Take Me To The Internet

The Bond article “Formation-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bi-Sexual Individuals” discusses sexual identity and how the media influences people's actions within the LGB community. There was a major bridge between the process of coming out and the use of the internet. LGB individuals used the internet more than face-to-face interpersonal relationships and sought most of information from the internet. The importance between the internet and coming out is clearly defined through these results. Because of the prominence of the LBG community using the internet, what is broadcasted through all forms of media in relation to the LBG community is incredibly influential. With this idea of coming out, it is also important to gather information about the LBG community, not just within your area but worldwide in order to grasp the culture and learn more about themselves.

One example of this influence is Hozier’s song and music video “Take Me To Church.” This song hones in on the anti-homophobic laws and culture within Russia, and how “an act of sex is one of the most things, but an organization like the church undermine humanity by successfully teaching shame about sexual orientation” (New York Magazine, Online). This attention towards the homophobic culture is not an attack on faith, but an act to bring more focus to the cruelties of those who are scared to come out.

This music video chronicles the struggles of two gay men who are in love with each other in Russia where it is illegal for them to be together. The homophobic culture leads them to try and run away together, but while one of the men is waiting for the other to arrive and run away, a group of homophobic men step in. They drag one of the gay men to a bonfire where they repeatedly beat him to death because of his sexuality and his relationship. One of the most heart wrenching scenes is when one of the gay men sees the other getting beaten to death but cannot do anything because if he went to help he too would be beaten to death.

While this video does not show a coming out story of triumph and hope, it shows the desperation that needs to be stopped. This video brings light to the issues plaguing Russia, and by bringing attention to it, it only adds to the information found on the intent concerning homosexuality. This video does not give young LGB a person to identity with and help them with coming out, but I think that the knowledge of this situation is something that LGB individuals and society as a whole should be aware of. This video brings light to the fact that Russian LGB struggle to find support and a community, and outlines the difference in extremes between American LGB and Russian. While this video shows an unsafe environment for LGB, "the internet is a safe and discreet way of finding information and meeting friends" (Bond, 43). This video is supposed help those who are fearful of coming out and bring light to homophobic culture that needs to be extinguished. Music videos, songs, movies, and television shows can be a way of getting stories and information out there and it can’t always be positive but that doesn’t mean it can’t have positive effects on our society.


Cite
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

Shepard, Julianne. " Q&A: Irish Musician Hozier on Gay Rights, Sexuality, Good Hair" http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/03/qa-hozier-on-gay-rights-sex-good-hair.html#

Youtube.com "Take Me To Church" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjiKRfKpPI.

If You're Looking for Someone to Write Your Blog Posts About: Sex, Media Effects, & One Direction

If you like thinking about media and sex too,

If you like blog posts about Harry Styles & crew, 

If you want to know what this music video might do to you,

Baby I'm perfect, baby I'm perfect for you. 

One Direction's smash-hit "Perfect" is proof that not even Zayn can stop the British sensations. It's like they say, "nobody can drag me down." With their "Perfect" EP dropping tonight, there seems to be no better time to analyze the messages that will be broadcasted to millions of adolescent, teenage, and young adult girls around the world and think about what their effects might be. In the case of this video, gendered commitment scripts as well as sexual messages are being portrayed by 1D; this post discusses a few of the ways in which this content might affect adolescent girls.

From the first line, it's clear this song isn't about love: "I might never be your knight in shining armor, I might never be the one you take home to mother...but I can be the one, be the one tonight." This theme repeats throughout the song, stressing that the various members of 1D aren't "good at making promises," meaning they're not going to be committed or faithful to a girl. This falls closely in line with a sexual script (culturally available script for recognizing and acting in social situations) defined by Kim et al., the Masculine Commitment Script (MCS) (2007). The MCS states that "men actively avoid commitment, marriage, monogamy, or taking their romantic relationships 'to the next level," which is clearly the attitude of One Direction in "Perfect". This attitude to relationships corresponds with a needier Female Commitment Script counterpart, which craves commitment and romance; "Perfect" also hints at this script with the line "if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about." These scripts and the relationships they implicate reinforce male-dominant power structures in relationships between men and women by allowing the man a greater degree of freedom and subordinating the woman to his will to have a relationship or not.

In watching this music video, I was struck by how harmless One Direction was portrayed to be, despite their relatively provocative lyrics. This harmless yet playful depiction reminded me of the description of the guys that the "Intrigued" preteen girls in Brown, White & Nikopoulou's study would fantasize about: "nice," "cute," "fun" and "funny" (1993) It seems as if this music video specifically avoids being as sexual as its lyrics to attract Directioners of this age group and potentially younger by depicting 1D as such.

