Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Chatter > General Discussion


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 08-07-2006, 10:45 AM   #1 (permalink)
<3 TFP
 
xepherys's Avatar
 
Location: 17TLH2445607250
Teens and music and sex, oh my!

Article on CNN

Quote:
Study: Sexy music triggers teen sex

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.

Most participants were virgins when they were first questioned in 2001. Follow-up interviews were done in 2002 and 2004 to see if music choice had influenced subsequent behavior.

Natasha Ramsey, a 17-year-old from New Brunswick, New Jersey, said she and other teens sometimes listen to sexually explicit songs because they like the beat.

"I won't really realize that the person is talking about having sex or raping a girl," she said. Even so, the message "is being beaten into the teens' heads," she said. "We don't even really realize how much."

"A lot of teens think that's the way they're supposed to be, they think that's the cool thing to do. Because it's so common, it's accepted," said Ramsey, a teen editor for Sexetc.org, a teen sexual health Web site produced at Rutgers University.

"Teens will try to deny it, they'll say 'No, it's not the music,' but it IS the music. That has one of the biggest impacts on our lives," Ramsey said.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the U.S. recording industry, declined to comment on the findings.

Benjamin Chavis, chief executive officer of the Hip-Hip Summit Action Network, a coalition of hip-hop musicians and recording industry executives, said explicit music lyrics are a cultural expression that reflect "social and economic realities."

"We caution rushing to judgment that music more than any other factor is a causative factor" for teens initiating sex, Chavis said.

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."

David Walsh, a psychologist who heads the National Institute on Media and the Family, said the results make sense, and echo research on the influence of videos and other visual media.

The brain's impulse-control center undergoes "major construction" during the teen years at the same time that an interest in sex starts to blossom, he said.

Add sexually arousing lyrics and "it's not that surprising that a kid with a heavier diet of that ... would be at greater risk for sexual behavior," Walsh said.

Martino said parents, educators and teens themselves need to think more critically about messages in music lyrics.

Fulbright agreed.

"A healthy home atmosphere is one that allows a child to investigate what pop culture has to offer and at the same time say 'I know this is a fun song but you know that it's not right to treat women this way or this isn't a good person to have as a role model,"' she said.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
So, is this really causal? Is it, perhaps, that kids that enjoy music with such lyrics are more open-minded and apt to experiment, where kids who prefer to listen to music about Jesus are simply less likely to engage in sex? Not that there's anything wrong with religious music, I'm just saying. Why can't media these days differentiate between causal and correlational? Oh, and about the copyright tag on the bottomw of the article... uhm... oops?!
xepherys is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 12:35 PM   #2 (permalink)
Yo dawg, I herd u like...
 
Apokx's Avatar
 
Location: memes.
That's a very interesting article.At first, I took at a look at myself, and a couple girlfriends I've had.I realized the type of music they listened to, the type that I did and examined the differences in personalities and sexual experiences.

So far the article seems right on track.The girls that listened to hip-hop, and music like Nickleback(the worst band in history, but I digress)seemed more open to sex, talking about sex and generally had sex at a much younger age than those who didn't.

In the end though, there were too many exceptions to be able to say that it was definately the music.There were some wild cards like the Beetles, or Weezer(more about losing relationships, being a loser etc.) that throw it off completely for me.

I vote casual, or at the very least, teens that involve themselves in sex at earlier ages are just more likely to enjoy music with sexual overtones.
Apokx is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:01 PM   #3 (permalink)
Junkie
 
kutulu's Avatar
 
I think the whole premise is stupid. Didn't teens have sex before rap music?
kutulu is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:13 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
abaya's Avatar
 
Location: Iceland
Hmm. Makes me reflect on my own music-listening/sex-indulging history:

At puberty/14, I was really into Janet Jackson's semi-dirty new album (the self-titled one, in the early 90s) and was thinking all kinds of sexual thoughts. But I had been thinking sexual thoughts for a long time, long before I hit puberty. Had things continued on that path, who knows... I probably would have been barefoot and pregnant within a few years.

At 14, though, an evangelical Christian friend told me that it was bad to listen to that kind of music... and that friend ended up converting me. I guess I felt guilty at some level, since she hit a nerve there. It was Christian music (with a smattering of classic rock) from that point until I was well into my college years... at an evangelical university, where everyone listened to Christian music anyway. Very few of us were having sex, I can tell you that. But the music only enhanced the effect of the social rules... that was the whole point of the music. To keep us from "going astray" and thinking about bad things like sex.

