Final Presentation: Images portraying the ideal loss of virginity

Popular television images viewed by adolescent audiences:

Mediated examples are shown portraying the ideal ‘scene’ where adolescents lose their virginity.

Because our topic requires you to step back a few years in your past; we'd like to invite you to take the opportunity to reflect back to your high school days and ask yourself, "What do I remember being the ideal approach to losing my virginity?" Back in high school we spent a lot of time in front of the TV, my friends and I watched as our favorite characters from The OC and One Tree Hill experimented with their sexuality and lost their V-cards. I remember watching and thinking, "No way what am I gonna do?"

The OC: Seth & Summer

One Tree Hill:

Nathan & Haley

Our blog is based on popular TV programs shown today and from our past. We will be exploring the ways in which adolescent audiences are watching their favorite characters are having sex and losing their virginity in unrealistic scenarios. Today, as mentioned before in class, Gossip Girl is a popular show viewed by teens. This image is from a scene where Blair loses her virginity in order to save her relationship. This is a common scene shown on TV, for the female character to feel obligated to have sex in order to keep or please her man. For the remainder of our blog Liz and I will be referring back to these artifacts in order to apply important concepts learned from our readings.

Gossip Girl: Chuck & Blair

This last artifact is similar to the previous, although lacking a sexual act between a male and female character. Instead, in this clip of the Secret Life of an American Teenager, we will see how a teen's life is heavily influenced by those of their peers and other outside sources, including the media. Grace, a prude and prideful character is shown calling a friend for advice for her "big night." Also known as, her first time having sex. Grace has chosen to engage in sex with a not-so-nice character and ultimately her friend is disappointed. This artifact reinstates the idea that adolescents are at huge risk for being influenced in negative ways due to their vulnerable state. We believe that teens not only get advice and ideas no sex from their friends but also from the media, including popular teen dramas.

Watch video here: Secret Life of an American Teenager: Grace & Jack

Important concepts from readings include but are not limited to:

Gender roles:

Within these images there are societal norms displayed, these norms include gender roles. The gender roles assume the girls to be feminized and the boys to be masculine, even at such a young age. Gender roles begin to be assumed even as early as in the womb, considering the pink vs. blue arrangements per gender. The specific gender roles assume in these images are merely an additional reminder to how young boys and girls ought to be. These images portray a perception of personal aspects that genders should abide to, including personal characteristics, behaviors and relationships.

The environments in which these characters are displayed are unrealistic. The environments are idealized ways of life and as a teenager, there are many pressures encouraging conformance. The characters on popular teenage television shows introduce many teens to boundary pushing elements. More specifically, teens are being introduced to how they should act individually, but also within relationships. As teens grow, their hormones and curious minds heighten. The TV industry creates hyper-masculine and feminine roles to show to these vulnerable teens.

While watching these television programs, teens are likely to idolize at least one of the characters. That is, wishing to be like one of the characters or aspiring their lifestyle. In these images, it is likely a teen will wish for the perfect body, wealth and popularity or promiscuity. Examples of gender roles from our images include for females; seductress, dependent, passive, powerless and nymphomaniac. For males, they are in control, professional, sex crazed and aggressive. Many of these characteristics are meant to be shown in adult roles but instead they’re being taken on by teenage characters.

Sexual Scripts:

Our images not only display examples of society inspired gender roles, but also sexual scripts. Sexual scripts are a concept explained by Gail Markle in the “Can women have sex like a man? Sexual Scripts in Sex & The City” article. The concept of sexual scripts challenges the ideas of sexual desires and behaviors of men and women. Markle explains these scripts as how individuals learned sexuality from messages from our cultures that define sex and sex behaviors and how to recognize sexual situations. The teens are using these sexual scripts to identify how to act sexually and learn what arouses them. From sexual scripts is also derived the sexual script theory. Markle compares this theory to the symbolic interactionist perspective as well as to Freud’s ideas of symbolic material within the psyche.

Within the sexual script theory there are several assumptions. Sexual patterns are introduced and expressed by assuming gender roles in the media. Also, depending on the culture, the meaning of sex differs. People can acquire these definitions and patterns of sexual conduct through life by biological instincts as well as media influence. People can also make adaptations to sexual scripts in order for them to meet their individual needs.

