Sexual acts displayed in television and film

Sociology - TV Sexuality

SEXUALITY in TELEVISION and FILM

Television and film have been linked to the expression of sexual mores ever since their first incorporation into American culture in the first and middle parts of the 20th century, respectively. In the early 1900s, silent film makers began experimenting with depicting sexual behavior in the then controversial movie short "The Kiss." Television producers were much more conservative initially, and into the 1950s, sitcoms were so reluctant to display sexuality on that medium that even marital bedrooms still depicted husband and wife as sleeping in separate twin beds. By the Sexual Revolution and the rest of the cultural changes of the 1960s, societal standards had relaxed many of the self censorship that had prevailed previously within the television entertainment industry and even prime time shows exhibited sexually suggestive apparel and conduct between the sexes that would have been considered scandalous a decade earlier. Since then, television and film have become important elements in the transmission of sexual identity and societal mores. In that regard, even an informal survey of current American entertainment media suggests that different cultural attitudes toward relationships between the sexes and to sexual conduct of the individual vary substantially among different races and ethnic cultures.

White-Oriented Entertainment Media:

Generally, contemporary sexual behavior depicted in television and film whose target audience is primarily white tends to emphasize either "traditional" romantic love and its pursuit by the male protagonist or "traditional" gender roles within a more modern context. Specifically, themes seem to focus on story lines various relationships between single people; to the extent less traditional ideas are explored, they tend to involve homosexuality or bisexuality, but even then, most likely in the context of what could be considered "traditional" (i.e. one-on-one) relationships. Advertising apparently directed at primarily white audiences tends to incorporate sexuality, most often, in one of two ways: (1) in the form of emphasizing the sexual attractiveness of s specific individual set out as a model for other members of the same gender to emulate (i.e. By purchasing products associated with the model); or (2) in the form of suggestions that the use of certain products increases the attractiveness of the consumer to the other gender, represented by the attractive model in the context of a reward for conquest.

Black-Oriented Entertainment Media:

Generally, contemporary sexual behavior depicted in television and film whose target audience is primarily black tends to emphasize a different relationship dynamic between the genders. Instead of presenting males and females in the "traditional" roles, television and film seems to depict an entirely different focus. Specifically, the male protagonist is often viewed against a background of multiple females in contexts that suggest all of the females are sexually available to the male. In terms of attire, female models in this genre of entertainment typically represent hyper-sexuality and are clearly meant to be sexually provocative.

Advertising apparently directed at primarily black audiences tends to incorporate sexuality less differently from that geared to white audiences, frequently relying on similar messages that associate products with the desirability of the consumer to highly attractive models of the opposite sex.

Latino-Oriented Media:

Generally, contemporary sexual behavior depicted in television and film whose target audience is primarily Latino tends to emphasize a third formula for sexual expression and gender relations. Specifically, Spanish television routinely features females in a manner that is much more sexually provocative than typical white-oriented entertainment, within a context in which the female is often viewed as a seductress.

Unlike much black-oriented entertainment, the predominant theme is apparently of a highly sexualized, voluptuous and attractive female; as often as not, the model for female beauty and sexuality is presumably unaware of her effect on male characters.