ABSTRACT
One recent hot afternoon in New York’s Central Park, a group of men sexually assaulted several dozen women. Where did these men learn such sexually violent behavior? How did they come to think that it was acceptable? From where do any of us learn about sex, and what is the impact of those experiences? Throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood we learn about sex, including sexual violence, from many sources, including parents, schools, friends, siblings, and media outlets such as movies, television, magazines, song lyrics, videos, and the Internet. For example, we may learn about French kissing from an older brother’s stories, orgasms from a pornographic movie, oral sex from an erotic Web site, and rape from a television movie. However, recent research suggests that for young adults some sources of information about sex are more important than others.
