Sex in Media

The effect of media violence and sexualized content is an prevailing issue with media content. Since I was young, I feel like this is a debate that has been on going and pervasive throughout American society. Many times, people argue that in other countries, sexualized content is normal on television. So what is the issue in America? In the video that we watched in class, we were able to examine the use of sexual content to attract viewers. I feel that most of us already know and understand this concept. What was new however, was the real world effects that these now mainstream images have on real world events.

The problem with these sexual images is that they are typically from the eyes of a male dominated media culture. Women are reduced to their body parts and become ‘sex objects,’ rather than having an opportunity to present themselves as an entire person with thoughts and feelings.

I can’t see what real value these images have to us as a society as a whole. We have taken something as natural as our own naked body, and turned it into something taboo and something to hunger for. I think that these sexual images have more of a triggering effect rather than the safety valve effect discussed in the book.

The Puerto Rican Pride Parade in 2000 was an atrocious example of this. Many of the obscene actions these men took on the women in the crowd were seen as perfectly fine in the men’s eyes. An 18-year-old who was arrested for violating women at the parade maintains that he was just “having fun.” This is not surprising when one thinks about the kind of messages that music videos and television portray.

In music videos and sexualized television content, women are objectified and are seen to have one purpose- entertaining the men. The men demean the women in any way possible, throwing money or drinks on them, ripping off their clothes, even when the women protest they are shown as secretly ‘wanting it.’

Since much of what we learn about how to conduct ourselves in polite society comes from what we see on television, why then are we surprised when young men see no problem dousing women on the street with drinks and tearing their clothes off? As the Social Learning Theory (SLT) states, having this male fantasy played out so frequently in videos can have a disturbing effect on the psyche.

We are sexual beings by nature, and it is natural to see some level of sexual content in life as well as in media. However, when the media perpetuates the same misconstrued ideals, our sexuality becomes something unnatural. In this article, they highlight the ‘hottest’ music videos. They are filled with the sexual exploitation of women and all kinds of disturbing things. Try to listen to them on mute so that you aren’t distracted by the music (which is how these images are so invasive). I also found a interesting study on the effects of sex in the media.

Becoming a more observant media consumer relies on critical examinations of media and society like this. If we don’t examine our actions and the motives behind them we cannot progress and grow.