics that were generally ascribed to male characters. In her 1973 article "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," feminist film critic Laura Mulvey coined the term male-gaze to describe the way that women in film serve as projections of male fantasies. Domestication Women are often portrayed in traditional roles