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August 15th, 2004
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Self & Society
The Hyper-sexualization of America by Candida B. Eittriem Slowly, with growing unease over the past 16 months, I've watched a sea of changes in American television. As with all truly insidious changes, this began much earlier in media history with the use of profanity during prime-time viewing. And gradually, it's grown into a feeding frenzy of hyper-sexualized imagery and very inappropriate advertisement campaigns. We have always had a preoccupation with bodily perfection and valued looks above substance. That is an illness in our culture, and now it's impacting our youth as never before. Fascinated, youngsters watch Tyra Banks Model Show and think that every thing they are seeing is truth and, therefore, acceptable. If there is no parental input into shows like this our children soon begin to perceive that things like nudity, sexual promiscuity and back-stabbing to get ahead are ok. Men and boys love wrestling shows like RAW and Smackdown, spending millions of dollars on tickets and merchandise, and sit there swallowing some of the most racist, sexist and demeaning behaviors seen on American TV. The female "Divas" are scantily dressed sexual toys for the wrestlers, and often end up being punching bags when a male wrestler gets upset. Divas use sexual innuendo, offering lotions and other enticements to the current man of the hour. All this for a targeted audience of boys and men. All races perform shameful stereotypical roles, acting stupid while some pseudo-American jerk, hurls racial epithets, to the roar of the approving crowd. Then there's "Eugene", who is supposedly mentally retarded, yet he wrestles. This character shames and demeans all individuals with special needs, when he pretends to flop around, tongue hanging out and acting like a witless puppet. It is an outrage that this type of behavior is allowed to even be aired. Day-time television is currently populated by "tell all" shows, where entire families air their dirty laundry in front of millions, and ads that have no place during these hours proliferate. Ads for KY Warming Gel, Viagra, and other sexual performance enhancers, complete with leering couples, pop up at every break. I've had a few uncomfortable moments with my boys as they asked what is that? I'm very frank and honest with my children about sexuality, but I prefer not to have certain things introduced without my input. Commercials such as these or for intimate care products are in bad taste, and should be relegated to adult programming. The rampant sexuality in the media is affecting us as a society. HIV infections are again on the increase, and new antibiotic resistant strains of syphilis and gonorrhea are on the rise. This is in direct proportion to the increased sexual activity seen here. Our children are highly sexual creatures by nature, but traditionally, good values and parental influence helped guide our children. That parental right, like so many others, has been largely diluted by media input. Children now use sexually explicit talk as casually as they used to discuss the latest songs or fads. It's very difficult to countermand such tidal trends. Yes, we can turn off the TV., but to me it's running away from a very difficult situation, rather than hitting it head on. The rise in female infidelity is another troubling phenomenon. Women are now spending all day in adult chats, cybering with strangers, who often they go on to meet offline. Or, they go out in groups and pick up strangers for a "quickie", hoping no one will be the wiser. Sex has become the cure-all for everything from restlessness to curiosity. And it's dangerous. Many women now lead double lives and suddenly end up disappearing or murdered, and initially no one seems to know why this happy wife and mother ended up a statistic. If she has children, her behavior is NOT unnoticed by her children, who see far more then they let on. And it's devastating to a child when either parent, but especially a mother, behaves in this way. A daughter may get the message that it's acceptable to use her body to gain favors or instant gratification. A son may begin to see women as untrustworthy or basically things to be exploited. Child pornography and abuse of children are rising. And I believe firmly it is a direct result of both media input and "jading". If you have too much of a thing, your taste for it dulls, and you seek newer more dangerous ways to fulfill needs. And for many people, children have become a prime target. A young untouched body combined with a child’s innocence is just too appealing to the individual who has sampled too many other more adult fare. Children are turning to prostitution as a means to get the "things" they think they are entitled to. Again, media input has so much to do with this. They see glitzy homes, big cars, designer clothes and an amoral lifestyle and believe it right and good. We as a society need to reexamine our own shallow value system that places the acquisition of "things" over humanity. We must stop placing such stress on body image, looks and sex, and start emphasizing character traits like integrity, honesty and inner strength. Until we speak out to the media and the FCC nothing will change. It's up to us to decide enough is enough and to begin reinstalling the core values that made this nation great. We are our own worst enemy in so many ways. Through our apathetic indifference and yet voracious appetites for the types of things discussed here, we are slowly helping destroy the greatest nation on Earth without any outside help. It's time for change, not by laws alone, but from within the places of the heart -- our families. About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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