More importantly than theory are the three levels of sexual scripts. The three levels are 1) cultural scenarios 2)interpersonal scripts 3) intrapsychic scripts. Cultural scenarios can be explained as societal norms and narratives that are used as guidelines for sexual conduct. Second, interpersonal scripts can be explained as how cultural scenarios turn into scripts for certain circumstances. Third, intrapsychic scripts are sexual fantasies, objects and behaviors that create sexual arousal. Cultural scenarios are most definitely portrayed in our images but also are interpersonal scripts. These scripts tend to vary per person based on individual experiences and preferences.

Popular teenage media reinforces societal norms/ expectations:

Janna Kim, in her “From sex to sexuality: Exposing the Script on Primetime Network” says that television provides teens with info guiding girls and boys how to act, feel, think, and behave in romantic relationships. In these specific television series, Lauren and I looked at the specifics of exactly how these shows were telling teens to act.

Teen Girl: What do I look like and who do I sleep with?

o I want to be beautiful to western societal constructed views.

o I want to look older than I am.

o I want to dress as though I am affluent.

o I wear clothing that shows off my womanly figures so that I am easy to objectify so that men want me.

o The more I appear to want sex, the more the boys will pay attention to me.

Teen Boy: What do I look like and who do I sleep with?

o Janna Kim talks about how male characters most often play heterosexual script by being active and aggressive in pursuing sex.

o The male is either a jock or has other talents or is in the level of power in some way such as teacher or some other power position.

o Wear either my letterman’s jacket or classy clothing showing that I have money and can take care of you.

o I sleep with girls who are willing to please my sexual needs and that show that they want and crave sex.

o A girl who fits the western stereotypical beauty (thin and appear to have money)

We looked at how these artifacts portray sexual content and what counts as sex in these shows and what do they show losing your virginity to look like? “A Genealogy of the Genital Kiss: Oral Sex in the Twentieth Century” by Hunt and Curtis discuss the idea that the sexual behavior of youth causes anxiety for many and most people, and these individuals in these shows are supposed to be teens. But if you take a look at all of these shows that we have selected as our artifacts, and most all of the programs on television in general, these individuals who are supposed to be teens and in high school seem much too old to be in high school, normalizing the sexual behavior that goes on in a sense, and making it okay and appropriate.

Although these artifacts are all high school aged teens, the writing by Dempsey and Reichert describes in their “portrayal of married sex in the movies,” that the most common passionate behavior between couples in television and film is passionate kissing. This is shown in every single one of these artifacts, even in the still photos. By doing this, the producers are able to imply that sexual content is about to happen, and when the scene fades out, we can be certain that it did.

Conclusion:

When we began our research for this topic we found examples of unrealistic sex portrayals in popular shows such as 90210 from the 90s. Meaning that if these ideals of sexual content were being shown to teens then and when we were in high school, as well as today then they are only going to become more explicit.

1990s: 90210

These explicit portrayals are already being shown today. The popular teen drama, Teen Mom is an example of how teen sex is becoming more normalized. These moms were given fame in return for giving up their teenage lives. This show ultimately gives an unrealistic outcome of the consequences of what it is to become a teen mom. Liz and I believe that as teens continue to watch popular TV shows showing the ideal "scene" where adolescents ought to lose their virginity; then the ratings will continue to rise as teens consume images reflecting false ideals of teenage sexuality.

Today: Teen Mom

Works Cited:

Videos courtesy of Youtube

Images courtesy of The CW and ABC Family

Dempsey, J.M., & Reichert, T. (2000). Portrayal of married sex in the movies. Sexuality & Culture, 4(3), 21-37.

Hunt, A. & Curtis, B. (2006). A genealogy of the genital kiss: Oral sex in the twentieth century. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 15(2), 69-83.

Kim, J., Sorsoli, C.L., et. al. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.

Markle, G. (2008). “Can women have sex like a man?”: Sexual Scripts in Sex and the City. Sexuality & Culture, 12, 45-57.

Week 9: Response to Peer's Blog

This week instead of finding mediated examples of sexualized images, I was asked to review a peer's blog. My classmates have also been creating sexual imagery blogs over the past 9 weeks. We are nearing the end of the term and I will be presenting on topics that have appeared throughout the course. My partner, Liz and I have yet to choose a topic but first, I was asked to critique her blog.

You can find Liz's blog here.

