Reading about how media can act as a
“super-peer” for faster maturing girls, I decided to take YouTube to the test
and see just how easy it is to find instructions to the questions that young
girls wonder, such as “how to kiss.” It’s alarming how quickly hundreds and
thousands of videos popped up and how many views each video has.
My
initial thought when all of these videos popped up was that at least there is
an outlet for girls who have questions and are not comfortable to talk to
others yet. Then I played the video. The first issue I saw was that the woman
in the video did not speak of her connection to the man she was sitting next
to. She may mention who he is in another video but it has to be assumed that
someone will come and watch just one video. From the start of the video there
is the indication that kissing is a fun game with no mention of it being best
when it is with someone you like, or at least know. This video turns it into a
sport, which is an awful message to give to a young pre-teen girl searching for
answers. The next issue is that the girl, who clearly agrees with this message,
explains that the guy will lead and the girl should follow. Instead of giving
the message of “do what you’re comfortable with” and “don’t feel any pressure,”
girls are being told to go at the pace of the guy. It’s fairly safe to say that
this would not be a parents idealized way for their children to be educated on
sexuality.
One of
the comments on the video said, “Yeah the whole tip of let the man lead thing
is kinnda hard considering I'm bisexual girl with a girlfriend so yeah haha.”
On one hand this girl is lucky to feel comfortable enough to share that she is
bisexual but she makes the excellent point that there are few examples to teach
of sexuality for same sex couples. This brought me to my next YouTube
challenge, find the same tutorial video for a same sex couple. A video came up
that seemed like it fit the little criteria but it turned out to be a joke:
It is obvious that while a lot (but not
all) of media is a poor channel of sexual education for girls, in terms of
YouTube tutorials, it appears non-existent for LGB teens. The question I’m left
with is, is it better to be poorly educated on a subject or not educated at
all?
Bond, Bradley, Hefner, Veronica, Drogos,
Kristin. "Formation-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of
Lesbian, Gay, and Bi-Sexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming
Out in a Mediated Environment" December 2008. Springer Science+Business
Media, LLC 2008
Brown, J. D., Halpern,
C. T., & L'Engle, K. L. (2005). Mass media as a sexual super peer for early
maturing girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 420-427. doi:
10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003
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