Media and sexuality

1
Media and sexuality
2
Why the concern with sex?

• Well, pregnancy, obviously.
• Why not promote birth control, then?
• Religiously-based morality that states that sex
  is wrong.
• America is significantly more conservative in
  regard to sex than are most western countries.

3
Control of sex

• The government as well as a number of cultural
  institutions (including the Church) have taken
  steps to control sexuality in the society
• Especially teen sexuality

4
However, depictions of sexuality are quite common
in popular culture

• Content analysis states that 82 of television
  shows include sexuality of some sort
• Source Fisher et al., Sex on American Television
  

5
What is TV sex like?

• L. Monique Ward reviewed the literature and came
  up with six consistent findings.

6
Portrayals of sex are not graphic

• Televisions sexual content is not typically
  graphic, but is instead dominated by either
  verbal innuendo or less explicit physical acts of
  flirting, kissing, hugging, and erotic touching
• Primetime, especially Sitcoms verbal
  suggestiveness or innuendo
• Double-entendres
• Soap operas passionate kissing and erotic
  touching and verbal mentions of having an
  affair or going to bed

7
The bulk of sexual action and language occurs
outside marriage

• As low as 21 to as high as 241
• Soap operas 285 references to unmarried sexual
  intercourse and 12 to married sexual intercourse
• However, a norm of exclusivity was found in one
  study of soap operas that 83 of kisses occurred
  in married or exclusive committed relationship
  (no more than two partners in a year)

8
Lack of discussion and depiction of sexual
planning and consequences

• 0 to 5 of sexual acts and statements include
  mention of pregnancy or STD prevention
• Yet few sexual encounters result in pregnancy or
  disease
• Although physical consequences of sexual acts
  are seldom noted, emotional consequences (i.e.
  betrayal, pain, embarrassment) are frequently
  highlighted.

9
The nature and prevalence of sexual content vary
by genre

• Soap operas have more sexual references than
  primetime
• However, primetime has more varied sexual
  activity, more premarital sex, and greater
  explicitness
• Talk shows are teeming with very explicit
  discussion

10

• Videos
• 44-76 have sexual imagery
• More implied than overt
• 42 of rap videos featured fondling, 42 featured
  characters in hot pants, 58 featured females
  dancing sexually
• Higher levels of sex in rap, rhythm and blues and
  pop lower in country or classic rock

11
A strong difference in the degree to which
womens and mens bodies are sexualized

• Women are far more likely to be sexualized,
  objectified, used for decoration
• Revealing clothing
• Used to dance around and decorate videos
• 37 of women wore revealing clothing
• 4 of men
• R-rated movies female to male nudity 41
• Primetime sexual harrassment
• 33 demeaning (bimbo)
• 32 sexual comments, typically womens bodies
  (especially breasts)
• 13 body language (typically leering)

12
Modest to large increases in the frequency of
sexual references over the past decades

• 1.04 to 1.72 sexual incidents or references per
  hour in the 1970s to 9.66 to 15.8 times per hour
  in the 1990s

13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)