ABSTRACT
Mass media and their effects on behavior are topics of perennial interest among scholars in all areas of the social sciences; those who study sexuality are no exception. Many research questions motivate this interest, chief among them the conviction that mass media act as key agents of sexual socialization. For example, one frequently cited study (Strasburger, 1995) found that adolescents cite mass media as the third most important source from which they obtain information about sexuality, following peers and parents. A crucial step toward achieving a thorough understanding of mass media and their effects is analyzing the content of the media.
