Sexting in Suburbia

          So my mom and my sister are obsessed with Lifetime Movie Network movies. It just so happens that one of the titles of these movies they were watching a few years back was called "Sexting in Suburbia." I tuned in for a bit of it and the movie proved to be yet another Lifetime drama- filled, poorly acted, small budget movies designed to enamor young girls and their moms. Thinking back on this movie, however, I come to realize that its themes are echoed in both our class discussion on the dangers of sexting and in Lippman and Campbell's Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't…If You're a Girl: Relational and Normative Contexts of Adolescent Sexting in the United States.
          Sexting in Suburbia is a story about a teenage girl who was at the peak of high school popularity. She was voted prom queen and was admired by her peers. The movie proceeds to show the main character of the film, Dina experience pressure from her boyfriend to lose her virginity to him at a party. She denies him the opportunity and as a result, her boyfriend leaves the party and cheats on Dina with another girl. Dina, who is upset at this situation decides that regain the approval of her boyfriend by sending him naked pictures of herself the next morning. However, her plan backfires and as she enters school the following day she is greeted by sarcastic applause from her peers and is made a laughing stock because her pictures were leaked and viewed by seemingly everyone in the school. She opens her locker and condoms fall out- a practical joke played on her by other girls. The film takes a dark turn and reinforces the damaging effects of teen sexting as Dina, distraught from her ordeal decides to commit suicide.
          The negative consequences of sexting are clearly illuminated in this film. First, Dina becomes the laughing stock of her school because her pictures got out. In our class discussion, we spent a lot of time explaining how oftentimes, when pictures are sent, they will be leaked and more than the intended audience will view them. The film depicts the shame and helplessness that comes after the photos are leaked. Her suicide serves as a major consequence of teen sexting and I think the film definitely achieves in making teens think twice about sending pictures. The film also exemplifies one of the themes of Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't…If You're a Girl in that the doubled edged sword of girls being perceived as prude if they do not sext and considered a slut if they do is a major plot point. Dina, to make up for denying her boyfriend sex, sends the pictures. Her worries initially stem from the belief that she is being a prude and decides to make up for this by sexting. However, the other end of the sword rears its head once she sends the pictures and her actions become public knowledge and she is cast out from her social groups as a pariah and a whore.
          In my opinion, the movie, as poorly acted and typically dramatic as any lifetime movie, actually sheds light on some serious issues regarding the phenomenon of teenage sexting. The social consequences of engaging in sexting are exemplified in the film as well as the lose-lose situation teenage girls face when deciding whether to face being considered a prude for not sexting or a whore for sending pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QfJpuBr268

Sources:


Lippman, J. R., & Campbell, S. W. (2014). Damned if you do, damned if you don't… if you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 8(4), 371-386.



Stimpson, J. (Director). (2012). Sexting in Suburbia [Motion picture]. United States of America: Moody Independent Film Company.

Media Literacy Pitfall?

       In our class discussions about media literacy we have come to conclusions that learning media literacy for anyone at any stage of their life would be worth while. Pinkleton's The Role of Media Literacy in Shaping Adolescents' Understanding of and Responses to Sexual Portrayals in Mass Media supports this idea in that their study showed participants who had media literacy training better understood  media influences regarding  decision making about sex. They were also more likely to indicate that sexual depictions in the media are inaccurate and glamorized. They also were better equipped to resist peer pressure. All of these things inform our understanding of media literacy as a completely positive program.
        However, a study done by Kristen Harrison (who happens to be my instructor for COMM 482) shows something interesting and its implications dispute the effectiveness of media literacy. Her study deals with adolescents and body consciousness. The study shows that telling adolescents that the idealized imagery they are looking at has been retouched actually makes their body satisfaction worse. So, in their case, they expected that making children wiser to the game that media was playing in terms of retouching images would make children better media consumers and be better off for it. However, their increased media savvy made them even more self conscious than before.
          The implications of this study challenge our belief that media literacy is always beneficial. Though the study focuses on body image and media, I think it would be interesting to translate the themes of the study into a more sexual-focused media study. It also raises the interesting idea of questioning whether or not it is a good thing to make people wise to the game that media plays. The idea that people are better off remaining ignorant to deceptive media practices is an idea not often thrown around in an academic setting, but is nonetheless very interesting. This is a link to the Harrison study: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2013.770354

Sources: 

 Pinkleton, B. E., Austin, E. W., Chen, Y. C. Y., & Cohen, M. (2012). The role of media literacy in shaping adolescents' understanding of and responses to sexual portrayals in mass media. Journal of health communication, 17(4), 460-476.


