Study finds TV sex more pervasive
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___If sex seems more prevalent on TV today than just a couple of years ago, that's because it is, according to a new study.
___"Sex on TV: Content and Context" was the second biennial study conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent national health care philanthropy.
___The foundation released its report Feb. 5 at a conference for entertainment industry leaders.
___The study revealed that the number of programs containing sexual content rose from 56 percent of all shows in the 1997-98 season to 68 percent in the 1999-2000 season. At least one show in four (27 percent) included sexual behavior, with the remainder featuring conversation about sex.
___Television's preoccupation with sex offers a skewed view of reality, according to Bill Tillman, the T.B. Maston professor of Christian ethics at Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene.
___"Sexuality is a major part of life, one of the major shapers of each of our personalities," he said. "Still, we are more than sexual beings. Thus, TV media content proclaims life in an out-of-balanced kind of way."
___The research confirmed what Tillman said he already perceived. Television programs he previously had enjoyed have become "more and more bothersome to my sensibilities," he said. "Sexual content is being used increasingly to draw an audience ... and at an increasingly lowest-common denominator."
___Sex is particularly common in prime-time network programs, the study demonstrated. In 1997-98, 67 percent of prime-time shows included sexual content, while 75 percent did in 1999-2000.
___These results are not surprising, because they just confirm the truism that "sex sells," said Joe Haag, special moral concerns associate with the Christian Life Commission at the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___"Sex is front and center in television programming and cinematic production because sex attracts viewers, and viewers attract advertisers and investors," Haag said. "What is alarming and discouraging is the overwhelming power of this economic reality."
___Researchers in Southern California examined 1,114 programs that aired between October 1999 to March 2000 on 10 network, syndicated, public television and cable channels. The study examined movies, dramas, sitcoms, soap operas, news magazines and talk or "reality" programs. Only scenes in which sexual behavior was a substantial emphasis were counted in the research.
___The study is available online at www.kff.org.
___Other findings:
___ Movies were the most likely type of programming to contain sexual content, at 89 percent. But they were followed closely by situation comedies and soap operas.
___ The increase in sexual content was greatest in situation comedies, rising from 56 percent in 1997-98 to 84 percent of all episodes in 1999-2000.
___ No category showed a decrease in sexual content.
___ Sexual intercourse is depicted or strongly implied in 10 percent of all TV shows.
___ Portrayals of teenagers involved in sexual intercourse increased three-fold.
___ Nine out of 10 TV shows with sexual content included no reference to the risks and responsibilities of sexual activity.
___ References to the risks and responsibility of sexual activity were most likely to be included in dramas and least likely in situation comedies. Programs depicting teen sexual situations were most likely to include them.
The Baptist Standard
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