COMM 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Sexting
12 Jun 2018
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Media Effects from Sexual Content
The Nature of Sexual Content
● Media ontent desried as seual must e learl deined
● Explicitness depends on how much is left to the imagination
● Time/CNN Poll: 30% of teenagers get most of their sex info from TV
● 30% of adolescent males listed porn as most significant source of sex info
● Porn → Graphic & explicit depictions of sexual activity
● Obscenity -- legal term (Miller v. California, 1973)
○ Material appeals to a shameful, sick, morbid, or lustful interest in sex
○ Material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
● Not all porn is considered obscene
● 5 types of porn:
1. Depictions of sexual violence like rape
2. Depictions of degrading or humiliating activities
3. Depictions of consensual, nonviolent intercourse
4. Depictions of nudity
5. Child pornography
Extent of Sexual Content in the Media
● Sex magazine circulation declining since 1990s
● Other media make sexual content even more pervasive
○ Videos
○ Cable and pay-per-view TV
○ Internet
○ Sexting
○ Talking about sex on TV
● Music videos
○ Sexual suggestive actions occur frequently
○ / onept ideos ontained an aerae o instanes o seual ontent
○ 80% of videos with violence also contain sexual content
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
● Pornography
○ 88.2% of porn videos contain physical aggression, 48.7% verbal aggression
○ More than ½ of all scenes in NC-17 films feature themes of domination/exploitation
○ Usually portray men as aggressors, females as targets
● Television
○ Sexual comments & overtures are frequent; Most occur in humorous scenes
○ Unmarried to married sex 6:1 on programs and 24:1 on soap operas
■ Normalizes casual sex for adolescents
○ Studies confirm that exposure to sex on TV encourages earlier sexual experimentation
among adolescents
● Internet
○ 2007 study by Pediatrics -- 42% of Internet users aged 10-17 exposed to porn
■ 66% accidental or unwanted
○ Studies show adolescent males are MOST likely to seek sexual content on Internet
○ Directly affects male tendency to view women as sex objects
○ Highly realistic portrayals associated with recreational attitudes toward sex
Effects of Exposure to Highly Explicit Content
● Sexual arousal
● Changes in values or attitudes
● Changes in behavior
● Aggressive impacts
● Sexual arousal
○ 70% of sexual explicit videos are viewed by males
○ Male arousal increased by violence & dehumanization
○ Less explicit material sometimes more arousing
○ Different individuals aroused by different stimuli
○ Heavy consumers become habituated, less satisfied with real sex
● Changes in values and attitudes
○ Repeated exposure→ Desensitization
○ Exposure produces significant changes in attitudes
○ Real-world partners rated lower in appearance & performance
○ Desire for marriage, monogamy, and children decreases
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Media (cid:283)ontent des(cid:283)ri(cid:282)ed as (cid:1849)se(cid:481)ual(cid:1850) must (cid:282)e (cid:283)learl(cid:482) de(cid:321)ined. Explicitness depends on how much is left to the imagination. Time/cnn poll: 30% of teenagers get most of their sex info from tv. 30% of adolescent males listed porn as most significant source of sex info. Porn graphic & explicit depictions of sexual activity. Obscenity -- legal term (miller v. california, 1973) Material appeals to a shameful, sick, morbid, or lustful interest in sex. Material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. 5 types of porn: depictions of sexual violence like rape, depictions of degrading or humiliating activities, depictions of consensual, nonviolent intercourse, depictions of nudity, child pornography. Other media make sexual content even more pervasive. (cid:1682)/(cid:1683) (cid:1849)(cid:283)on(cid:283)ept(cid:1850) (cid:475)ideos (cid:283)ontained an a(cid:475)era(cid:322)e o(cid:321) (cid:1684) instan(cid:283)es o(cid:321) se(cid:481)ual (cid:283)ontent. 80% of videos with violence also contain sexual content. 88. 2% of porn videos contain physical aggression, 48. 7% verbal aggression. More than of all scenes in nc-17 films feature themes of domination/exploitation.
