Unit 6 Flashcards
What is the general perceptions of sexual media & youth?
-sexual media is bad for youth
What is sexual media?
- broad -any representation of sex or sexual themes
- sexual behaviour
- suggestions of ^
- sexual talk
What is wrong with our definitions of sexual behaviour?
- very broad -like innuendos or hand holding or kissing could all count
- it differs depending on the study - no consistency
What is a better concept to define sexual content?
- continuum
- flirty/talking on one end & sexually explicit media on the other
- but where is the line between sexual intercourse & sexually explicit? -hard to find
How much sexual content do teens consume in TV?
- 70-80% of mainstream contains sexual content (similar for teen content, but less in tween)
- (sexual talk more common) -only 11% demonstrate sex intercourse
What genres of TV have higher sexual content? Which has lower?
Higher:
-dramas/sitcoms
Lower:
-reality and children’s cartoons (check reality?/)
How much sexual content in movies?
80% of movies has sexual content
-65% of G (but that includes kissing & hand holding)
How much sexual content in music?
- 40% of lyrics directed to teens have it
- 60-80% of music videos contain sexual imagery
What messages are (and are not) conveyed w/ sexual content in media?
- risks & responsibility (youth often doesn’t include ^)
- heterosexual script
- messages that sexual behaviour is slightly more associated w/ negative consequences (emotionally)
What can be 2 impacts of sexual media?
- sexual socialization
- sexualization
What is sexual socialization?
- process by which our sexual knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviours develop
- influenced by more than biology -it’s peers, parents, culture, media
- third-person effect
What is sexualization? (& the 4 criteria)
- making something that isn’t sexual into something that is
- Am Psyc Assoc
- 1) a person’s value comes from sexual appeal/behaviour
- 2) held to standard that attractiveness = sexy
- 3) person made into a ‘thing’ for sexual use - sexual objectification
- 4) sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon someone (common w/ youth)
- diff from self-motivated
What is third-person effects w/ sexual media?
-teens think that media is impacts sexual development for others but not themselves
List the Theories that can be used for sexual media?
1) Social Cognition Theory
2) Cultivation Theory
3) Sexual Scripts Theory
4) Media Practice Model
How does Social Cognition theory relate to sexual media?
- social learning -Bandura
- media consumers will observe and model sexual behaviour -learn which are appropriate -rewarded vs. punished
- differences in who & what we model (more likely to model someone similar to us & who has other positive traits)
How does Cultivation Theory relate to sexual media?
- long-term consumption -repeated amount will shape our beliefs or attitudes
- heavy consumption more likely to be shaped
- see it more as reality -oh everyone’s having sex at 16 when only half are
How does Sexual Scripts Theory relate to sexual media?
- sexuality & sexual behaviour determined by scripts used to organize & understand sexual encounters
- stereotyped patterns of expectations
- cultural scenarios, interpersonal scripts, intrapsychic scripts
What are the 3 factors that influence our scripts? (& describe)
1) cultural scenarios
- norms/values -ex. men want sex, women want love -how expected to behave -(can diverge) -affect behaviour through interpersonal
2) interpersonal
- how we believe we should act -how I am going to act
3) intrapsychic scripts
- own individual motivations - personal behaviours
* all work together
What is Media Practice Model? & how does it differ?
- other theories are general -this is individualized -why we select and engage matters -media use is active
- your sense of self, identity & lived experience contributes
- teens - identity development is active -media impacts identity, identity impacts media
- choose media that looks like us -believable -relevant -level of engagements, whether mimic or not
- ** see slide image
Does sexual content impact us?
- there is reason to think so
- but research is limited
Why is sexual research hard to do?
- ethics
- how measuring sexual behaviours?
- most correlational & survey based
- age - not a lot w/ younger
What is sexual cognitions?
- how you think about sex
- greater # correlated w/ more permissive attitudes, assumptions, thought of fewer consequences, sexualization beliefs
- many research focuses on negative effects of sexual thoughts/content
- but can have positive effect on learning
What are teens/YA who consume greater amount of sexual media correlated w/ (cognition-wise)?
-more permissive attitudes, more accepting, more positive towards it
-think more friends are engaging in it
-think of fewer neg consequences
-belief of women as sex objects
(-differences in sexual beliefs)
What did the Friends study find?
- episode where Rachel gets pregnant -tells Ross condoms are 100% effective -he’s shocked -teen viewers after episode aired -12-17yr olds -10% said they learned, 10% talked to an adult about condom use -viewers were more likely to rate condoms effectively
- (a lot out of pop)
How does consuming more correlate w/ sexual behaviour? Limitations?
-greater likelihood of engaging in sex behave
-more sex partners
-starting sex behav earlier (age)
(-correlational, not causation -3rd variable?
-longitudinal can predict?)
What is a longitudinal study on sexual media and sexual behaviours? (the name)
-Brown et al
Summarize Brown
- if exposed early on -predict differences in sex behav?
- included race
- 1017 -7 & 8th graders North Carolina -black & white
- survey on sex media diet (movies, TV, Music, & Mags) -(not social media or internet)
- then followed up 2yrs later -those w/ higher diet were 2.2x more likely to engage in more sex behavs & earlier -range of behavs (pre-coital & age at first sexual intercourse)
- white youth -high consumption -higher likelihood of engaging in sex intercourse (& earlier) consistent pattern
- black youth - not consistent/significant -no diff btw medium or high
- having a heavy sexual media diet in preteen yrs predicts likelihood of engaging in sex behav (& earlier) for white youth
- limitations = self-report -(gender diff in reporting) -could be other factors for black youth -hard to measure pubertal development -not nationally representative -bias (same area, similar thoughts)
- didn’t analyze internet
- **
Overall what does research find when it comes to sexual media?