Photo courtesy Liz's Sex & Media Blog

After reviewing Liz's blog I found that we both have similar writing styles. I was really impressed with how her writing and style has improved from the first week she posted up to Week 8. Looking at her first post, Liz focused much of her critique on the week's artifacts and what they portray more than how they can be applied to the week's theme. Four out of the five artifacts were television images, later through the term she began to use a variety of mediums, including advertisements, music, etc. As I look through her weekly postings I recognize her Week 5 posting to be the best.

Her Week 5 post on Examples of socially "appropriate" sex in the media is creative and written extremely well. I found this blog to be her best written because she stayed on topic, relating all examples to the readings and theme of the week. She focused a lot of her posting on the article "Twenty-one Moves Guaranteed to Make his Thighs go up in Flames: Depictions of "Great Sex" in Popular Magazines" by Menard and Kleinplatz. Liz used Cosmo and print advertisement/images as a media example which was specifically appropriate for this reading. According to the authors, often within popular magazines sexual content can be found in 3 sources: 1. advertisements 2. photographic layouts and 3. editorial content. This content in women's magazines is far different from that seen in men's magazines. Within a men's magazine, the sexual content tends to be more hardcore. While, there are gender stereotyping images as well as narrow sexual scripts, there are also infinite number of images of women portrayed as sexual objects.

Her specific examples also display the 3 themes within sexual content of women's magazines. One theme displays "great sex" as being intimate, in a long term relationship, heterosexual and caring. According to the Cosmo cover it shows a second theme, sexual techniques can be taught. Third, "great sex" is chemical and beyond our own control. Meaning that there are ways women can be taught to perform to satisfy their man's needs.

Surprisingly enough, men's and women's magazines have more similarities than differences. Each gendered magazines display in magazines advice on how to have "great sex" in 5 different categories.

1. technical/mechanical/physical factors: using new techniques, improving health, (diet and exercise) how to kiss, appropriate duration of sex. This is very common in women's self-help and beauty magazines.

2. variety: get ideas from porn. Sexual experimentation, using props, sex in different places, “kinky” play, “rough” female initiated sex. These also show women how to have confidence, particularly in how to talk dirty and what to wear in bed.

3. relationship factors: have a strong emotional and physical connection, communication but verbal and nonverbal very important for “great sex”, touch more often and look into each other’s eyes. I would suggest that this theme would be talked about more in a woman's magazine but I would argue that men may be more oblivious to this theme.

4. personal factors: improve masturbation. Again, self-help magazines popularly display this theme.

5. pre-sex preparation: self prep and environment prep (candles).

Works Cited:

Menard, D. & Kleinplatz, P. (2007). Twenty-one moves guaranteed to make his thighs go up in flames: Depictions of “great sex” in popular magazines. Sexuality & Culture, 12, 1-20.

As for Liz's blog she did an excellent job of using a variety of mediums. She used examples from TV, film, magazine and product placement/advertisement. Each example was different from each other and appropriate for the topic.

First, she began her post by discussing how sex is portrayed in the media as socially appropriate or acceptable. I agree with her perspective on sex most commonly being displayed as missionary between a man and woman and that are of a young age. Her examples she chose fit this description well. Her example of the man being seduced by the woman on the bed (Artifact 3) is very stereotypical. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen an image exactly like this. It is the woman performing for the man and the man graciously accepting the sexual act. Liz does a great job of explaining how this is a common perspective in our society and within the media.

She further goes on to explain that the ideal beauty of Western society is also displayed in sexual context of the media. Her example of Cosmopolitan I agree fits for this extreme ideal. I often see "ways to have sex and loose weight", "positions that help you burn calories" all of these seem to attract the younger female audience. Liz was able to connect the idea of heterosexual and beautiful sex as a theme for this weeks topic. Her perspective on what we had learned from Menard and Kleinplatz that week was very eye opening. I enjoyed her writing style because she was able to connect all of the images rather than describing each image individually.

After her Week 5 posting I recognize Liz's writing and ability to connect course concepts to her sexual imagery blog, continuing to improve. I believe that Liz has done an exceptional job of meeting the assignment requirements and educating her audience with concepts learned in class. Great job Liz!!

