Contact Name
Barbara Dietsch
562-985-9488

Contact Email
bdietsc@WestEd.org

by L. Monique Ward, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

It should come as no surprise that television has become an important source of information for today's youth about sexuality. First, it is highly accessible, with television sets in 98% of American homes, and adolescents typically viewing over 20 hours of TV a week. Second, sexual content is abundant on television. Through its dialogue, characterizations, and storylines, TV presents countless examples of how sexual relationships are handled. Indeed, in a content analysis of prime-time programs popular among younger viewers, I found that 29% of the interactions contained verbal references to sexual issues. Finally, because material is presented in a stimulating yet non-threatening manner, television's inherent nature makes it an excellent instructor.

But what is television teaching? More importantly, how do adolescents perceive its messages and how do they use this input in forming attitudes and expectations about sexual relationships? Although several investigators have attempted to address these questions, this research domain is relatively young. Currently, most studies have focused on the content of TV's sexual portrayals, with fewer examining viewers' perceptions of this content or its impact. This tide is slowly changing. In the discussion below, I summarize some current research in this area, and present new findings from my work with undergraduate samples.

What is Television Teaching?

A common concern is that television provides a one-dimensional and superficial picture of sexual relationships, in which sex is only for the young, single, and beautiful, and sexual encounters are generally spontaneous, romantic, and risk-free. Is this concern valid? Systematic analyses of TV's sexual content suggests that it is1. Reports indicate that TV's sexual encounters typically occur between characters not married to each other and include little mention of contraception or sexually transmitted diseases. My research focusing on verbal references to sexual issues on popular sit-coms offers further validation. In the 36 episodes we analyzed, 12% of the 875 sexual messages uncovered depicted sexual relations as a sport or competition, as a "battle-of-the-sexes." Here men competed with each other for "prizes" (i.e., beautiful women), and women strategized on how to "get a good catch." Equally prominent were messages about women as sexual objects (11.5%) and about the link between masculinity and being sexual (10%). Thus, whereas portrayals of equitable male-female relations and responsible sexual decision-making were present, they may have been overshadowed by more frequent depictions of sexual relationships as recreational, superficial, and inconsequential.

How are these portrayals and sexual situations perceived by adolescents?

A common belief is that today's young viewers are savvy and realize the fiction and glamorization of these portrayals. Indeed, if you ask adolescents if TV's portrayals are real, they will laugh and happily point out inaccuracies. "Nobody really believes that stuff," they will say. Is this true?

To address this question, we presented a selection of four clips from popular prime-time sit-coms to be viewed and evaluated by a sample of 314 university students. The clips represented various types of sexual situations typically depicted on TV. In general, the scenes were seen to be quite realistic, with 82% to 92% of participants rating them as "realistic" or "very realistic." Similarly, from 65% to 78% of students identified with the main characters. However, participants did not necessarily see the situations as likely to happen in their own lives. These perceptions varied across clips, going from lows of 34% and 45%, to highs of 55% and 59%. Judgments about the main character's behavior were also situation-specific. One character with a steady girlfriend who rejected the advances of a neighbor received a 98% approval rating. Yet a second character received little approval (41%) for seriously considering cheating on his girlfriend.

Thus, despite the diversity of the characters involved, the four sexual situations were perceived to be quite realistic. Having such a high degree of realism attributed to it is likely to enhance TV's potential as an educational tool. Yet the results also suggest that while young viewers often can identify with the characters, they do not blindly accept the material and approve of all behavior. They do appear to notice flaws and to disapprove of what some characters do.

Does TV Exposure Relate to Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Expectations?

Role of Viewing Amount

Much of the existing literature focuses on the contribution of viewing amount. Here the expectation has been that if content analyses show that sex on TV is glamorous, prevalent, recreational, and relatively risk-free, frequent viewers will be more inclined than sporadic viewers to accept this perspective. Existing literature, while sparse, supports this prediction, indicating links between heavier viewing, more liberal sexual attitudes, and higher expectations about the prevalence of certain sexual behaviors in the real world. To address this issue I examined statistical connections between students' viewing amounts and both their sexual attitudes and expectations. Evidence of a link between viewing amounts and sexual ideology received mixed support. Among the students I tested, watching more hours of prime-time television was linked to a stronger endorsement of recreational attitudes about sex among females only. Moreover, viewing amounts did not correlate with students' expectations about their peers' sexual experience.

Role of Viewer Involvement

However, viewing amounts are not the only avenue through which TV content might affect viewers. It is my belief that various dimensions of viewer involvement, such as identification and perceived realism, can affect viewers' sexual ideology as well. This belief was realized in the results obtained with the students I tested. Regardless of their sex, race, or SES, viewers who reported greater connection with the sexual situations we showed them, either via identification or by attributing greater realism to the portrayals, were also more likely to endorse recreational attitudes toward sex, to expect higher levels of sexual activity among their peers, and to be more sexually experienced. These links were seen in 24 of the correlations examined. Thus, the body of findings summarized here illustrates that TV's sexual content does appear to help shape adolescents' sexual attitudes and expectations in many significant ways.

1 Huston, A., Wartella, E., & Donnerstein, E. (1998). Measuring the effects of sexual content in the media. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.