Sexual imagery in the media - Essay Example

Essay In the policy ment issued by the American Association of Pediatrics, increasing portrayal of sexuality in mainstream media has been citedas the major reason behind the rising rate of teenage sexual encounters and henceforth teen pregnancy rates. Increasing sexual images and scenes that are available easily both via the internet and other media such as television and magazines are creating a more sexually active teenage population (Gilbert). Children of today are being exposed to different kinds of media, some of which was unheard of in previous generations, and are increasingly influenced by those programs that involve sexually explicit content.

The sexuality-based images are depicting men as dominant, robust and aggressive individuals while women are portrayed as being meek and vulnerable. Psychologists argue that such a portrayal of both the sexes in the media has only distorted their beliefs and perceptions about themselves and has thus prevented them from realizing their inherent values and cultural practices (Casciani). The number of online sexuality-based games has hugely increased over the years with the 2010 estimate of the video gaming industry topping $20 billion and nearly $300 million spent every year on advertisements related to sexual activity.

In addition to games, television reality programs such as The Bachelor and Temptation Island are conveying messages that are supportive of partnering and that such indulgence does not have any real consequences (Gilbert). Several commercials are using sexualized images of women to promote their products such as clothing which are mainly targeted at teenagers. Such imagery has resulted in a widespread notion that women are there to be used by men (Gilbert). Experts who had studied the sexual behavior of children found that they were largely influenced by sexual images shown in the media.

The major sources of material viewed by these children included music videos, adult-magazines and internet pornographic materials. However, these children did not consider viewing such content to be wrong and did not possess the ability to decipher the message within the sexual images. As a result they are unable to understand the right kind of sexual behavior and hence get into confused relationships (Gough). Recent studies have shown that watching of such reality shows have hastened the initiation of sexual activity among teenagers.

Most of the media programs that showcase such sexuality based events however, do fail to relate them to sexually transmitted illness or unwarranted pregnancies. Instead, these programs are only convincing people that engaging in sexual activity is fashionable and that they merely constitute normal behavior. Given the huge revenues garnered from these shows, advertisements and programs it is unlikely that their run would be halted in future and it is more likely to grow over the years (Gilbert).

However, psychologists and other activists are calling for stricter regulations to be put forth by Advertising Standards Authority and that those industries selling gaming products, mobile phones and computers should incorporate parental controls within their products which would enable parents to filter the viewing of their children. With the increasing number of sex-based products and programs available in the market, parents should also exercise control over their child’s viewing and thus prevent their children from having the wrong notion that sex is the only thing that matters (Casciani).

Closer parenting and making the children understand the sentiments and values associated with relationships can help them to correctly interpret the messages within such overt sexual imageries (Gough). References 1. Gilbert, Sarah. “Sex in the media: A new study finds troubling links to teens”. Daily Finance. 9 Apr. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/sex-in-the-media-a-new-study-finds-troubling-links-to-teens/19615247/ 2. Casciani, Dominic. “Children ‘over-exposed to sexual imagery’.

” BBC News. 26 Feb 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8537734.stm 3. Gough, Debora. “Media sex imagery ‘harming children’.” The Age. 29 Apr. 2007. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/media-sex-imagery-harming-children/2007/04/28/1177460044934.html