Week 8: Sexualized minorities, "sexual otherness" and heterosexism in media

This week, our class on Monday was cancelled. Therefore this blog post is based on readings assigned this week and by conducting individual research. This week we were to read articles by J. Kim, T. Jenkins and J. Dennis, each article discussing heterosexuality as the "norm" in the media. Each author explored how when same-sex desire is shown in the media it is going against social norms. Specifically, this idea is shown on primetime network TV, recent film and cartoons. As a heterosexual being I have experienced the societal norm as a relationship between a man and a woman. I would agree with the authors that my first response to homosexual content is "this is weird or not normal." Oftentimes I feel uncomfortable when viewing homosexual content, other times I never notice the content as having homosexual tendencies.

Below, I will demonstrate how heterosexual content vs. homosexual content is displayed in the media and how I (and possibly our society) responds to them differently.

Heterosexual: (The following responses are from J. Kim's article; "From Sex to Sexuality: Exposing Heterosexual Script on Primetime Network TV").

- Sexual messages are gendered

- Looking at heterosexual content comes from a feminist perspective

- Depictions of "normal" messages are between men and women

- The heterosexual script: actively pursuing sex

- Female characters are willingly objectifying themselves and being judged based off their sexual conduct

Homosexual: (The following responses are from J. Dennis' article; "Signifying Same-Sex Desire in TV Cartoons").

- Examples of homosexual relationships: Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, companions and domestic partners. Also, Ren and Stimpy, both male characters although one portrays female characteristics often. Also, Spongebob and Patrick, sleepovers together as well as tickle fights. Another relationship would be Mickey Mouse and Goofy, when together it's almost as if Minnie is always absent.

- Erotic desire between characters

- 1970s sparked visibility of gay identities within society and on TV

- 1080s relationships shown as aggressively heterosexual

The above relationships between cartoon characters were a shock to me. This is because until this week I hadn't observed these characters and the extent of their relationships. Before analyzing the characters I thought of them as only best friends, not potential partners or lovers. For the remainder of my post I will continue to analyze characters shown within the media, including film, advertisements, music and TV.

David Bowie "Queen Bitch"

(An example of same-sex desire)

I'm up on the eleventh floor

And I'm watching the cruisers below

He's down on the street

And he's trying hard

to pull sister Flo

My heart's in the basement

My weekend's at an all time low

'Cause she's hoping to score

So I can't see her

letting him go

Walk out of her heart

Walk out of her mind

[CHORUS]

She's so swishy in her satin and tat

In her frock coat

and bipperty-bopperty hat

Oh God, I could do better than that

She's an old-time ambassador

Of sweet talking, night walking games

And she's known in the darkest clubs

For pushing ahead of the dames

If she says she can do it

Then she can do it,

she don't make false claims

But she's a Queen,

and such are queens

That your laughter

is sucked in their brains

Now she's leading him on

And she'll lay him right down

But it could have been me

Yes, it could have been me

Why didn't I say,

why didn't I say, no, no, no

[CHORUS]

So I lay down a while

And I gaze at my hotel wall

Oh the cot is so cold

It don't feel like no bed at all

Yeah I lay down a while

And I look at my hotel wall

But he's down on the street

So I throw both his bags down the hall

And I'm phoning a cab

'Cause my stomach feels small

There's a taste in my mouth

And it's no taste at all

It could have been me

Oh yeah, it could have been me

Why didn't I say,

Why didn't I say, no, no, no

Timon and Pumbaa, The Lion King

(An example of homosexual characteristics between two male cartoon characters)

Photo courtesy Glogster

Marissa & Alex on The OC

(An example of teenage homosexual "phases" that are portrayed in popular TV shows)

Click here for a video compilation *please excuse the cheesiness of the clip

Photo courtesy After Ellen

Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly on The Office

(white, employed, good looking, (typical) heterosexual couple shown in popular TV show)

Photo courtesy Tumblr

Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady

(One of the "hottest" couples in the world - heterosexual/the norm/the ideal)

Photo courtesy Life & Style

Week 7: Mediated examples of femininity as specifically sexualized

This week our class looked at examples of sexualized femininity within the mass media. In lecture, we watched a video named Dream World 3. This video consisted of the ideal "Dream World" in which females long to be a part of and that which males desire to have. There is an underlying topic of femininity within the media and that is Conflating Gender and Sexuality. Three authors; G. Markle, N. Hunteman and D. Coon share their takes on femininity within the media. There examples vary from animated images of females in video games to Sex and The City and Charlie's Angels. Overall, there perspectives of femininity in the media is quite often the same, objectified.

