Sexually explicit music and teen sexuality
Do sexually explicit lyrics in today’s popular music have an impact on teens’ sexuality? It seems that they do, and it’s not good news…
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Researchers at Cougar Hall, Joshua H. West and Shane Hill of the Brigham Young University of Provo (Utah) looked into the growing trend for the use of steamy language in lyrics and the possible effects on the sexuality of those who listen to this music – teenagers.
Rising teen exposure to sexually explicit music
8-18 year olds listen to 45% more music over recent years, in particular with the advent of MP3 players such as the iPod, YouTube and 24/7 music TV such as MTV. Previous research has underlined the important link between exposure to sexual content in media (visual or audio) and early sexual activity. Teens have a tendency to overestimate their peers’ sexual activity and one of the sources of this erroneous perception is the entertainment media.
In this study, the researchers analysed the lyrics of 100 of the most popular songs in each decade from 1959 to 2009. According to their results, male artists and “non-whites” were more likely to write more sexually explicit songs during the last two decades. It comes as no surprise then, that there were more sexual references in songs in 2009 than there were in 1959.
Cougar Hall explained, "Considering previous research establishing an association between sexualised music lyrics and adolescent sexual behaviour, our findings unfortunately offer sexuality educators a stormy forecast."
Unsurprising results and alarming conclusions
The study authors estimate that not all of these sexual references have the same impact, but that sexualised and degrading music can have a harmful effect on adolescents. For girls, this can lead to them basing their self-worth on sexual allure and activity, which in turn can lead to poor body image, depression, eating disorders or drug addiction.
The authors of the study argue that their results highlight serious preoccupations tied to the promotion of degrading sexual ideas: "Popular music can teach young men to be sexually aggressive and treat women as objects while often teaching young women that their value to society is to provide sexual pleasure for others. It is essential for society that sex education providers are aware of these issues and their impact on adolescent sexual behaviour."
Underlining the role played by parents
Previous studies arrived at similar conclusions (even if the authors used a less alarmist tone). Rather than trying to banish some singers from their teen’s MP3 players, would probably be useful to engage in discussions about sexuality with the teens.
Interviewed in 2009 on the influence of porn on adolescents’ sexuality, the philosopher and researcher, Michela Marzano, explained that: “Talking to adults allows sexuality to be confirmed as something other than a series of acts and performances to accomplish, and involves feelings, relations, meetings and games with the other person, as varied as it is possible to be, as we are all individuals and different.”
Source: “Sexualization in Lyrics of Popular Music from 1959 to 2009: Implications for Sexuality Educators,” P. Cougar Hall, Joshua H. West and Shane Hill - Sexuality & Culture - September 2011
Copyright © 2011 Doctissimo
Posted 19.10.2011
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