    Harrison, K., & Hefner, V. (2014). Virtually perfect: Image retouching and adolescent body image. Media Psychology, 17(2), 134-153.    

Mainsteaming BDSM in Comedy Films

     
        In our discussions about the seeming infiltration of BDSM into popular culture, we examined a few examples of that phenomenon. The examples were two movies and some advertisements for mundane products. These are good examples and might illustrate how BDSM has crept into the mainstream. However, when I think of the mainstreaming of BDSM themes, the only instances that popped into my head were from comedy films. This might be because I do not notice the other instances of BDSM in other cases, but I think the question of how BDSM  representations in comedy films affect BDSM representations in other instances should be taken up.
         The image above this text is from the movie "Dodgeball," made in 2004. This movie is a comedy and features a scene in which the dodgeball team receives a package they assume are their uniforms. However, they open the box and find nothing but leather outfits and other BDSM accessories. Their shipment had been botched and left them no choice- they had to wear the BDSM equipment as their uniforms. As the Average Joe's dodgeball team is announced and enter the court, the crowod goes silent upon seeing them come out of the mist and onto the court for all to see in leather outfits and chains. One of the commentators exclaims, "Oh my sweet Jesus" as the group of  middle- aged people lumber around the court in their "uniforms."
          This scene from the movie is designed to get a comical reaction from audiences.I believe the comedy of this scene comes from the irony of a bunch of "Average Joes" wearing something not so average and watching them handle the awkward situation of facing a crowd of hundreds of people. However, I think it is important to acknowledge that in this case, making BDSM the butt of the joke may damage the credibility of BDSM practices outside of comedy films. The crowd's reaction to seeing the BDSM outfits in the public eye was shock and astonishment as they go silent and express puzzlement with displays of open mouths. A mother is shown covering the eyes of her children as she expresses disgust and anger at the dodgeball team for wearing their uniforms. Overall, the film's representation of BDSM makes it out to be something not to take lightly and accept as something in the mainstream. The film portrays it's place in the public eye as something to shield your kids from and question the intentions of those who have something to do with BDSM.
          Though this instance of BDSM in the mainstream film industry is in a comedy film and is not intended to be taken seriously, it still has effects and flies in the face of  Mainstreaming Kink: The Politics of BDSM Representation in U.S. Popular Media by Margot Weiss. In this piece, Weiss explains that since the 1980's the amount of BDSM coverage in popular media has increased. She says, "SM has saturated popular culture, and in this saturation, SM has come to mean something more mainstream and less risqué, more conventional and less exotic. Popular depictions of SM have shifted from images of the shocking, dangerous other to representations both pathological and normal." I argue that the portryal of BDSM in the movie "Dodgeball" works to disprove this theory and serves to stigmatize BDSM practices as unusual and deviant.
          Perhaps the effects of the BDSm scene in Dodgeball is supposed to be considered comical and not analyzed under the microscope in which we analyze things in class. But, it is a piece of popular culture and I think its effects are felt just as much as any serious publication. I think that representations of BDSM in comedy films try to captilaize on the "unusual" nature of BDSM practices to mae it the butt of jokes. In this way, BDSM's leak into the mainstream serves to undermine its acceptance of a normal practice.

                                                              Citations


Weiss, M. D. (2006). Mainstreaming kink: The politics of BDSM representation in US popular media. Journal of homosexuality, 50(2-3), 103-132.

