Sexuality in the Media: A Powerful Influence

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Sexuality in the MediaA Powerful
Influence An Educational Tool

• JOMC 140
• April 1, 2004
• Erika Barrera, Courtney Harris, Erin James,
• Jennie Kuhn, Antonio Tucker and Sara White

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Outline

• Introduction
• The Issues
• Our Study
• The O.C. and Talk Sex with Sue clips
• The Results
• Conclusion and Public Policy Recommendations

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Introduction

• Sex is prevalent in todays media.
• Dale Kunkels Study (1999)
• 942 programs examined
• 56 contained some sexual content
• 39 contained one or more scenes with
  substantial emphasis on sex
• Of the programs containing sex, 3.2 scenes/hour
  involved sex
• Of the programs containing sex, 54 contained
  talk about sex (3.0 scenes/hour) and
• 23 contained sexual behavior (1.4 scenes/hour)
• Responsible sexual behavior?
• Media as an educational tool

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Perceptions of Sexuality in the Media

• Primary source of sexual education
• Differing views of sexual media
• Violence vs. sexual material
• Viewers believe sexual materials contribute to
  sexual promiscuity, loss of respect for women and
  increases in acts of sexual violence(Gunter)
• Definition of a proper family

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Media Sex Degrading to Women and Misleading to
Men

• Social construction of reality
• Women subordinate, domestic, highly sexual
  beings (sex objects)
• Sexually demanding men
• Perpetuation and imitation of inappropriate
  behaviors
• Men are mislead?

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Youth and the Media

• Socialization process
• Cultivation Theory
• Social Learning Theory
• Effects on youth

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The Media and Sexually Deviant Behavior

• Original thoughts about sex
• Medias role in sexually deviant behavior
• Points of Contention
• Life imitating art or art imitating life?

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Controls on Sexual Content in Television
Programming

• Television ratings and content lettering
• V-chip
• FCC fines
• Late time slots

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Our Study

• Purpose To determine if perceptions of sex and
  the media vary when exposed to different forms of
  sexuality on TV.
• The O.C. vs. Talk Sex with Sue
• 26 participants in two research groups 11 viewed
  a clip from The O.C. and 15 viewed a clip from
  Talk Sex with Sue.
• Participants filled out a questionnaire about
  media usage, perceptions of the clip viewed and
  sexuality.
• Results were analyzed.

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Clips

• The O.C.
• Talk Sex with Sue

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O.C. vs. Talk Sex with Sue

• Survey Question TV portrays reality as it
  really is.
• Result More viewers of The O.C. clip were in
  agreement with this statement than viewers of the
  Talk Sex with Sue clip.
• Explanation The O.C. is a drama series with
  characters that act out real-life situations.
  Talk Sex with Sue is a help line.

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O.C. vs. Talk Sex with Sue

• Survey Question I believe that it is very
  important to use birth control and STD protection
  when engaging in premarital sexual activities.
• Result More viewers of the Talk Sex with Sue
  clip were in agreement with this statement than
  viewers of The O.C. clip.
• Explanation Sue is a sex educator and addresses
  issues of safe sex.
• Public Policy Implications

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O.C. vs. Talk Sex with Sue

• Survey Question What percentage of college
  students do you think is sexually active?
• Result The O.C. clip viewers believed an average
  of 80 of college students are sexually active as
  compared to the Talk Sex with Sue clip viewers
  average response of 65.
• Explanation The O.C. contains college-aged
  characters who are engaging in sexual activities
  during the show. Talk Sex with Sue is simply
  providing sexual education to callers.

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Heavy TV Viewers vs. Light TV Viewers

• Survey Question In general, I find that a large
  amount of TV shows feature sexual content.
• Result Heavy viewers were in agreement with this
  statement more than light viewers.
• Explanation This positive correlation exhibits
  the cultivation theory defined as long-term
  exposure to media content that will shape our
  view of the world. (Gerbner, 1967)

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Heavy TV Viewers vs. Light TV Viewers

• Survey Question TV portrays reality as it
  really is.
• Result Heavy viewers were in agreement with this
  statement more than light viewers.
• Explanation This positive correlation also
  exhibits the cultivation theory.
• Public Policy Implications

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Heavy TV Viewers vs. Light TV Viewers

• Survey Question I believe that a premarital
  couple can have a meaningful relationship without
  being sexually active.
• Result Light viewers were in agreement with this
  statement more than heavy viewers.
• Explanation This negative correlation shows the
  powerful influence TV has on viewers opinions of
  sex. Sexual activity is presented as the norm in
  most media.
• Public Policy Implications

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Heavy TV Viewers vs. Light TV Viewers

• Survey Question I believe that it is very
  important to use birth control and STD protection
  when engaging in premarital sexual activities.
• Result Light viewers were in agreement with this
  statement more than heavy viewers.
• Explanation This negative correlation shows the
  powerful influence TV has on viewers opinions of
  sex. The media has a tendency to portray
  characters involved in irresponsible sexual
  behavior.
• Public Policy Implications

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Heavy TV Viewers vs. Light TV Viewers

• Survey Question What percentage of college
  students do you think is sexually active?
• Result. Heavy viewers believed that a higher
  percentage of college students is sexually active
  as compared to light viewers.
• Explanation This positive correlation exhibits
  the cultivation theory.
• Public Policy Implications

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Conclusion

• Review of major issues
• Television is a key tool for sexual education
• Policy implications without hindering artistic
  license
• Public service announcements
• Clearer, more defined rating and
  lettering system
• V-chip promotion