First, D. Coon describes promotional campaigns for Charlie's Angels as being objectified as sex appeal. The women's bodies, being used to sell the product, in ways that they question gender roles and boundaries. They do so by fighting crime, "Go where no one else dares" and so all in heels. These women are inviting viewers to the movie to "Get some action." These campaigns are highly sexualized and revealing as it encourages male viewers to fantasize about the Angels.

Second, G. Markle in his article "Can Women Have Sex Like a Man?" he further argues the explicit depiction of female sexuality. Markle describes "sex like a man as being" a.) without feelings and emotions b.) for pleasure only and c.) without any form of commitment. The viewers of this show witness the challenges womens face from their relationships, sexual desire and risqué behaviors. Viewers can sense these sexual situations by forming to their "sexual scripts" these are learned messages from our culture that define how we behave and recognize sex. The women of Sex and the City deny the lack of independence as women are portrayed within the media. Instead, these women are quite opposite of the women we often see in the media; they are a.) economically independent b.) have professional jobs and stable relationships and c.) wear sexy outfits (ALL THE TIME.)

Below I have collected mediated examples of femininity as specifically sexualized. I believe these examples demonstrate a common idea of how feminism ought to be within our society. I have collected these examples based on ideas I was presented starting in adolescence up until now.

Beginning with:

Little Mermaid

"Part of Your World" (Watch the video here)

This movie was my childhood favorite. Beginning at a young age I learned how to depend on a boy for my happiness, that all things (materialistically) matter and that I am only beautiful when I am unattached (without a voice.)

Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica

"Nick wanted me to become more of a woman before he proposed to me."

(Click on the link above to watch the episode)

Photo courtesy Rolling Stone Magazine

During my teenage years a favorite show of mine was The Newlyweds, an MTV series featuring Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, following their "everyday normal married life." Yeah, right. This show (specifically) this episode taught me that to be desirable I need to be more of a woman. Therefore, I need to not only take care of myself but also cook my husband dinner.

American Beauty

Ashley Judd

Photo Courtesy the New York Times.

Also during my teenage years I spent a lot of time reading beauty magazines. This Ashley Judd advertisement was featured in almost every magazine. This advertisement taught me that to be beautiful I must a.) be married b.) be pure *dressed in white, in a very feminine dress and c.) wear makeup.

Now, a very popular music artist and idol for women of all ages, Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift produced a song called "What To Wear" this song places an emphasis that in order to get what you want (the man and the crown) you must dress the part.

Taylor Swift

"What To Wear"

She's looking in the mirror
The moment's getting nearer
She thinks about it as she walks her walk
Up and down the staircase
Make up fresh on her face
She thinks about it as she talks her talk

School dance, first chance
Always been a dreamer
There's one guy, she's shy
Sees him through the mirror
And everybody looks at her
She thinks about it

Blue dress, angel face
Looking in the mirror
Shoes, purse, hair tied back
And you should see her
She's got her magic
Floating through the air

Peace, love
One thing leads into another
Dream big, aim small
Man you gotta love her
She's got her hopes up
Got 'em up to there
Wondering what to wear

She's standing in her bedroom
He'll be pulling up soon
She thinks about it when she sees headlights
Looking out the window
She's got her diary to show
That she's been waiting for this all her life

First date, can't wait
Looking in the mirror
Heart all wrapped up
Wait until he sees her
He's looking right at her
She thinks about it

Sixteen blue jeans, Abercrombie T-shirt
Shoes, purse, hair tied back
And you should see her
She's got her magic
Floating through the air

Peace, love
One thing leads into another
Dream big, aim small
Man you gotta love her
She's got her hopes up
Got 'em up to there
Wondering what to wear

The years went by
The mirror saw her cry
She got up again
She got up again
The wind blew by
The small town lights
She got up again

Move out, find out
Where the world can take her
Bright lights, late nights
Living for the greater
Move to Paris
Living on a prayer

Peace, love
One thing leads into another
Dream big, aim small
Man you gotta love her
She's got her hopes up
Got 'em up to there
She's got her hopes up
Got 'em up to there
Wondering what to wear

Ohh, oh, oh
Wondering what to wear

Miranda Kerr

Vision of Femininity

Photo courtesy Models.com

Finally, in my attempt at modeling over the past several months I have been faced with an insane amount of sexualized imagery. I am being shown numerous photographs in which they say "Lauren, you should like this to be successful." Miranda Kerr is one of the top models in the world. She is a Victoria Secret Angel which in itself demonstrates the ideal woman in our society. Here, she is in an ad that I found ironic for this imagery posting.