Classic rock grew on me, but due to my engagement with evangelicalism, I never really thought about sex until my early 20s. Around that time, I started rocking out to more sexual classic rock songs that amused me and also made me... think about sex. (e.g. You shook me all night long, Feel like makin' love, etc.)

But it would be hard to say what influenced what... I mean, once I got out from the oppression of Christianity on my sexuality, I was more open in general to listening to sexual music and thinking about having sex. I wouldn't say one was a direct cause of the other. In any case, by my mid-20s I was having sex and enjoying it. And still enjoying sexual music. But I think that had more to do with my personality and stage in life than anything else... the music complimented where I was at.

All that said, having spent most of this summer listening to the top-40 hip-hop and urban music channels... I'm actually pretty shocked by how blatantly sexual the lyrics are (especially by men). I mean, it doesn't offend me, and I'm quite happy in my monogamous relationship and it gets me horny when I'm at work listening to it.

But... if I was 14 again, not religious, not in a committed relationship, had hormones raging through my body, and everyone around me was doing it... shit, the music would push me right over the edge. This stuff makes Bad Company sound like Sesame Street.

So, the music is an influence, definitely. A cause? Probably not. There isn't a lot of direct causality in social science, anyway. But I don't think the music helps teens make responsible sexual decisions, fo' shizzle.
__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

--Khalil Gibran
abaya is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:20 PM   #5 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Moderator Emeritus
Location: Chicago
Billy Joel sang about Catholic Girls Starting Much too late, Meatloaf sang about Paradise by the dashboard light, Cyndi Lauper was all about the She bop... Every generation has something to get their knickers in a wad about musically...

Teens are having sex earlier than in my day... and long before they are ready but that's another discussion... it's not the music that makes a person want to jump another's bones...
__________________
Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.
maleficent is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:24 PM   #6 (permalink)
Fledgling Dead Head
 
krwlz's Avatar
 
Location: Clarkson U.
I gotta think it isnt the music... And if there is a strong correlation, who's to say that kids more prone to risky behavior early also tend to like the music that uses sexually explicit lyrics... rather than vice versa?

To me, this proves nothing.
krwlz is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:30 PM   #7 (permalink)
<3 TFP
 
xepherys's Avatar
 
Location: 17TLH2445607250
Quote:
Originally Posted by krwlz
I gotta think it isnt the music... And if there is a strong correlation, who's to say that kids more prone to risky behavior early also tend to like the music that uses sexually explicit lyrics... rather than vice versa?

To me, this proves nothing.
Exactly my point...
xepherys is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:33 PM   #8 (permalink)
Banned
 
So...

50% of kids who listen to "sexually degrading" music have sex earlier, and
30% of kids who don't listen to that music have sex earlier?

That doesn't sound like an astonishingly huge number. 30% compared to 50%? Does it show a possible correlation? Maybe, but the numbers aren't really that dramatic. To begin with, only HALF the kids listening to this "sexually degrading" music are having sex earlier- and a full 30% of those who don't listen to it are having sex earlier too.

I think this is more "coincidence as causation" than anything else. They don't at all take into account a myriad of other factors that lead young people to engage in sexual activities at earlier ages. For example, children who have been sexually abused in the past are more likely to start having sex earlier, and typically go through a period of hypersexuality when that happens, meaning they'd almost certainly latch onto any and all sexually charged music. That's just one example.

I think when all the other factors are accounted for, the numbers would be much closer- not that they're all that far away to begin with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Apokx
...teens that involve themselves in sex at earlier ages are just more likely to enjoy music with sexual overtones.
I agree totally.
analog is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:33 PM   #9 (permalink)
 
abaya's Avatar
 
Location: Iceland
Quote:
Originally Posted by krwlz
And if there is a strong correlation, who's to say that kids more prone to risky behavior early also tend to like the music that uses sexually explicit lyrics...
Well yeah, that was my point, though I had to ramble on much longer to get it across.

But then the real question is, what makes kids more prone to risky behavior early on? I agree that music is only a complement or catalyst at best... but there is something else going on in the culture to make sex seem okay at 13, 14, if not younger. I think music is only a reflection of what's already there in the culture... if the music doesn't jive with a kid's understanding of the world, they probably won't tune in to the music in the first place.

