SEX ON TV STEAMY SCENES, TALK ON THE RISE.Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer On ``Temptation Island,'' Fox barely tries to conceal a topless woman who frolics around a swimming pool filled with playful couples. On NBC's sitcom ``Will & Grace'' the couple is seen fondling each other and joking about their sexual differences. Think you're seeing more sex on TV? You're right. A new survey released Tuesday found that three out of four prime-time programs have sexual content and one in 10 shows overall depicts or ``strongly implies'' intercourse. ``Sex on TV: Content and Context,'' a biennial study by the Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882—August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Early life Beginning as a cashier in a dry-goods shop in Utica, New York, Kaiser moved many times as he pursued the Family Foundation, found that 68 percent of programs throughout the day in the 1999-2000 season had some sexual content, up 12 percentage points from its first study in 1997-98. However, only 10 percent of programs emphasized sexual risks and responsibilities, which was unchanged from two years ago. A spokesman for the TV industry said despite the increasing numbers, the public is sending mixed messages. Meryl Marshall-Daniels, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, said the public gives high ratings to programs like wrestling and ``Temptation Island'' and, on the other hand, complains to lawmakers about sex and violence on television. Even with the outcry from some political leaders, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., it's unlikely the industry will make any changes. ``In America, television falls under commerce. In other countries, it falls under culture,'' Marshall-Daniels said. Children's television activist Peggy Charren sounded a pessimistic note. ``It's not worth even thinking about how you stop it. You have moronic mo·ron n. 1. A stupid person; a dolt. 2. Psychology A person of mild mental retardation having a mental age of from 7 to 12 years and generally having communication and social skills enabling some degree of academic or ways of presenting plots and stories and information and chances are it's going to get even worse.'' The Kaiser study, the largest ever and the first to track trends, looked at more than 1,100 randomly selected programs shown between October 1999 and March 2000 on ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , Fox, HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy , Lifetime, NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. , PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, , USA and KTLA KTLA KCBS TV in Los Angeles (Channel 5), the Los Angeles affiliate of The WB. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara History The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase persuaded the State , watched movies, dramas, situation comedies, soap operas, news magazines, talk shows and reality shows but omitted newscasts, sports and children's shows. The foundation defined sexual content as ``both talk about sex and depictions of sexual behavior,'' excluding scenes in which the emphasis on sex was ``minor or inconsequential.'' Movies, at 89 percent, were most likely to have sexual content, followed by 84 percent of sitcoms and 80 percent of soap operas. Reality shows were the least likely at only 27 percent, but that was before Fox's current hit, ``Temptation Island,'' which has marooned romantically committed couples on an island with several attractive men and women luring them toward infidelity. Situation comedies posted the greatest increase since the previous survey, up from 56 percent two seasons ago. The report did not measure shows against each other or point a finger at one series or another, but it cited examples of varying types of content from such programs as ``Sex and the City'' (HBO), ``Popular'' (WB), ``Will & Grace'' (NBC), ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' (CBS), ``Ally McBeal'' (Fox), ``Port Charles'' (ABC) and ``Sally Jesse Raphael'' (syndicated). Sexual intercourse situations on all TV shows observed were up three points from the earlier survey. Most of those scenes still involved adult characters, but Kaiser noted the number of teens shown having sex was up significantly in two years, from 3 percent of all characters to 9 percent. ``I don't think these kinds of studies are very useful - except when you get percentages rising, people will think something's happening and people who want to get hysterical will get hysterical,'' responded David Horowitz of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture Center for the Study of Popular Culture may refer to:
In one bright note, researchers reported that, among shows with intercourse scenes, the number addressing safe sex issues and risks grew from 10 percent to 25 percent. However, the share of all programs with sexual content that included references to safe sex or the consequences of sex, such as disease or unwanted pregnancy, was the same at 10 percent. Most of those were shows popular with teen-agers. It was that aspect of the study that became the focus of a panel discussion with industry insiders at the Museum of Television and Radio Museum of Television and Radio, American museum that chronicles the evolution of radio and television; opened in New York City as the Museum of Broadcasting in 1976. It is in effect the first public library devoted to the electronic media. in Beverly Hills. All the panelists agreed the amount of sexual content overall was no surprise. ``A lot of these shows are aimed at the young viewers advertisers want, the 18- to 49-year-olds,'' said Mara Brock Akil Mara Brock Akil (May 27, 1970, Los Angeles) is a U.S. television writer and producer. Biography She was born in California, but was raised primarily in Kansas City. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism. , creator and executive producer of the UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation sitcom ``Girlfriends.'' ``And 18- to 49-year-old real people are having sex. ``That nine out of 10 shows with sex don't suggest safe-sex messages - that's bad. We have to do better, but I don't think you can preach to people - they tune you out if you do,'' Akil added. She said one of her characters, a young woman who won't go to bed with a man until they've dated for three months, has been criticized by network executives as ``prudish.'' Jessica Klein, a veteran TV writer/producer whose credits include Fox's ``Beverly Hills 90210'' and NBC's ``Just Deal,'' rejected speculation that the amount of sexual content on TV is disproportionate to its role in the daily lives of most Americans. ``We're human - we have sex all the time,'' Klein said. ``We do?'' replied an incredulous ABC News reporter Judy Muller, who moderated the discussion. The Kaiser study's summary said earlier research has shown ``television plays a meaningful role in sexual socialization, in particular for young viewers,'' including consideration of ``who to have sex with, when to have sex with someone and what precautions, if any, are appropriate.'' Jennifer Jako, who contracted HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. and has been on a crusade to inform high school and college students about risky behavior, told the luncheon guests, ``The power that you wield in the media is huge ... And the fact that you can use that power to affect positive behavior is a heady thing.'' The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit health care philanthropy unrelated to Kaiser Permanente. The study is available at www.kaisernetwork.org. Wire services contributed to this report. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, chart Photo: (1 -- color) no caption (Sarah Jessica Parker) (2 -- color) no caption (Calista Flockhart) Chart: SEX ON TV |
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