New Study About Teens And Sexual Lyrics

[MrsSpringsteen]

I would agree that the healthy sense of self that is derived from other factors in teens' lives should be able to counteract the messages in lyrics. That being said, the messages being sent in some of these lyrics can be dangerous and I agree that teens and parents need to think about them critically.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/08/07/sexlyrics.teens.ap/index.html

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found.

Whether it's hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of popular music aimed at teens contains sexual overtones. Its influence on their behavior appears to depend on how the sex is portrayed, researchers found.

Songs depicting men as "sex-driven studs," women as sex objects and with explicit references to sex acts are more likely to trigger early sexual behavior than those where sexual references are more veiled and relationships appear more committed, the study found.

Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music.

Among heavy listeners, 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.

Exposure to lots of sexually degrading music "gives them a specific message about sex," said lead author Steven Martino, a researcher for Rand Corp. in Pittsburgh. Boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women and girls learn to view themselves as sex objects, he said.

"We think that really lowers kids' inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful" about sexual decisions and may influence them to make decisions they regret, he said.

The study, based on telephone interviews with 1,461 participants aged 12 to 17, appears in the August issue of Pediatrics, being released Monday...

....Martino said the researchers tried to account for other factors that could affect teens' sexual behavior, including parental permissiveness, and still found explicit lyrics had a strong influence.

However, Yvonne K. Fulbright, a New York-based sex researcher and author, said factors including peer pressure, self-esteem and home environment are probably more influential than the research suggests.

"It's a little dangerous to just pinpoint one thing. You have to look at everything that's going on in a young person's life," she said. "When somebody has a healthy sense of themselves, they don't take these lyrics too seriously. "

 

[JanuaryStar]

As a teen, when I read this, it just makes me

Luckily I don't listen to these kind of lyrics...

 

[Justin24]

The worst kind of music is rap. I have seen it change my younger brother from a regular joe to some wanna be.

 

[nathan1977]

Relentlessly pervasive promotion often leaves parents with no options. It's hard to be heard over 115 decibels, to get in the way of billboards selling sex on every streetcorner, to drag attention away from the latest music video.

Based on the Girls Gone Wild thread, it also seems like there are a number of other sociological factors at play here, at least in terms of women seeing themselves as sexual objects.

 

[verte76]

I would imagine that these lyrics can impact an impressionable young person who's struggling with various issues, but so do alot of things. If you took away the suggestive lyrics there would still be plenty of pressure to have sex young.

 

[nbcrusader]

Just another ingredient in the societal soup we are cooking up daily. Such lyrics are often defended as reflecting “the way things are” while at the same time perpetuating (as one of many influences) some of the societal ills reflected by the songs.

 

[amerrydeath]

It seems to be insinuated that the lyrics "cause" the sexual activity... but who's to say these kids who listen to this sort of music aren't the ones who would have sex anyway?

I'm 18, don't really listen to that sort of music and am still a virgin. Maybe it doesn't appeal to me because that's not what I'm interested in.

"It's a little dangerous to just pinpoint one thing. You have to look at everything that's going on in a young person's life," she said. "When somebody has a healthy sense of themselves, they don't take these lyrics too seriously. "

 

[melon]

Maybe it doesn't appeal to me because that's not what I'm interested in.

"It's a little dangerous to just pinpoint one thing. You have to look at everything that's going on in a young person's life," she said. "When somebody has a healthy sense of themselves, they don't take these lyrics too seriously. "

I'd agree with this. I tried listening to "gangsta rap" when I was 13 or so, because it was cool. But, frankly, it just made me personally uncomfortable (while, nowadays, it sounds like a joke to me).

So yeah, I do think this is one of those instances where politics seem to trump solid research. There's a lot of obvious questions about the conclusion they came up with.

Melon

 

[nbcrusader]

We need to understand the difference between causal relationships and correlations. Lyrics, video games and the like may not cause an activity (in an if-then relationship), but they may be an active part of the filter someone uses when deciding to engage in an activity.

 

[Liesje]

I agree with amerrydeath. In fact, I often wonder if there really are any correlations at all. Teenagers have been having sex since the dawn of time. From a very simplistic perspective, it's perfectly natural. I was sexually mature (able to have a baby) at age 11 and there was no choice or societal influences involved in that.

Maybe my friends and I are all outliers, but I've never felt any influence to have sex OR to abstain from any form of media. The same thing is true for drugs, drinking, any sort of "rebellious" behavior.