Week 6: Mediated examples of masculinity as specifically sexualized

This week we discussed the topic of Conflating Gender and Sexuality: Masculinity. The four articles we read discussed masculinity in a variety of ways. First, an article about eroticism by D. Berkowitz, "Consuming eroticism: Gender performance and presentations in pornographic establishments," this article discussed the term "compulsory hetero" meaning that heterosexuality is normal. In most examples I can think of, heterosexuality is dominant throughout the media and in our society and culture. I’ve also noticed in this past week while we discuss relationships and actions that take place between two individuals we don’t specify when talking about males and females. However, if we are discussing actions between two people of the same gender, then we verbally verify that we are discussing a homosexual relationship. In class we talked about the differences of being heterosexual and homosexual in our society. Most importantly we recognized a problem: if you’re homosexual that is your primary identity. You can no longer be just an artist, athlete or teacher. Instead, you’re a gay musician, gay baseball player and gay professor. Furthermore, when I am talking about the actions of a male I will relate to him as being masculine as the norm. If he is not masculine I will most likely describe him as being feminine or weird, because he would be seen as different in my opinion.

When examining sex in the media, there is an issue of quantity over quality. The bigger the billboard, the longer the commercial airs, the better. This does not include the content of the advertisements or the words exchanged in a script. Therefore, if there is a commercial with 300 women chasing a man down a beach because he’s wearing cologne, what is this saying? Does it mean that women are easily distracted? Why do producers choose not to explain their reasoning and instead leave us guessing at their brainless productions?

Masculinity within the media is rarely toyed with and when masculinity is manipulated it is extremely obvious because it is out of the norm. Masculinity can be manipulated in a number of ways, but the most obvious is when men are seen as hyper-sexualized and feminine. For example, for a man to be holding himself and a small dog, this would be looked at as feminine or even more judgmental, that he is homosexual.

As discussed in another article we read this week, “Centerfold Syndrome” by Gary Brooks, masculinity has elements in which create an accurately portrayed masculine individual. Brooks claims these elements of masculinity and the downplay of femininity come from the concept of “centerfold syndrome” the way male and female bodies are patterned. In particular, Brooks describes 5 elements to masculinity:

(1) Voyeurism

(2) Objectification

(3) Need for validation

(4) Trophyism

(5) Fear of Intimacy

Below, I have chosen 5 media artifacts in which I believe best describe Brook’s 5 elements of masculinity.

Fear of Intimacy

The first time a man experiences intimacy is with his mother. During his childhood he was most likely reminded by either his fathers, brothers or friends to not be a "sissy" or affectionate. Men are told in our society that sex=yes! intimacy=no.

Trophyism

Specifically in the Hip Hop culture, trophyism or the desire to be viewed as prestige or surrounded by beautiful women, is popular. Here, Snoop Dogg not only has an award, but he also has two barely dressed women willing to flaunt themselves and support his awards.

Need for Validation

Sean "Puffy" Coombs or P. Diddy is known to have provocative, sometimes inappropriate advertisements. In this advertisement, I find it troublesome the way he has interacting with this woman. Here, she looks hopeless and under the control of P. Diddy. This shows that he has the need for validation that he is indeed in control, therefore he's placing her in a vulnerable position.

Objectification

Honestly, I found this photo hilarious. Ocho Cinco is a highly recognized, highly paid athlete in the NFL. This photo displays his athletic body and ability to hold a football in order to cover his genitals. This photo in no way displays his athletic ability or masculine appeal. Instead, he is objectified as a naked man, ready to be taken advantage of.

Voyeurism

How many times have we heard, "life isn't all that it's cracked up to be." I've heard this and other familiar phrases multiple times. This photo represents voyeurism as being a glorification of reality, promising success with unrealistic circumstances. This photo communicates to me that if you are a business man and you dress this way, you will get laid by a prostitute. This photo provides yet again, future expectations that men may have, which ultimately will never come true.

