The Selling of Sex

SEE SEX YOUNG, HAVE SEX YOUNG. A recent study (published in April of 2006) entitled “Sexy Media Matter: Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines Predicts Black and White Adolescents’ Sexual Behavior” revealed that this type of exposure accelerates white adolescents’ sexual behavior and increases their risk of engaging in early sexual intercourse. White youths who were subjected to repeated exposures of sexual content were 2.2 times more likely to have sex between the ages of 14 and 16 than those who viewed much less of such material. Those who have fewer alternative sources of sexual norms, such as parents or friends, may turn to the media as a kind of “super peer” that encourages them to be sexually active. Think about sending your 12-year-old son to the mailbox to get the mail and he encounters a Victoria’s Secret catalogue where the cover shot features a gorgeous brunette in a pink bra and panties with a “come hither” look. Many magazines and billboards feature people with perfect bodies wearing next to nothing or clothes that leave little to the imagination. Over time how would that affect the way all of us judge ourselves or others? How much pressure does this put on young girls and boys to look and dress a certain way? This objectification of men and women has gotten markedly worse in recent years and it is very hard to escape. Many parents come to counseling with this concern and it does little good to tell them “just turn it off” because we are literally under siege by this selling of sex everywhere you turn. The daily bombardment affects all of us. Consider the number of marriages ruined by the pornography industry and yet we are told “we are only giving people what they want.” If you or someone you know may need counseling, please contact Lamar Hunt Jr. or see his website at http://lamarhuntjrcounseling.com/.