Thurber, R. (Director). (2004). Dodgebal [Motion picture]. United States of America: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Positives in Parasocial Relationships

          As a class we have discussed the phenomenon of having para social relationships with famous figures and celebrities from our childhood. Before our discussion, I felt that this phenomenon was frowned upon by most people in society for its lack of authenticity and sort of foolish characteristics. However, learning from everyone's insight in class, I noticed no one in our class was negatively affected by these past crushes and everyone seemed to be a functioning member of society despite having this kind of relationship. It also came up in conversation that para social relationships that imagine a celebrity as a close friend instead of a love interest are more common. I would have to agree. http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/the-angelina-jolie-effect. This blog's findings serve as an example of the good a paraoscial relationship that imagines a celebrity as a close friend can bring.
          This blog explains how in 2013, Angelina Jolie decided to take a pre-emptive measure to prevent breast cancer by getting a double mastectomy. Her decision was all over the news and led to a more prominent national discussion of breast cancer and genetic testing. The blog's focus was a study done by Professor Kami Kosenko that aimed to find out whether or not Jolie's actions and its coverage influenced people to take similar actions as Jolie and why these people cared about her and her story. The study surveyed 356 people and found that 30% of the women were motivated to get tested for the same gene Jolie had been tested for. 23% said they would likely get tested and another 7% said they for sure would get tested. What is interesting about this study also is that Kosenko explained the reasons for the results by saying "Women who identified more strongly with Jolie were more likely to intend to get the genetic testing regardless of whether they had a family history of cancer than women who did have a family history of cancer, but did not identify with Jolie. The same was true of women who felt they had some sort of parasocial relationship with Jolie, meaning they viewed her as a friend. This means that Jolie's speaking out definitely had an impact."
          This study serves as support of Ward, Day, and Epstein's Uncommonly Good: Exploring How Mass Media May Be a Positive Influence on Young Women’s Sexual Health and Development because it shows the positive impact a media figure and the media coverage of her actions led to a greater awareness of breast cancer and genetic testing. Perhaps another category of media positives could be added that focuses on the good media figures can have on society. This shift in thinking might be refreshing since a lot of media focus on celebrity effects are focused on their negative impacts. This blog and the study included in it also could be an interesting extension of Karinols' Adolescent Females’ Idolization of Male Media Stars as a Transition Into Sexuality because it offers a look inside parasocial interactions as celebrity idols and the good that come from this. Even if it deals with a different age group, they have parallels in terms of the effects of celebrity idolization.

Sources 

Ward, L. M., Day, K. M., & Epstein, M. (2006). Uncommonly good: exploring how mass media may be a positive influence on young women's sexual health and development. New directions for child and adolescent development,2006(112), 57-70.

Karniol, R. (2001). Adolescent females' idolization of male media stars as a transition into sexuality. Sex Roles, 44(1-2), 61-77.

 Shoemaker, N. (2015, July 31). The Angelina Jolie Effect. Retrieved October 31, 2015, from http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/the-angelina-jolie-effect 

                                                                                                                                     

Homosexual Portrayals in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

           

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a comedy series on HBO starring Larry David. The show is a comedic take on everyday situations, placing characters in awkward situations to achieve its comedic goal. The type of humor in the show relies on drawing on real life scenarios as they would occur in the real world. As i was watching some of these episodes, I noticed a few representations of homosexuality. I noticed that though these representations were few and far between, the portrayals adhered to stereotypical themes regarding homosexuality in both males and females.
            The first instance of homosexuality I encountered in the show involved Larry David deciding what birthday gift to get for the son of his friend. When he met the boy, the child exemplified the extreme stereotypes of homosexuality. The boy was dressed in ballet gear and greeted Larry David by skipping toward him humming show-tunes of one of his favorite musicals. The boy talked with an abnormally high voice and in a tone indicative of most girls his age. Larry very bluntly tells his friend, "Your son is most definitely gay." He decides to buy the boy a sewing machine for his birthday and upon giving him the gift, the boy screams in a high pitch squeal and skips back to his room and exclaims, "I'm going to make you something fabulous Larry!" This representation of homosexuality elicited the themes of  Gendered Relationships on Television: Portrayals of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples by Ivory, Ivory, and Gibson. Their research explored the way in which television portrayals of homosexual individuals reinforced gendered stereotypes. Specifically, male homosexual characters were given feminine qualities. Curb Your Enthusiasm forwards this idea in the representation of homosexuality in a little boy because he exhibits only feminine qualities. Even though this show is meant to be humorous and in some cases extreme, the show relies on situations people are likely to encounter in everyday life. Keeping this in mind, the portrayal of homosexuality embodied by the boy reinforces the idea that homosexuals must adhere to gendered stereotypes.
             Another episode of the show featured Rosie O'Donnel. The focus of the episode was on her identity as a lesbian in a battle with Larry for the love of a bisexual woman. The episode only showed O'Donnel represent masculine qualities and advance stereotypical lesbian qualities. For instance, the episode shows her playing softball, drinking beer, spitting, chewing tobacco, and dominating Larry David in physicality. This extreme portryal also reinforces the research of Ivory, Ivory, and Gibson in that it places homosexuality for females in a mold of masculine identity.
             Curb Your Enthusiasm is a fairly innocent comedy series. I do not think the show was trying to advance a disrespectful perspective on homosexuality and was simply trying to entertain people by playing on stereotypical views. However, the show reinforces these stereotypes. Adhering to extreme sterotypes of homosexuality creates a culture of misunderstanding. I think the show should incorporate more balanced portrayals of homosexuality because the show can still be humorous without being ignorant and could contribute to a more balanced, informed television culture.