Works Cited

Berkowitz, D. (2006). Consuming eroticism: Gender performance and presentations in pornographic establishments. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(5), 583-606.

Brooks, G. (1999). The centerfold syndrome. In S. Maasik & J. Solomon (Eds.), Signs of life in the USA: readings on popular culture for writers (438-447). Boston: Bedford Press.

Week 5: Examples of socially constructed “appropriate” sex

Representing sex acts in media was the topic that we discussed this week in my Sex and Media class. My class discusses media in all its forms, however the authors whose articles we read this week focused on advertisements, television, magazines and movies. Therefore, I will also focus my blog on these media definitions. My interpretation of sex in the media is both flirtatious and misleading. While consuming media I recognize sex to be playful, aggressive and unrealistic. Many of the sex acts I view involve young partners, often not married and moderately attractive. My daily consumption of media almost always includes some form of sex act being portrayed. For this post, I am interested in including the words from this weeks authors and how they can be applied to the sex acts in media artifacts of which I have consumed at some point.

Beginning with Menard and Kleinplatz: "Twenty-one moves guaranteed to make his thighs go up in flames: Depictions of “great sex” in popular magazines" This article discusses the sexual content featured in magazines, including advertisements, photographic layouts and editorial content. These magazines often display how to have "great sex." There have been times when I looked to these magazines for self-help tips, such as in Cosmopolitan. At a younger age, I used Cosmo as a manual, looking to it or the answers to my sex questions as an adolescent. I can recall having sleepovers and my friends and I giggling for hours each time we read the word "penis" out loud. Most often these magazines did not portray married couples but instead having multiple partners. This is supposedly against social liking, as most identify appropriate sex as being within a marriage.

Menard, D. & Kleinplatz, P. (2007). Twenty-one moves guaranteed to make his thighs go up in flames: Depictions of “great sex” in popular magazines. Sexuality & Culture, 12, 1-20.

Furthermore, authors Dempsey and Reichert argue how prime time sex in the media is oftentimes sex outside of marriage. Sex outside of marriage is often seen either on comedy or drama television shows and movies. Even though it’s not as present in the media, married couples still are more likely to have a healthy, sexual relationship. This idea further defines the idea of appropriate sex. Some look to the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and 70s as to blame for the overt sexual content in the media. Studies claiming that media has a relaxed attitude on sex, increases the acceptance of divorce and promotes teen pregnancy with over 1 million teen pregnancies a year.

Dempsey, J.M., & Reichert, T. (2000). Portrayal of married sex in the movies. Sexuality & Culture, 4(3), 21-37.

The rare times we view appropriate sex in the media, the couple is most likely between the ages of 23-30, middle to upper class and with implicit content, meaning a couple laying in the bed naked (when you know a sex act has happened, but it wasn't explicitly shown) Hence, explicit content includes a couple engaged in sexual acts. The portrayals of sex in the media are confusing and misleading. It is not necessarily true that you will lose your virginity to the hottest guy in school, on prom night and everything is perfect (and pain free). These portrayals give people of all ages false realities as to how their sex lives ought to be.

In relation to the definitions and ideas of the authors previously mentioned, my idea of appropriate sex is: a married heterosexual couple, in an intimate emotional state, in a private setting and in order to reproduce *if you so choose.

Married Sex

Everybody Loves Raymond

Here, sex is shown as appropriate because the couple is married, in the comforts of their own home.

Photo courtesy Mundo dos Herois

Watch the sitcom video clip here at Youtube

Honeymoon

Wedding Night Intimacy

Fergie and Josh Duhamel are shown on their wedding night, pre-engaging in a sex act and post. It is clear this is their Honeymoon (after uniting in marriage) - making it appropriate sex. Again, the couple is attractive, young and wearing obvious marital displays (the dress, tux and rings).

Photo courtesy Back Seat Cuddler

Sex as a Secret

Meant to take place in the couple's bed, in privacy.

This is an example of implicit content in the media. Here, it is obvious that couple is or was engaging in a sex act. While it is unclear if they are married, this still is seen as private and intimate, rather than them being explicitly displayed throwing each other around a hotel room.

Photo courtesy All Voices

To reproduce

Between a married, middle-aged couple.

While they are not engaging in a sex act (as it seems) they are both naked and in bed. Although, hard NOT to notice- she is pregnant and wearing a wedding ring. This is appropriate sex as they conceived a child.