For me, my "culture" included a fairly strict Thai mother and my commitment to evangelicalism. That's most of what kept me from having sex as a teenager. I am not sure what exactly is in the "culture" of teens (or lacking from, perhaps) to be having sex practically before puberty... I would be interested to hear others' opinions.
__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

--Khalil Gibran

Last edited by abaya; 08-07-2006 at 01:36 PM..
abaya is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:34 PM   #10 (permalink)
Kick Ass Kunoichi
 
snowy's Avatar
 
Location: Oregon
Quote:
Originally Posted by krwlz
I gotta think it isnt the music... And if there is a strong correlation, who's to say that kids more prone to risky behavior early also tend to like the music that uses sexually explicit lyrics... rather than vice versa?

To me, this proves nothing.
I think you've got it.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
snowy is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 01:38 PM   #11 (permalink)
Banned
 
This makes me think of John Cusack's line in the movie, "High Fidelity"...

"Am I depressed because I listen to rock music? Or do I listen to rock music because I'm depressed?"
analog is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 02:06 PM   #12 (permalink)
Unencapsulated
 
JustJess's Avatar
 
Location: Kittyville
I don't think it's the music, either. That's just silly. However, I do think that the media on the whole are presenting and selling a far more sexualized world to a younger audience than the one I grew up in, and mine was more sexualized than my mom's, and on down the line. As time goes by, the progression just continues.

I did things at 16 that my mother did at 21 (I assume, anyway). Now, 12 year olds are doing stuff that I did at 15. The whole system is just getting younger. There are a zillion factors into that, but I think the largest one is that this is what is selling. This is good business. This isn't about the music at all.
__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.
JustJess is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 02:49 PM   #13 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Seaver's Avatar
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
*Sigh*

Correlation does not mean causation. What does that mean? These studies can not determine if people who are more open to sex listen to the music, or if the music makes people more open to sex. Until you can prove which comes first these studies are bunk.

Besides, what no one seems to realize is that over 60% of the Puritan women gave birth within 6 months of marriage.... think about that. They weren't driven by sexual music (it wasn't allowed).
Seaver is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 02:54 PM   #14 (permalink)
Easy Rider
 
flstf's Avatar
 
Location: Moscow on the Ohio
I agree that the music is probably not triggering teen sex.

It is kinda comical though to see gradeschool girls listening to their Ipods and bopping to the "Black Eyed Peas - My Humps". I can only guess that they are not really paying attention to the lyrics.
flstf is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 02:59 PM   #15 (permalink)
Fledgling Dead Head
 
krwlz's Avatar
 
Location: Clarkson U.
One more comment... I wish that correlation was causation... I woulda got laid a lot earlier in my life, lol.
krwlz is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 08:42 PM   #16 (permalink)
pinche vato
 
warrrreagl's Avatar
 
Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton
Multicollinearity.
__________________
Living is easy with eyes closed.
warrrreagl is offline  
Old 08-07-2006, 08:56 PM   #17 (permalink)
Fledgling Dead Head
 
krwlz's Avatar
 
Location: Clarkson U.
Quote:
Originally Posted by warrrreagl
Multicollinearity.
Umm... I'm about to go google, but I got multi colored lines out of that... haha, english?

I'll betcha I agree as soon as I figure out what you mean.
krwlz is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 03:04 AM   #18 (permalink)
Too Awesome for Aardvarks
 
stevie667's Avatar
 
Location: Angloland
It seems to me that kids who are more sexually charged at a younger age are going to listen to more music that reflects that?
__________________
Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.
stevie667 is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 08:02 AM   #19 (permalink)
Extreme moderation
 
Toaster126's Avatar
 
Location: Kansas City, yo.
Are kids really having sex at a younger age nowadays... or are they just admitting to it now?
__________________
"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)
Toaster126 is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 08:55 AM   #20 (permalink)
<3 TFP
 
xepherys's Avatar
 
Location: 17TLH2445607250
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJess
I don't think it's the music, either. That's just silly. However, I do think that the media on the whole are presenting and selling a far more sexualized world to a younger audience than the one I grew up in, and mine was more sexualized than my mom's, and on down the line. As time goes by, the progression just continues.

