Sex and Sexuality in Media Culture - Essay Example

Given that media tends to be more fiction than fact, sex is often shown in a negative light, presenting negative images and ideas to those that are subjected to such media.

            The media, such as television shows, presents a falsified, and often brutal, view of sex. From rape to sexual abuse, television shows have shown it all. While many people are taught that sex is the representation of love in a physical form, the media reveals it to be something other than being related to love (Nikunen 108). Some television shows do not directly show the sexual act, preferring to imply it and use the camera to skirt around the scene, but the images are no less graphic. As long as these television shows make their viewer rating known prior to the start of the show, they are allowed to display graphic acts of sexual violence. Rape and sexual abuse are common occurrences in this world, but by displaying them as forms of entertainment, they are only being condoned by society.

            Sex in media has the greatest influence on adolescents. More often than not, this influence is negative, encouraging young people to engage in premarital, underage sex. Television shows like “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” glamorize teenage sex, condoning it for teenagers that watch these shows. Teenagers love the Hollywood lifestyle, and television shows that praise teenage pregnancy are not exempt. The more that a person can relate to a celebrity, the more they feel connected to a glamorized life. However, with shows like these in existence, more teenagers are becoming pregnant, and being easily influenced by the sexual promiscuity and activity displayed by the teenagers in media. Instead of being something that needs contemplation, the media has made sex seem like a hobby to becoming involved in when there is nothing else to do (Buckingham 70). Sex in media has also put pressure on young people to engage in sex before they are ready, not just influencing teenagers to have sex, but inviting them to.

            Though it is seldom considered, sex in media has the ability to be positively influential, especially to younger audiences. “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” for example, is a television show that surrounds the drastic, negative changes that befall teenage parents. Instead of glamorizing the concept of underage sex, the show reveals that sex is something that should not be engaged in until the couple is old enough to take on the responsibilities of parenthood (Paxson 113). Other television shows, as well as other forms of media, can follow in similar footsteps by showing the negative impacts of teen sex.

            Steps also need to be taken to cut down on sex in media in general. Parents, being able to decide for themselves what they are capable of watching, should still make it difficult for their children to view scenes of graphic sexuality. They can do this by blocking channels with television shows that do not have a low, child-friendly rating. The more that media continues to display images that paint sex in a negative, horrific light, the more that these types of sexual acts will be condoned, and possibly practiced, by members of society.