I just don't see the relationships. Yes, the music is trashy, but teens are curious about their bodies and will have sex whether they are listening to rap or Beethovan.

 

[Carek1230]

As a parent, I have thought the lyrics since the age of rap, specifically gangsta rap have gotten worse and more disgusting. It's to the point teens think the language used in the songs is alright to use in day to day communications with their peers and with adults. I find it disgusting to see groups of half dressed teens smoking, cursing like sailors, dancing provocatively and listening/singing along to these sexually explicit songs (sorry I don't consider it music) at younger and younger ages. Is it because of Mtv? Is it because of rap music? I don't know that it's due to any one particular influence but a combination. It's just sad. My son went through the rap scene and rebelled. It was several disconcerting years of a very tense household, but we luckily survived and my son is settled in college now. HE bames MTV for the way teens are today.

 

[BVS]

This thread is beginning to sound like Footloose.

People have blamed music from the beginning for teens having sex. The truth is, sex really doesn't need that much promoting.

Now our attitudes towards sex can be affected, but isn't this the job of our parents and family?

Sexist lyrics have been around since the beginning...

I think the reason rap gets such a bad reputation is that it isn't subtle. Rap and subtlety just don't go hand in hand.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I just believe if kids don't have a strong parental influence, and the only images they are getting of sex and gender roles and expectations is from some of the lyrics out there these days, it is troublesome.

It makes me feel so old, but the music I listened to growing up didn't have the lyrics that exist today. As a female I gravitated to music like U2, because it was respectful of women and it was never degrading to love and sex and relationships. I know if I had kids I would filter out stuff that I felt was demeaning and degrading, at the very least talk to them about it and about sex and relationships long before lyrics were their biggest impression.

I believe in promoting sex and relationships in the way I personally feel it should be promoted, and I definitely believe that is a huge parental responsibility. Unfortunately some parents don't do it, for whatever reason.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Given the statistics on teen pregancy over the last 15 years (decent drop) I don't think it is fair to target the music industry for this, perhaps music that promotes oral sex is beneficial even if kids have sex earlier.

 

[JanuaryStar]

It seems to be insinuated that the lyrics "cause" the sexual activity... but who's to say these kids who listen to this sort of music aren't the ones who would have sex anyway?

I'm 18, don't really listen to that sort of music and am still a virgin. Maybe it doesn't appeal to me because that's not what I'm interested in.

"It's a little dangerous to just pinpoint one thing. You have to look at everything that's going on in a young person's life," she said. "When somebody has a healthy sense of themselves, they don't take these lyrics too seriously. "

Exactly!!

 

[Irvine511]

clearly, a study like this is designed to frighten parents, especially when, as A_W notes, rates of teen pregnancy are way, way down, and even the age of first sexual intercourse is slowly climbing up.

so, it seems to me that there's really only one solution: Virginity Pledges!

 

[shrmn8rpoptart]

The study did point out that this was not simply limited to rap music, it was simply music with lyrics that presented females as objects to be won, and discussed sex as a casual act.

On the other hand were songs that presented sexual relationships in deeper terms, that discussed things like love and commitment. I didn't see anywhere that it said that those who listened to these songs were more likely to end up in this kind of relationship though.

It seems like NB said, these may not play an overt role, but they are part of the culture that shapes who we are as individuals. If you are surrounded by influences telling you that women are objects and sex is soley about getting your own needs fulfilled, then the chances increase that your outlook will be similar.

 

[preciousstone]

Hmm...
I've grown up with sexually explicit lyrics all about sexual relations, derogative or not towards women, and albeit I LIKED the music, I remained a virgin until I was 19. Am I not part of a statistic? I'm being left out!!!
So are most of my friends too, I guess, I know of a 27 year old who is still a virgin. We ARE being left out!

 

[Lemonfix]

This thread is beginning to sound like Footloose.

People have blamed music from the beginning for teens having sex. The truth is, sex really doesn't need that much promoting.

Now our attitudes towards sex can be affected, but isn't this the job of our parents and family?

Sexist lyrics have been around since the beginning...

I think the reason rap gets such a bad reputation is that it isn't subtle. Rap and subtlety just don't go hand in hand.

