Sexual media Any representation of sex or sexual themes Sexual behaviour (broadly defined) Suggestions of sexual behaviour Sexual talk 7
Sexual media
Any representation of sex or sexual themes
Sexual behaviour (broadly defined)
Suggestions of sexual behaviour
Sexual talk
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Sexual intercourse
Flirtatious behaviour
Talk about sex
Kissing
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Sexually explicit media
Pornography
The line between intercourse and pornography can be difficult to define!
TV
70-80% of mainstream shows contain sexual content
Much more talk about sex than depictions of behaviour
Movies
80% of movies contain sexual content
65% in rated G movies
Some evidence that amounts are decreasing
Music
40% of lyrics directed to teens contain direct/indirect references to sex
60-80% of music videos contain sexual imagery
Messages
Risk and responsibility
Youth-oriented media does not often include messages abt risks and responsibility of sexual behaviour
Most common consequences portrayed are emotional/social but very few physical consequences
Some evidence of more negative consequences for female vs. male characters, more consequences for straight vs. lgbtq characters
Heterosexual script
Gendered sexual behaviour
Men pursue sex and it is a defining aspect of masculinity
Women are pursued and are sexx objects
The impact of social media
Sexual socialization: process by which knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviours develop
Sexual development as influenced by more than biology
Sexualization
A persona's value comes from their sexual appeal/behaviour
Person is held to a standard that equates attractiveness w/ being sexy
A person is made into a thing for the sexual use of others (sexual objectification)
Sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon someone
Social cognition theory
Media consumers will observe and model sexual behaviour
Learn which behaviours are appropriate (rewarded and punished)
More likely to model like-me individuals, and individuals w/ positive traits
Cultivation theory
Long-term, repeated consumption of media depictions of sexual themes will shape attitudes and beliefs
Influenced by amount of consumption
"if everyone on TV is having sex ig everyone is having sex so I gotta have sex too"
Actually only about 50% of teens are having sex
Sexual scripts theory
Sexuality and sexual behaviour determined by "scripts" used to organize and understand sexual encounters
Stereotyped patterns of expectations
Describe and contrast theories on how and why sexual
media might impact consumers.
Summarize the research on how consuming sexual
media content may impact sexual cognitions, arousal,
and sexual behaviour in youth. Discuss the limitations
of this research.
Describe factors that have been shown to influence
the impact of sexual media content on youth
Discuss the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in
media; consider the impacts of LGBTQ+ media
portrayals to both LGBTQ and straight viewers
Media practice model
Assumes media use is active (i.e. the person chooses media for different reasons/uses)
Media user plays a role in what effect the media has
Sense of self, identity, and lived experience contributes
For adolescents, identity development is an active process
Their current sense of identity will impact the role of media, and then the media will impact identity
Research on impacts
Most research is correlational and survey-based
Most research also done with adolescents or young adults, not children
Sexual cognitions
Consuming greater amounts of sexual media correlated with:
Belief that friends are engaging in sexual behaviour
More permissiveness towards sex and positive attitudes towards sex outside of committed relationships
Expectations of fewer negative consequences associated with sex
Beliefs of women as sex objects
A lot of research is focused on negative effects of sexual media, but it can also have a positive impact on sexual knowledge
Sexual media can be a source of education
Collins et al. surveying 12-17 y/o after the episode of Friends aired
10% learned about condoms
10% talked about condom effectiveness
Viewers more likely than non-viewers to rate condoms as 95-100% effective
Sexual behaviour
Consuming greater amounts of sexual media correlated with
Greater likelihood of having engaged in sexual behaviour
More sexual partners
Having started sexual behaviour at earlier ages
Longitudinal research: does sexual media consumption predict behaviour?
7th and 8th graders' sexual media diet measured
2 years later they survey them on sexual behaviour
Pre-coital sex behaviours
Age at first sexual intercourse
WHITE KIDS
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High sexual media diet more likely to have earlier sexual debut
BLACK KIDS
Still predicts earlier sexual debuts, but not as strongly as white ppl
Having heavy sexual media diets predicts greater likelihood of engaging in sexual behaviour at earlier ages, more clearly for White vs Black youth
Research suggests that sexual media consumption is correlated with and predicts sexual behaviour
Factors that matter
Race: sexual media consumption has less (or no) impact on sexual behaviour for black vs white youth
Age: more of an impact on sexual behaviours in early adolescence vs late adolescence/young adulthood
Gender: mixed findings
Limitations
Correlational studies do not denote causation
Definitions and measurements of sexual media, sexual media consumption, sexual behaviour
Assumption of sex as negative
Research on association between media and risky sex is much less consistent (unprotected/unconsensual sex)
Focus on sexual risk, not satisfaction, pleasure, or agency
Lack of diversity and generalizability
Race, culture, sexual orientation
Beyond heterosexual representations
Heterosexual script
Gendered sexual behaviour
Men pursue sex; and sex is a defining aspect of masculinity
Women are pursued as sex objects
Queer representations in media
TV: historically very little representation, has been generally increasing (even in kid-directed programming!)