Targeting such a young audience with a harmless video would indeed be harmless if the lyrics weren't so clearly sexual: "And if you like having secret little rendezvous, if you like to do the things you know that we shouldn’t do...baby, I'm perfect for you." The effects of sexual content like this are likely to vary between individuals, but Brown et al. found that 12-14 year olds with heavy diets of sexual content like this tend to be at greater risk of engaging in early sexual intercourse (2006). Brown et al.'s 2004 paper also found that middle-school aged girls often turn to media as a "sexual super peer," and earlier maturing girls often perceived media as giving them sexual permission. Chia & Gunther's study found that college students tend to perceive sexual media as having a great effect on people around them and males were found to the adopt casual attitudes towards sex based on this. One of the risk factors Brown et al. identified as influencing likelihood to have earlier sexual intercourse was perceived sexual permissiveness of peers. 

If adolescents treat the media as a super peer AND young people perceive their peers as being sexually permissive as a result of the sexual media, then sexually permissive media is likely to ultimately influence the attitudes of young people towards sex. Through its lyrics, "Perfect" encourages trivial sex without commitment among a young audience, who might be ill-equipped to deal with the risks and responsibilities associated with sex. Beyond this, the media encourages young girls to allow men to set the committal terms of their relationships, promoting an unhealthy and one-sided relationship power dynamic.

References

1. Brown, J. D., White, A. B., & Nikopoulou, L. (1993). Disinterest, intrigue, resistance: Early adolescent girls' use of sexual media content. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown & N. Buerkel-Rothfuss (Eds.), Media, sex and the adolescent (pp. 177-195). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
2. 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 
3. Brown, J. D., L'Engle, K. L., Pardun, C. J., Guo, G., Kenneavy, K., & Jackson, C. (2006). Sexy media matter: Exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines predicts Black and White adolescents' sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 117(4), 1018-1027. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-140
4. Chia, S. C., & Gunther, A. C. (2006). How media contribute to misperceptions of social norms about sex. Mass Communication & Society, 9(3), 301-320. doi: 10.1207/s15327825mcs0903_3
5. Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00224490701263660

It's never easy

            June 26^th, 2015: a powerful day for same-sex couples nationwide. On this date just a few months ago, the law officially accepted homosexuals, as gay marriage was made legal by all 50 states. The media is a huge source of information of this transformation of the gay community over the past several decades. Even though society has made huge strides in the gay community, coming out to family and friends as homosexual remains an extremely monumental and sometimes traumatic moment for many. In the article Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment, authors reveal that “[m]edia, particularly the Internet, may now be serving as the primary source for LGB adolescents” (Bond et al 2008). Frequently, teenagers struggling to define their sexuality look to the media for guidance. That being said, it is important that the media offers realistic depictions of this process.

             The popular show Glee does a successful job of casting homosexual characters and sharing their experiences coming out. Kurt Hummel possesses many stereotypical gay qualities; his coming out is no surprise. Kurt shares a special moment with father upon revealing his sexuality; despite the fear in Kurt’s eyes, his father’s response is “I know. I’ve known since you were three … I love you just as much.” The two hug, and viewers’ see the relief in Kurt’s eyes.

On the other hand, Santana Lopez starts dating a fellow cheerleader, which is a surprise as she has previously dated men. Santana expresses her struggle with sexuality to her grandmother, telling her that she no longer wants to keep this secret. Santana is shocked and distraught when her grandmother responds,  “everyone has secrets, Santana. They are called secrets for a reason. I want you to leave this house and I never want to see you again. Go, now!”

Santana’s experience coming out to her family is the complete opposite of Kurt’s. According to Bond et al., “These conversations can be difficult, especially if the family atmosphere is homophobic or aversive to intimate conversation” (Bond et al 2008). Santana's experience shows just that. Through these two characters, Glee reveals the drastically different experiences individuals undergo when sharing their sexuality.

            Glee does a fantastic job of representing two homosexual students who struggle to share their sexuality with their family members. No experience is exactly the same as another, but Glee shares at least two. Although the law and Supreme Court have made strides toward a more accepting community, this experience remains traumatic for many as not all individuals embrace the idea. Other television shows and media outlets should follow in Glee's footsteps in order to help those struggling with this type of situation.