Citations
Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12(2), 170-192.

 David, L. (Writer). (2014, October 10). The Doll [Television series episode]. In Curb Your Enthusiasm. Los Angeles: HBO.

 David, L. (Writer). (2014, December 3). The Bisexual [Radio series episode]. In Curb Your Enthusiasm. Los Angeles: HBO.

"Teen Mom"- Negative Consequences and Glorification

"Teen Mom" is a reality television show on MTV that follows the lives of teenage girls who get pregnant and deal with the consequences of this. Though the show does show some positive consequences of teenage pregnancy (moms generally love their babies and often do not regret having a baby), the show is meant to be a cautionary tale for teenage pregnancy. The show illustrates the difficulties teenage pregnancy can create in a young person's life. Oftentimes, episodes rely on the drama created by problems ranging from relationship strife between the pregnant girl and boyfriend, economic stresses of preparing for a child or raising a baby, or the complications girls face in education while pregnant and after birth. The show succeeds in showing the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy, but some say this show actually inspires teenagers to get pregnant in hopes of achieving the fame of the girls on the show.

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/dangers-teen-mom-reality-shows-23133.html

This is a link to an article criticizing shows like Teen Mom because these shows glamorize the idea of teenage pregnancy despite the show's focus on negative consequences. The article also illuminates the show's tendency to normalize the situations these girls experience while pregnant and after and this affects young viewers' expectations about pregnancy at a young age.

But why does this matter? It matters because this article and research point to an increase in teenage pregnancy and applications to be on shows like "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant." The fame subjects on these shows achieve overpowers the cautionary theme of these shows for young viewers and the amount of viewers of these shows has increased since its initial airing and the fandom of these shows has increased as well. It seems as though young people idolize the stars of the show instead of learn from their situations. The Effects of Sex in Television Drama Shows on Emerging Adults’ Sexual Attitudes and Moral Judgments  by Keren Eyal and Dale Kunkel illustrates the connection between media portrayals of negative consequences of sex and moral judgments. Their work finds that people who encounter negative consequences of sex in media tend to judge sexual actions more critically. However, the growing fan following of teenage pregnancy reality shows along with an increase in applications to be on these shows by teenage girls would be a counterexample to Eyal and Kunkel's work.
I think that Eyal and Kunkel's conclusions about exposure to consequences of sex and its effects on moral judgement are sound. However, media's tendency to glorify the stars of reality shows and the career success and popularity these reality stars achieve is more enticing to young viewers than any learning lesson.


Sources:

Eyal, K., & Kunkel, D. (2008). The effects of sex in television drama shows on emerging adults' sexual attitudes and moral judgments. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(2), 161-181.
Ireland, K. (2015, June 2). What Are the Dangers of Teen Mom Reality Shows? Retrieved October 17, 2015.

