2016年经济学人 女孩成长 一场艰险的旅行(上)

（单词翻译）

Girls and sex

女孩与性

Two steps forward, one back

向前两步，后退一步

For girls, growing up is a perilous¹ journey

对女孩来说，成长是一场艰险的旅行

FOR tips on taking a selfie, talk to teenage girls. Many know that your “good” side is the one without your parting, and that it is slimming to pose with a hand on hip² and legs “bevelled” (one straight, the other bent). Not quite pleased with the results? Simply download one of many “selfie surgery apps” to edit blemishes³, whiten teeth and shrink noses.

想知道自拍的小贴士的就去问那些少女吧。很多人都明白好看的自拍照就是不露出身体的其他部位，或者一只手放在臀部，两条腿倾斜（一条伸直，另一条弯曲）。如果你对这个拍摄结果仍不满意的话，很简单，在众多自拍手机软件中下载一个可以遮瑕祛斑、美白牙齿和挺鼻功能的app即可。

Adolescents have always been keenly aware of how they are seen by their peers. But social media amplify⁴ this self-consciousness. Now that nearly three-quarters of American teens have access to a smartphone, many of them while away their days broadcasting their thoughts, photos and lapses⁵ in judgment⁶ for immediate⁷ praise or scorn from hundreds of “friends”. Being a teenager was never easy, but this is the first time your charm, looks or popularity have been so readily quantifiable, and your mistakes so easy for others to see. Just how this technological⁸ revolution affects young people—and particularly young women—is the subject of two fascinating new American books.

青少年总是能够很敏锐地意识到他们的同龄人是如何评价自己的。但是社交媒体将这种自我意识放大了。现在近四分之三的美国青少年都在使用智能手机。很多人会上传他们的想法，照片来消磨度日，为了成百的朋友的点赞或嘲笑而陷入别人的评价中。作为青少年并不容易，这是你的魅力、外貌和知名度第一次如此容易量化，同时你的错误也很容易被他人看到。技术变革如何影响年轻人，尤其是年轻女性，是美国两本极具吸引力的新书主题。

For many girls, the constant seeking of “likes” and attention on social media can “feel like being a contestant⁹ in a never-ending beauty pageant”, writes Nancy Jo Sales in “American Girls”, a thoroughly¹⁰ researched if sprawling¹¹ book. In this image-saturated environment, comments on girls' photos tend to focus disproportionately on looks, bullying¹² is common and anxieties about female rivals are rife¹³. In interviews, girls complain of how hard it is to appear “hot” but not “slutty”, sexually confident but not “thirsty” (ie, desperate). That young women often aspire¹⁴ to be titillating¹⁵ should not be surprising given that the most successful female celebrities¹⁶ often present themselves as eye-candy for the male gaze. “Everybody wants to take a selfie as good as the Kardashians',” says Maggie, a 13-year-old.

南希在《美国女孩》一书（一本体系庞大研究彻底的书）中写道，对于很多女孩来说，在社交媒体上持续不断地追求“点赞”和被关注感觉像是在参加一个永无止境的选美比赛。在这个图片饱和的时代，对女孩照片的评论过多地集中在长相上，欺凌最常见不过了，女性之间的竞争焦虑盛行。在采访中，女孩们抱怨要做到看起来火热而不淫荡，在两性方面自信而不显得饥渴。年轻女性经常渴望成为撩人一方，这不足为奇，因为最成功的的女明星往往会展现自己的魅力，从而让男性大饱眼福。13岁的玛吉说每个人都想要像卡戴珊一样有好看的自拍照。

Such self-objectification comes at a cost. A review of studies from 12 industrialised countries found that adolescent girls around the world are increasingly depressed¹⁷ and anxious about their weight and appearance.

如此的自我人格物化需要付出一定的代价。一项关于12个工业化国家的研究回顾表明，全世界青春期的女生对她们的体重外貌感到越来越沮丧和焦虑。