ABSTRACT
Sex is a common theme in most media content. Some type of sexual reference is found in 90% of all television programs (Signorielli, 1987) and in 60-75% of all music videos (Baxter et al., 1985; Sherman & Dominick, 1986). Chapter 6 discussed how this sexual content can play a role in adolescent socialization effects. But, the most commonly available sexual content is often not very explicit. On television, sex is often a topic of conversation or implied in visual euphemisms (e.g., Baxter et al., 1985; Greenberg & D’Alessio, 1985). Other media, though, provide more sexually explicit presentations of sexual behavior. R-, X-, NC-17-rated and unrated movies, adult magazines and books, public-access cable channels, videotapes, and the WWW all deliver content that depicts graphic sexual acts (e.g., D.Brown & Bryant, 1989). It is difficult to get accurate estimates of interest in or exposure to sexually explicit materials, but there are indications that they are widely available and used by a large audience (Bryant & D.Brown, 1989).
