Sex in Television, Content Analysis of

Quantitative content analyses conducted over the past two decades have documented the form and frequency of sexual content on television programming, finding that the programs most watched by youth are saturated with references to and depictions of sexual behavior (often physical flirting, passionate kissing, or intimate touching). Indeed, more than 80% of the prime-time television programs most popular among adolescents contain references to or depictions of sexual behavior. These analyses have further demonstrated that, over time, the amount of sexual content on television has increased, as have discussions of sexual risk and safersex topics. Qualitative content analyses find that television's sexual content includes multiple thematic messages about the value, consequences, and nature of sexual activity. For example, sex is frequently depicted as recreational in nature, and men and women are typically depicted as having different sexual roles.

Recent analyses find that roughly one third of television programs contain at least one depiction of sexual behavior, reflecting an increase from one quarter of programs in the late 1990s. Among programs rated favorably by adolescents, this rate climbs to 50%, with the average 1-hour program containing three scenes with depictions of sexual behavior. The vast majority of these depictions consist of precursory sexual behaviors, such as physical flirting, passionate kissing, or intimate touching. Although explicit depictions of sexual intercourse are rare, intercourse is frequently implied by the use of cinematic techniques familiar to young audiences. For example, a couple may be shown lying in bed, partially clothed immediately following a scene with passionate kissing and touching. More than 10% of all prime-time television programs contain such instances of implied intercourse, and as many as 20% of the programs most popular among adolescents contain instances of implied or depicted intercourse. These sexual behaviors occur, most commonly, between unmarried partners.

In addition to quantifying the frequency of sexual behaviors, content analysis has been used to evaluate the messages about sexuality conveyed via sexual dialogue. The television programs most watched by adolescents are specifically saturated with sexual talk; at the episode level, as many as 80% of programs popular among teens contain talk about sex, compared to less than 70% of all network prime-time programs and about 60% of the full range of television programming. Closer inspection of individual episodes reveals that sexual talk appears frequently and consistently in the programs children and adolescents watch most. Rather than appearing only once or twice in an episode, sex [Page 756]talk typically occurs in more than a quarter of all character interactions, so that a child might expect to hear anywhere from 10 to 30 comments about sexuality while watching her favorite half-hour program; a teen might hear as many as 45 such comments.

In light of children's and adolescents' frequent exposure to sexual content on television, concern has been raised regarding the relative infrequency with which sexual risk and safer-sex practices are acknowledged. Content analyses of youth-oriented television programs aired in the 1990s revealed that fewer than 15% of programs with sexual content addressed the potential risks associated with sexual activity or described the safer-sex practices that could be involved in preventing risk. Risk and prevention messages were conceptualized to include partners' choice to delay intercourse, the use of safer-sex practices (e.g., condoms), or depictions of the negative consequences of sex (e.g., an unwanted pregnancy). Content analysis of more recently aired programs shows a shift toward more frequent acknowledgment of sexual risk and safer-sex practices. About 25% of programs with sexual content addressed risk and prevention themes, and programs featuring teen characters were the most likely to contain such messages.

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