Page 318 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

Chapter 12

Effects of Sex

in the Media

RICHARD JACKSON HARRIS
Kansas State University

CHRISTINA L. SCOTT
California State University–Chico

One recent hot afternoon in New York’s Central Park, a group of men sexu-
ally assaulted several dozen women. Where did these men learn such sexu-
ally violent behavior? How did they come to think that it was acceptable?
From where do any of us learn about sex, and what is the impact of those
experiences? Throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood we
learn about sex, including sexual violence, from many sources, including
parents, schools, friends, siblings, and media outlets such as movies, televi-
sion, magazines, song lyrics, videos, and the Internet. For example, we may
learn about French kissing from an older brother’s stories, orgasms from a
pornographic movie, oral sex from an erotic Web site, and rape from a tele-
vision movie. However, recent research suggests that for young adults
some sources of information about sex are more important than others.
According to a 1998 Time/CNN poll (Stodghill, 1998), 29% of U.S. teens
identified TV as their most important source of information about sex, up
from 11% in 1986. Although the most-mentioned source (45%) was
“friends,” only 7% cited parents, and 3% cited sex education. One study
found that 90% of Toronto adolescent boys and 60% of the girls (mean age
14) had seen at least one pornographic movie (Check & Maxwell, 1992,
in Russell, 1998). Also, 43% of American males saw at least one sex maga-
zine in 1995 (Russell, 1998), and 29% of boys rated pornography as their
most-significant source of sex education, higher than schools, parents,
books, peers, or magazines (Check, 1995). Surveys of college men have
shown that 35–55% report having consumed violent pornography in
some form (Demare, Briere, & Lips, 1988; Garcia, 1986).
Throughout adolescence and early adulthood we continually learn
more about sex, with media being a major source of information (Brown,

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