Sexual Content Becomes More Prevalent on TV, Study Finds

What is broadly defined as “sexual content” has become more prevalent on television without any appreciable increase in discussion of potential consequences, though programs tend to be more responsible when teenagers are involved.

Those are the central findings of a study presented Tuesday in Beverly Hills by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Menlo Park, Calif., which seeks to prod the media into disseminating safer-sex messages.

Compared with a similar Kaiser study two years ago, the percentage of programs containing “sexual content” rose to just over two-thirds (from 56% in 1998) and three-quarters within prime-time shows--up from two-thirds during the prior analysis, the survey concluded.

At the same time, only 10% of programs include safer-sex messages, virtually unchanged from two years ago; however, the percentage is markedly higher in programs featuring sexual intercourse or teens in sexual situations. In fact, a third of shows in which teens have sex incorporated some discussion of safer sex, abstinence or consequences.

Entertainment industry representatives have criticized Kaiser’s methodology, which counts “talk about sex,” “flirting,” “kissing” and “intimate touching” as actions that constitute “sexual content.” By contrast, a relatively small number of the programs screened contained sexual intercourse “depicted or strongly implied,” though such scenes increased from 7% of programs in 1998 to 10% in the most recent data.

Dale Kunkel--a professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara, who oversaw the research--defended the way programs were categorized, saying talk about sex among teenage characters can be just as significant as a portrayed sexual encounter “for a teenager who’s trying to decide ‘When is it OK to have sex?’ ”

In terms of scenes of actual or implied intercourse, 9% involved teenagers, researchers determined, and nearly a quarter were characters who seemed to be in the 18-to-24 age bracket. In a sixth of all scenes--such as an episode of “Ally McBeal” in which the title character had sex with a stranger in a carwash--the couple had just met.

Kaiser’s primary interest is not so much volume of sexual content but for TV shows to explore ramifications and safeguards, hoping to inform teens about the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

In unveiling the study at a conference attended by various TV producers and executives, Kaiser Vice President Victoria Rideout stressed the intent was not to blame the entertainment industry for social problems but underscore its importance in helping shape teen attitudes and to encourage messages that “help normalize safer-sex behaviors.”

“TV shows aren’t sex-education classes. . . . We try to be practical and realistic about this,” added Kaiser President Drew Altman.

Positive examples cited included episodes of “Felicity” and “Popular” in which characters discuss condom usage and an exchange between teens regarding the emotional consequences of intercourse on “Dawson’s Creek.” All three shows air on the WB, the most-watched broadcast network among teenage girls, which is part-owned by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times.

Dramatic series were most likely to incorporate such messages, doing so at three times the rate of sitcoms. Researchers examined more than 1,100 programs over a period from October 1999 through March 2000, and excluded newscasts, sports and children’s programming.

As part of Tuesday’s event, Kaiser also released a study demonstrating the impact that sexual-health messages can have on viewers, reflecting increased knowledge of contraception and sexually transmitted disease among “ER” viewers after an episode that dealt with those issues.

Roland McFarland, the Fox executive who oversees broadcast standards, suggested various factors already serve to curb TV content, among them the limits imposed by advertisers and viewers.

“We’re not going to bite the hand that feeds us as far as incurring the wrath of the viewing public,” he said.