Romantic Idealization in Media for Men

The movie Don Jon states "Romantic comedies are for women what porn is for men." This is an interesting statement to make. It keys on the interests of men and women and classifies them in a very gendered fashion. It relies on the assumption that girls take pleasure in the lofty romantic ideals presented in romantic comedy type movies the same way men take pleasure in the idealization of women in porn. This idea keys on the idea presented by the study done by Hurst, Brown, and L'Engle that found adolescent boys are obsessed with sex and sexual performance in particular. (Hurst, Borwon, L'Engle, 2008)
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a16690/down-with-romcoms/. This is a link to a cosmopolitan article about why boys hate being dragged to romantic comedies. This article details the unrealistic portrayals of romantic relationships and the hardships these unrealistic portrayals force onto guys i general. The article notes that romantic comedy actors are way better looking than average men and that the men in romantic comedies set unrealistic goals for real life men to aspire to. This article coupled with the sentiment of the quotation from Don Jon point to a cultural understanding that men are threatened by media portrayals of romantic relationships because they feel like they have to up their game to compete with the idealized romantic sentiments displayed by actors. This is interesting to compare with the findings of Aubrey and Taylor in The Role of Lad Magazines in Priming Men’s Chronic and Temporary Appearance-Related Schemata: An Investigation of Longitudinal and Experimental Findings that showed men who viewed objectified women in magazines felt a higher need to conform to idealized body types for men to be able to obtain women of he same standard. (Aubrey, Taylor, 2009)
Altogether, these media examples combined with the findings of Aubrey and Taylor as well as  Hurst, Borwn, and L'Engle point to a media culture that places heavy pressure on men to conform to idelaized romantic and body representations.


Aubrey, J. S., & Taylor, L. D. (2009). The Role of Lad Magazines in Priming Men’s Chronic and Temporary Appearance‐Related Schemata: An Investigation of Longitudinal and Experimental Findings. Human Communication Research,35(1), 28-58.
Hust, S. J., Brown, J. D., & L'Engle, K. L. (2008). Boys will be boys and girls better be prepared: An analysis of the rare sexual health messages in young adolescents' media. Mass communication & society, 11(1), 3-23.

virginity loss narratives in "40 Year Old Virgin"

40 Year Old Virgin is a comedy movie from 2005 starring Steve Carell. The plot revolves around Andy, played by Carell, who is a 40 year old man who has yet to have sex with anyone. The film illustrates the awkward situations a man could face when placed in sexual situations without any sexual knowledge. The film approaches these situations with a sense of humor, however virginity loss narratives introduced by Kelly in "Virginty loss narratives in "teen drama" television programs" are strewn throughout the film.
Much of the film's plot relies on comedic situations that arise from Andy's naivety toward sex. His friends in the film become aware of his status as a virgin and spend much of the film putting him in positions- oftentimes ridiculous situations (putting a transgender prostitue in his hotel room) just to get him to lose his virginity. This display's Kelly's (2009)  "urgency script" that considers losing ones virginity as a good thing and a tool to increase social rank. (Pg.482) According  to this script, a 40 Year Old male virgin would be a target for ridicule-and Andy is just that. The film portrays Andy as a nerd with a huge collection of action figures. Andy is also the perennial butt of the jokes told by his co-workers and the film situated him in the position of a social failure. For instance, he has no car and the film plays on his childlike knowledge of sex as a way to cast him as the fool in numerous sexual encounters. For example, in a class setting, Andy quite seriously asks "Is it true that if you don't use it you lose it?" He also liken the feel of a woman's breasts to "bags of sand" keying his co-workers onto his status as a virgin. Further, the film advances the urgency script through Andy's efforts to conceal the fact that he is a virgin, even to his love interest.
For as much time the film spends portraying Andy as the laughable old virgin, other narratives of virginity loss do rear their heads in the film. For example, Kelly's (2009) "management script" that emphasizes losing virginity as something to occur in the right circumstances is illustrated when Andy passes opportunities to lose his virginity to a variety of women to wait for the right time. (Pg.482) The film awards this decision as he eventually starts a relationship with the woman he chooses to have sex with. Kelly's (2009) "abstinence script" which considers virginity a gift and something to admire is also exemplified in the movie. (Pg. 482) For instance, the film includes Andy's love interest commending him for being a virgin calling it a "good thing" as she assures him that it is nothing to be ashamed of.
This film serves as a popular media piece that ilustrates the prevalence of virginity loss as a complex issues through its portrayal of all three of Kelly's virginity loss narratives.

Citations

Apatow, J. (Director). (2005). 40 Year Old Virgin [Motion picture]. United States of America: Universal Pictures.

Maura Kelly (2010) Virginity Loss Narratives in “Teen Drama” Television Programs, The Journal of Sex Research, 47:5, 479-489, DOI: 10.1080/00224490903132044