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SEX TV
By Ruben, a high school senior
August 29, 2008
It is no secret that human behavior is influenced by sex, and because of this, sex can be found in almost every facet of society. This influence has been ever increasing throughout the decades, and has recently received some criticism when linking sex, teens, and television. Sex influences humans so much because in actuality, it is part of human nature, and since it is, can its influence really be all that bad? Of course, sex itself is not bad it is a natural part of being human. However, what if it becomes too much a part of peoples lives and an overexposure begins to engulf human behavior and culture completely?
There is another thing that vast majorities of people have in common. It is in almost every home and the window into the current state of humankind: television. What is shown on television has to do with the interest of the public watching it, and sex is the most common interest for people. Television shows that try to relate to people incorporate sex because it is a part of life, and yet is then deemed by some to be inappropriate. Can something that is part of human nature really be unsuitable to show on television for everyone to see? Apparently, this depends on the current view of sex in the public eye, the public opinion of sex in different times can be determined by how it was depicted on television. Today, peoples opinion of sex is a lot less conservative than previous decades and that opinion is readily apparent on television. Throughout this change in television and its depiction of sex, one thing has remained the same: it is deemed inappropriate for young viewers to be exposed to the very grown-up matter of sex.
For television to grab younger viewers, it needs to, as with all other viewers, relate to them through likable characters and similar situations. With todays liberal view of sex, teens can now be depicted dealing with sex on television as they do in real life. Teens depicted dealing with sex is not without opposition, especially from parents who believe that this exposure to sex is inappropriate for youth. Many popular television shows have been targeted due to it containing teens dealing with sex, most recently the CW program Gossip Girl. The main argument is that television shows do not depict the reality of sex, but encourage it without really educating teens. But the number of teens that have sex and the number of those that do not, can not be split relatively evenly, so are television programs really relating to situations common to teens, or just following the belief that sex sells to boost ratings? Gossip Girl may be an example of that, especially with its much discussed advertisings, which seems to not only promote sex but also challenge teens to defy parental warnings.
Television and its showcasing of sex can be seen as art imitating life. But it also tries its best to depict sex as universally relatable, whether it is the teens exploration of sex, the desperate housewives love affair, or the single, twenty-something friends sexual exploits.
August 29, 2008
It is no secret that human behavior is influenced by sex, and because of this, sex can be found in almost every facet of society. This influence has been ever increasing throughout the decades, and has recently received some criticism when linking sex, teens, and television. Sex influences humans so much because in actuality, it is part of human nature, and since it is, can its influence really be all that bad? Of course, sex itself is not bad it is a natural part of being human. However, what if it becomes too much a part of peoples lives and an overexposure begins to engulf human behavior and culture completely?
There is another thing that vast majorities of people have in common. It is in almost every home and the window into the current state of humankind: television. What is shown on television has to do with the interest of the public watching it, and sex is the most common interest for people. Television shows that try to relate to people incorporate sex because it is a part of life, and yet is then deemed by some to be inappropriate. Can something that is part of human nature really be unsuitable to show on television for everyone to see? Apparently, this depends on the current view of sex in the public eye, the public opinion of sex in different times can be determined by how it was depicted on television. Today, peoples opinion of sex is a lot less conservative than previous decades and that opinion is readily apparent on television. Throughout this change in television and its depiction of sex, one thing has remained the same: it is deemed inappropriate for young viewers to be exposed to the very grown-up matter of sex.
For television to grab younger viewers, it needs to, as with all other viewers, relate to them through likable characters and similar situations. With todays liberal view of sex, teens can now be depicted dealing with sex on television as they do in real life. Teens depicted dealing with sex is not without opposition, especially from parents who believe that this exposure to sex is inappropriate for youth. Many popular television shows have been targeted due to it containing teens dealing with sex, most recently the CW program Gossip Girl. The main argument is that television shows do not depict the reality of sex, but encourage it without really educating teens. But the number of teens that have sex and the number of those that do not, can not be split relatively evenly, so are television programs really relating to situations common to teens, or just following the belief that sex sells to boost ratings? Gossip Girl may be an example of that, especially with its much discussed advertisings, which seems to not only promote sex but also challenge teens to defy parental warnings.
Television and its showcasing of sex can be seen as art imitating life. But it also tries its best to depict sex as universally relatable, whether it is the teens exploration of sex, the desperate housewives love affair, or the single, twenty-something friends sexual exploits.
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