Magazines: heterosexuality is typically displayed as the standard
While LGBTQ+ individuals have been portrayed as either sexless or sex-focused, research suggests this may be shifting
In TV shows featuring LGBTQ characters, there are similar amounts of sexual talk and sexual behaviour in straight vs Queer roles
Stereotyped, one-dimensional portrayals of queer characters historically observed
Humour (funny gay guy)
Defined by sexual orientation; coming out is their major event
Portrayals are expanding
Gay-Lesbian oriented media: media designed and marketed specifically for LGBTQ audiences
Queer representations in media
Historically little representations and stereotyped representations
Over last 10-20 years, it has generally been increasing w/ more varied representation
Some signs of decreased representation
Impact of queer representation on consumers
On queer consumers
Often report getting information about sex and sexuality from media
Identify with media representations
Validating portrayals (not stereotyped, complex characters) described by queer ppl as a source of support, increasing commitment to sexual identity, associated w/ improved wellbeing
Demeaning portrayals described as reinforcing heteronormative standards
On straight consumers
May be linked to more accepting views of same-sex relationships
Intergroup contact theory: stereotyping and discrimination can be reduced when individuals from different social groups have contact
Parasocial contact hypothesis: media consumers can form relationships with media characters, which may have similar effects on stereotyping and discrimination
Other
Studied focused on young adults, lack of research on children and adolescents
Lacking research in ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity, etc
Sexually explicit media (SEM)
Direct depictions of sexual activities
Genitals are unconcealed
Penetration (oral, vaginal, anal) may be visible
Intention to arouse
Sexually explicit media and youth
Sizable proportions of youth access or are exposed to porn
Huge range of prevalence (7-98%)
Intentional vs. unintentional exposure
Intentional: 7-59%
Unintentional: 19-84%
More prevalent for:
Men/boys
Pubertally more advanced
Ppl high in sensation seeking
Weak or troubled family relationships
Negative impacts on youth
More permissive sexual attitudes
Gender-stereotyped sexual beliefs
Greater likelihood of sexual behaviour and casual sex
Mixed evidence: risky sex, sexual dysfunction
Sexual aggression (particularly true for ppl who consume violent porn)
Sexual victimization (particularly for girls)
Porn Addiction?
No official definition or diagnosis
Individuals report feeling addicted to porn
Feeling out of control or compulsive in use
Associated negative consequences w/ problematic use (relationship challenges, distress)
11% of men, 3% of women
Debate over whether perceived porn addiction shares similar mechanisms w/ other dependencies
High use not always found to be problematic use
Mixed data on whether differing neural activity to porn
Mixed data on whether increased need for more/more extreme content over time (tolerance)
Experiences of porn addiction might stem from different pathways (3rd variable)
Positive impacts on youth
Recognizing/confirming sexual identity
Porn as a source of info/education about sex?
Mixed evidence: sexual satisfaction
Rothman et al.
Formal sex education is inconsistent and often poor
Questions and concerns have been raised about possibility of youth turning to porn to learn about sex
Do youth commonly view porn as a helpful source of information?
Surveyed about "thinking about the past year, where have you learned the most helpful information on how to have sex"
14-17 and 18-24 y/o
Adolescents learn from Parents and friends
Young adults learn primarily from Porn (also partner)
Teens did not frequently report porn as the most helpful source of info on sex, but young adults most frequently named porn
More likely for those who are male, Black, from middle-high income families, and/or had previously masturbate
Least likely for female and bisexual
Messy parts of research
Methodological limitations (accurate self reports??)
Studies often conflicting; depends on definitions of SEM, methodologies used
Differences across pornography
Differences across individuals
Biases
Cultural
Heteronormativity/cisnormativity
Participants