I agree. And the constant put-down of rap as a genre gets a little tiring. How is demonizing rap today different than demonizing rock 50 years ago? There is a lot of really raunchy rap but that doesn't mean hip-hop music is inherently like that. Just ask the unabashed hip-hop/rap fans in U2. Just another non-story to get a rise out of people's puritanical sides.

 

[Irvine511]

I agree. And the constant put-down of rap as a genre gets a little tiring. How is demonizing rap today different than demonizing rock 50 years ago? There is a lot of really raunchy rap but that doesn't mean hip-hop music is inherently like that. Just ask the unabashed hip-hop/rap fans in U2. Just another non-story to get a rise out of people's puritanical sides.

... i am reminded of many U2 fans highly embarassing reactions to Kanye West as an opening acts. it's clear that rap/hip-hop faces extreme ignorance and prejudice as a musical genre.

 

[nathan1977]

Just another non-story to get a rise out of people's puritanical sides.

Go check out the Girls Gone Wild thread for more evidence of Puritanicalism.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I don't think it's puritanical or prudish to not want music to perpetuate objectified and degrading/demeaning images of women and men and relationships, sexual or otherwise, between women and men. That's just my personal viewpoint. I hardly believe that music is the biggest influence in all of that, but it is one influence. Of course people, including teens, can listen to that and not have it affect them in any significant way in their views or their sexual development. When all is said and done I do still believe the whole issue is something worth examining, as is any cultural element that portrays humans and human relationships. Doesn't mean I want to censor anything or that I'm puritanical. I listen to Kanye West and I like his music. I even like some Eminem and other rap songs, but as a female I am troubled by the way women are portrayed in some of that music. It's all still just basically music/noise to me, I don't get all up in arms over it But if I was a parent I would still be concerned about what my kids were listening to, obviously I would combine that with good communication with them about sex and gender roles and respect.



Boston Herald

A Snoop Dogg caricature leads two women around on leashes, reprimanding his “bitches” and cleaning up after one of them when she relieves herself on the floor in an MTV2 cartoon that aired Saturday.
Meanwhile, more than 3.3 million viewers watched Sunday’s premiere of VH1’s “Flavor of Love 2” (online at vspot.vh1.com), which featured two women in a fistfight and another woman defecating on the floor, all while vying for the love and affection of 1980s rapper Flavor Flav.
It’s meant to be funny.
But Deb Farrar-Parkman, an Emmy-winning producer, comedian and organizer of Boston’s ColorStruck: Women of Color in Comedy, called these scenes the “lowest attempts at humor I’ve ever seen.”
Farrar-Parkman said she thinks about the impact her comedy and that of others has on her daughters, ages 15 and 21.
“It’s impossible to laugh off the images of women that permeate the media these days: the so-called b’s in chains, on leashes and taking dumps on the floor,” she said. “For the most part I can laugh at almost anything, but the total degradation of women is not funny.”
The animated clip in question remained online yesterday. A statement from MTV Networks President Christina Norman, herself black, defended the MTV2 series “Where My Dogs At?” as parody.
Snoop Dogg showed up to the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with two women on leashes, then duplicated the stunt in the video for 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.”
“We certainly do not condone Snoop’s actions and the goal was to take aim at that incident for its insensitivity and outrageousness,” the MTV statement said.
National Organization for Women vice president Latifa Lyles questioned MTV’s defense.
“There’s a difference in reporting something that happened and glamorizing it,” Lyles said. “It’s definitely not something to laugh off. So much of what our young women and girls get from cultural cues comes from these mass media outlets, especially MTV.”
Media watchdog group Industry Ears asked MTV to take down the MTV2 clip. But group co-founder Paul Porter said “Flavor of Love” is more hurtful toward women.
“It keeps reinforcing the same negative stereotypes,” Porter said.

 

[nbcrusader]

^ I agree with MrsSpringsteen. The terms puritanical or prudish are often thrown out to (i) imply that they are somehow bad character traits, and (ii) to avoid any discussion that such things can cause harm.

 

[80sU2isBest]

MrsSpringsteen,
Excellent post.

 

[anitram]

I think maybe if parents spent more time trying to raise thoughtful children who are able to participate in independent, critical thinking, and less time worrying about MTV, we'd be better off.

If you are capable of discerning meaning in lyrics, then you can, like MrsS mentions, be troubled by some of the lyrics but that doesn't mean you are indoctrinated by them like an idiot.

