Woman's Hour - 17/09/2009

With Jenni Murray. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, latterly known as The Queen Mother, was born in 1900 and died in 2002. The first biography of her life was published in1927 but William Shawcross has just written a new, official biography. He interviewed members of her family, Household and staff and was given unrestricted access to her letters and diaries. He talks to Jenni Murray about delving into the Royal archives and what The Queen Mother's correspondence reveals. The mainstream marketing and representation of young girls as sexually desirable objects has been labelled a 'media juggernaut'. A new book, The Lolita Effect, argues that not only does this create a difficult climate within which to give girls a healthy introduction to sexuality, it also goes some way to normalising the global sexual abuse of children. So what evidence is there for such a troubling connection, what should we be doing about it, and are all young girls equally vulnerable to the lure of pole-dancing kits and sexy lingerie? Jenni Murray puts these questions to Gigi Durham, author of The Lolita Effect, Valerie Walkerdine, Professor in the School of Social Science at Cardiff University, and Eleanor James of the campaign group Mind the Gap. Kim Clijsters won the US Open tennis championsip watched by her 18-month-old daughter. She is one of a growing number of elite sportswomen who have combined motherhood and outstanding success. So can motherhood enhance the performance of sportswomen? Jenni discusses the issues with the England footballer Katie Chapman, who has two young sons, and Prof Ellis Cashmore from the School of Health at Stafford University.