-sexual media consumption is correlated w/ & predicts sexual behaviour -but there are other factors
What are other factors that might influence sexual media diet relating to sexual behaviour?
- race -higher baseline? less representation, social factors, family, gender w/in race (black women hypersexualized), comfort level in self-reporting (w/ white researcher)
- gender -mixed findings
- age -more impact on sex behav in early adolescence than later
- how we consume/why -more influence when view realistic, or for active motivations
Why be concerned w/ sexual media impacting teens?
- could increase likelihood of risky behaviour
- (sex is normal part of development, not a negative -but risky behav is)
- Mixed findings on if impacts risky behaviour!
is there a correlation btw sexual media diet & STIs & unprotected sex?
- mixed findings -less consistent
- can’t concretely say yes
Limitations in research on sexual media?
- correlational
- how do we define sex media & consumption?
- focus on sexual risks, not satisfaction
- lack of diversity (race, culture, orientation/identity)
LGBTQIA+ representations in TV?
- until 70s/80s -no rep -now steadily increasing
- 2020 -10% (yr before was 8%) of characters on prime time identified as lgbtq+
- also in kid programming
- before portrayed as sexless (ex. modern fam) or hypersexualized -now have similar amount of sex talk/behav as others
- often 1D -the funny one or they’re defined by sexual orientation
LGBTQIA+ representations in print media?
-magazines typically heterosexuality -implicit & explicit -in writing
How do LGBTQIA+ individuals use sexual media? Impact of LGBTQ+ representations?
- source of learning
- get info about sex
- 70% use media as main source of info
- identification
- vary depending on portrayal itself -can be validating (successful, depth, support, increased commitment w/ sexual identity, improved well being for queer youth)
- but can also be demeaning, negative, reinforcing heteronormative script)
What is impact of queer representations on straight/non-queer?
-seeing reps linked w/ more accepting views
Describe the study about queer characters on nonqueer viewers
- ranked individuals exposure to gay characters -correlated w/ endorsement of gay equality
- does vary depending on in person queer contact (if have few, impact is stronger)
- but generally, for all, more exposure is linked w/ increase
- *might differ depending on sex or religion or age
What is intergroup contact theory?
-stereotyping and discrimination can be reduced when individuals from diff social groups have contact -face-to-face
What is parasocial contact hypothesis?
media consumers can form relationships w/ media characters, which may have similar effects on stereotyping and discrimination as intergroup contact theory
-(*parasocial contact hypothesis comes from intergroup contact theory)
Is there enough LGBTQIA+ & sexual media research?
- no
- most focused on young adults (not children or adolescents)
- need more on individual factors like ethnicity, culture, gender, etc
How do we distinguish pornography from other sexually explicit material?
- direct depictions of sexual activities
- genitals are unconcealed -penetration may be visible -intended to arouse -distinct from nudity (vs. nude but not arousal or arousal but doesn’t show stuff)
- but define arousal -is that part of entertainment?
Why might the impacts of sexually-explicit media be distinct?
- different reasons for consuming?
- emotions left out?
- consuming accidentally, intentionally?
- context?
- real or idealized?
- think of it as fictional?
- definition might imply the effects would be different
What might be another difference in how we draw the line between explicit and porn?
- cultural differences
- most research comes from N.Am. & Netherlands (more lax) -leaves out rest of world
- laws are diff
- hard to compare cross-culturally
What % of teens are exposed to porn? Is it used?
- 7-98% exposed (but how being measured?)
- quite well used
Teen intentional exposure to porn? %
7-59%
Teen unintentional exposure to porn? %
19-84%
more common to encounter unintentionally than intentionally
What individual factors make it more prevalent for a teen to encounter porn?
- men/boys -search it more & repeat
- pubertally more advanced
- individuals high in sensation seeking
- weak or troubled family relationships
Is impact of porn good or bad?
- can be both
- most research focuses on negative (or ‘sex is bad’)
What are the negative impacts of porn?
- correlational
- permissive attitudes, casual sex, likelihood of engaging
- mixed about increase likelihood of risky sex
- linked w/ gender-stereotyped sexual beliefs
- correlated w/ more sexual aggression
- more sexual victimization (particularly girls more likely to be)
What are the positive impacts of porn?
- source of info (but also how is the sex being presented? stereotyped/ Accurate?) -particulalru for queer youth
- (otherwise learn from parents (common for girls), peers (might not be accurate), also edu lacking in schools & for queer youth)
- consumption of porn linked w/ more accurate knowledge
- recognizing and confirming sexual identity
- mixed: consuming porn linked/ higher sexual satisfaction (gender, orientation, context)
So overall what does the research say about porn?
- research is messy & complicated -effects not always consistent
- can’t make causal conclusions
- differences in porn
- big individual differences (emotional states)
- subjective to biases (cultures, participants, ie who are the ppl who sign up?)
What is one of the biggest predictors for teen to engage in sex?
-if they think their friends are having sex
If teen dramas/TV show negative or positive consequences what are they most likely to be?
emotional or social
Is sexual behaviour more associated w/ positive or negative outcomes?
-slightly more negative
What is the heterosexual script?
- gendered sexual behaviour
- men pursue sex; sex as a defining aspect of masculinity
- women are pursued; women as sex objects