There are stupid teenagers who will grow up to be stupid adults and smart teenagers who will grow up to be smart adults. What their parents do in their homes and how much they push their kids to get educated and to become thoughtful young adults has infinitely more to do with how they turn out than what Paris Hilton is bleating out on the radio.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Another study I read about, interesting

(AFP)US boys hooked on gospel, techno and pop are more at risk of HIV infection than devotees of other musical styles, including "bling, bling" hip hop, according to a new study.

Musical tastes may offer clues to rates of HIV infection, said researchers who tried to decipher the complex behaviors and attitudes of young men in the United States, at a global AIDS conference.

The music industry often says there is no connection between music and sexual behavior, but hundreds of young men interviewed in New York this year fiercely disagreed, said lead researcher Miguel Munoz-Laboy of Columbia University.

They said images of scantily-clad women in submissive roles in hip hop music videos, for example, had a "real impact on their lives," he said.

"There is a connection. You see it in the way people dance, dress and it has an impact on their sexuality," said Munoz-Laboy.

The researchers peered into male youth culture to help develop HIV prevention programs that target this demographic they say is too often neglected by health strategists.

They looked at three New York neighborhoods and interviewed boys aged 16 to 21 about their listening tastes and attitudes toward condom use and sexual activities.

"We often blame youth for their behavior without understanding it," Munoz-Laboy said. "(But) there is a complex story about sexuality, masculinity and culture here."

"It's clear that current schemes are not working," he said.

"It's very hard to get heterosexual young men into HIV prevention programs even though we demonize them a lot for pregnancies and passing on STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) to their girlfriends."

The study did not imply listening to certain types of music causes HIV infection but simply found links between genres and risk factors.

A behavioral analysis divided participants into two musical groups: hip hop, reggae, reggaeton, rap and rhythm and blues; and rock, heavy metal, pop, techno, electronic and gospel.

"Kids would be appalled that we grouped them this way, but this is how they mapped out in the mathematical analysis," Munoz-Laboy said.

Researchers also distinguished between two styles of hip hop: the "bling, bling" hip hop that values fancy cars, money, and many girlfriends; and "real" hip hop that tells of urban youth stricken by violence, poverty and drug abuse.

They found boys who listened to hip hop music were more likely to have vaginal intercourse and had more partners, but boys from church or New York club scenes (techno, pop, electronic) took the most sexual risks.

"Boys who listened to hip hop had more sex and more partners, but it did not impact condom use," said Munoz-Laboy. "Those who are part of religious culture or the club scene used condoms inconsistently."

 

[80sU2isBest]

"Boys who listened to hip hop had more sex and more partners, but it did not impact condom use," said Munoz-Laboy. "Those who are part of religious culture or the club scene used condoms inconsistently."

You know why I think that is, at least in reference to religious culture? Because there many Christians kids who don't "plan" on having sex. But sometimes, when they get in the "heat of the moment", they find out their flesh can win the day over their values.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Or maybe sex is so "taboo" (not the word I'm really looking for, because I wouldn't want to say that is true in every case of any religious beliefs and their relation to sex and decisions about sex) for some of them, because of what they have been taught, that they don't even purchase condoms or use them at all. Of course I would never discount at all that some "religious" teens have beliefs of their own about sex (carefully considered and deeply personal), and I completely respect those who can hold onto those beliefs, especially in this culture. But if they do have sex for whatever reason, they need to be prepared to be protected from HIV and other STDs, not to mention pregnancy.

Desire and lust and all that can always win over values and whatever decisions teens have previously made, but ultimately they need to be protected if that happens.

 

[phillyfan26]

As a teenager, I can tell you music doesn't have anything to do with it. The people you hang out with and your parents have everything to do with it. It would make more sense to note that your crowd's music tastes rub off on you. You hang out with people who think things like having to be a pimp and women being objects, the music is just a small part of who you are, and who they are.

 

[Halifax]

As a teenager, I can tell you music doesn't have anything to do with it. The people you hang out with and your parents have everything to do with it. It would make more sense to note that your crowd's music tastes rub off on you. You hang out with people who think things like having to be a pimp and women being objects, the music is just a small part of who you are, and who they are.

As a guy approaching the end of his teenage years, I can really testify to this: the people you hang out with and the values and beliefs your parents impart to you are FAR MORE influential than the media. Personally, I'm very lucky to have a great group of freidns and I've never felt pressured to have sex, drink, take drugs etc.