Photo courtesy Photography for Women

Heterosexual couple, living under same roof.

Viagra Commercial

This Viagra commercial displays to me the perfect example of appropriate sex. The commercial feature a man pursuing a woman (his wife) in their home. They are both mildly attractive, live in a beautiful home and seem to be well off.

Photo courtesy The Science of Everything Cosmos

Watch the Viagra commercial here on Youtube

Week 4: Examples of Pornographic Mainstream Media

This week in my Sex and Media class we are exploring the topic, "Pornographic Mainstream Media." An author in particular who displays an abundance of knowledge on the topic is Levande in the article, "Women, Pop music and Pornography" This article discusses the portrayal of women's bodies in mass media, especially as being used as product placement. Levande further discusses the idea of how feminism is being hijacked within the media. Examples of this include the combination of the power of stripping, soft porn, etc. These behaviors and actions exude an attitude of sexuality within the media.

It is also important to mention that the women within the media who are being portrayed as oversexed are created by corporations, not artists. The media artifacts I have chosen are excellent examples of how media corporations have created these sexualized messages. The mainstream media outlets I most often consume include advertisements (print and on television), movies, TV shows and music. Below I have provided examples of what I would consider pornographic artifacts within mainstream media.

As explained by Levande, these finally planned images of media create impressions of what is normal. For example, television, music videos and movies often show portrayals of the act of sex. These sexual acts are often soft porn-like, mystified and accompanied by cheesy romance music. I believe that these sexual acts give viewers the wrong impression of how their own intimate time will be spent.

The photo below is a movie still from Pearl Harbor, a popular romance movie, (which I will admit I watch every time it is on TV.) While this movie spends many scenes covering the historical combat in Hawaii and abroad, it also has a few steamy romance scenes. One in particular features Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett who sneak into an unexpected place to have a little fun between the sheets. This photo is a still from the romance scene which you can watch at the link below. This scene is not only pornographic to an extent but also creates a false impressions of a "normal" act of sex.

Photo courtesy Rediff Search

Watch the film clip on Youtube

OMFG: Oh my fucking God! This second artifact is an advertisement from one of my favorite TV guilty pleasures, Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl first originated as a book series packed with sex, drama and drugs for young tweens. Now as a young adult I still find as much enjoyment in the sexy TV series which I often find myself blushing while watching. The show at most times is incredibly inappropriate for children under the age of 16. The sexual content is incredibly heavy and again, here as shown, the act of sex is dramatized. This show is by far one of the most intense soft porn examples. Almost every episode there is a pornographic scene, if you click the link below you will see just one of the many examples.

Photo courtesy TV Addict

Watch a clip from the show here at Youtube

The third artifact is one bound to make you giggle in disbelief. Oftentimes when listening to the sexually explicit content of rap music, I find myself shaking my head “no way.” This artifact is the album cover to one of the most perverse, hilarious, pornographic songs I know. This song is titled “Put it in my mouth” by Akinyele. While I could not find a music video, I did find a clip on Youtube which plays the song. The lyrics in the song are pornographic as the artist refers to “pussy” and “dick” multiple times as well as other graphic, disturbing content as a female artist chants in the chorus “put it in my mouth, my motha fuckin’ mouth.” I’m sure it’s not hard for you to guess exactly what body part she is referring to, yes the penis. From a personal and prude perspective, I recognize most content which displays any remarks of “penis” as being pornographic.

Photo courtesy Hip Hop is Read

Listen to the song at Youtube

The fourth artifact is an advertisement that you can find in numerous magazines. It’s an ad campaign for Gucci with the marked words “guilty.” The ad displays a woman clearly being strained by a man against his body, nude. This is pornographic because of not only the nudity but also the glazed skin, the man displaying sexual behavior by burying his face into her neck. Coincidently Gucci has numerous advertisements that display the same sexual behaviors, some worse than this one.

Image courtesy Cover Awards

The fifth artifact is a new commercial featuring Beyonce’s perfume, which recently was banned in the UK. The sexual content is as if the perfume is giving Beyonce orgasms as she continuously has a sexualized gaze and touches herself in perverse ways. You can watch the commercial from the link below, she definitely brings on the heat.

Image courtesy Chicago Now

Watch the commercial here at The Improper