I did things at 16 that my mother did at 21 (I assume, anyway). Now, 12 year olds are doing stuff that I did at 15. The whole system is just getting younger. There are a zillion factors into that, but I think the largest one is that this is what is selling. This is good business. This isn't about the music at all.
Isn't this just human nature coming back out though? A hundred years ago, people were doing those things at 12 and 13 as well. Then society said, "No! Bad kiddies!" and people became stiff when it came to sex. It's not that kids were as "open" 100 years ago, but it was just the norm. Maybe 150 years, tops. Girls were married and having children by 15 or 16. Before that, it had been that way since the dawn of mankind. So after a hundredish year blip, we're going back to what's NORMAL for humans.
xepherys is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 09:09 AM   #21 (permalink)
Unencapsulated
 
JustJess's Avatar
 
Location: Kittyville
That's a very interesting point. I would consider that as the largest factor - we're beginning to be open enough to revert to our natural instincts. Society imposes rather arbitrary and artificial rules, and always has. It will be interesting to see if society allows this shift to natural instincts, or if they freak out ala prohibition.
__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.
JustJess is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 09:11 AM   #22 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Moderator Emeritus
Location: Chicago
people were dying a lot younger 100 years ago as well - it's not 100 years ago now - it'sa different time and place...

12 year olds in this day and age are not prepared for sex and all that it entails.
__________________
Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.
maleficent is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 09:25 AM   #23 (permalink)
Addict
 
Val_1's Avatar
 
Location: In a State of Denial
The researcher quoted at the end of the article was on the money.

Quote:
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."
In a system as complex as human relations, it is pretty foolish to point to one factor and call it the cause. But, that's how people get their names published, I guess. Unfortunately, it's also the way a lot of bogus laws get passed.
__________________

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.

-Frank Sinatra
Val_1 is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 09:36 AM   #24 (permalink)
Lover - Protector - Teacher
 
Jinn's Avatar
 
Location: Seattle, WA
Correlation does not .. causation.. you can't link one cause.. too complex..

Ahh, damnit.. you all said it first. I don't think anyone here could defend this as being a legitimate study or "cause."
__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel
Jinn is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 12:47 PM   #25 (permalink)
Evil Priest: The Devil Made Me Do It!
 
Daniel_'s Avatar
 
Location: Southern England
Bunch.

Of.

Arse.

__________________
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine

╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝
Daniel_ is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 03:25 PM   #26 (permalink)
Banned
 
Zeraph's Avatar
 
Location: The Cosmos
I'm not sure laymen have ever been able to distinguish between causal and correlational.
Zeraph is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 03:30 PM   #27 (permalink)
Fledgling Dead Head
 
krwlz's Avatar
 
Location: Clarkson U.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maleficent
people were dying a lot younger 100 years ago as well - it's not 100 years ago now - it'sa different time and place...

12 year olds in this day and age are not prepared for sex and all that it entails.
But none the less, we are animals, by and large. We have cognitive capacity, but still. That 100 year lifespan is as artificial as kids not fucking at puberty.

Mentally, no perhaps they aren't ready, but that's purely suppositional as well.

I'm not saying I disagree with you, but at the same time, there is that aspect, and it's not just going to disappear.

100 years ago kids wanted to fuck at 12 too... But they would have gotton in much more trouble, and they were taught that it was wrong to do so.

Last edited by krwlz; 08-08-2006 at 03:35 PM..
krwlz is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 03:54 PM   #28 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Seaver's Avatar
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
100 Years ago people were expected to wait until marriage. Most of the time they never made it.

This, however, is not equal to us. We are physically maturing much earlier than ever. Women are having their periods by age 12, 3-4 years earlier than back in the day. Coupled with that we are asking our children to wait even longer than ever. Marriages are now rarely before 25-30 now. So we expect them to wait for college.

Now they used to wait mere years (and even then they couldnt make it). Puberty starting around 14-16, they rarely waited beyond 21, usually marrying in their teens.

It's reasonable to ask kids to keep it in their pants for 4 years after puberty starts, that has been what historically people have to wait. This means, however, that the 4 years with the new-younger puberty age they're having sex at age 16.

The people who are up in arms about sex don't take this into account. Yes they may be younger, but the hormones are still equally as strong as when they were having sex parties in college or already married.
Seaver is offline  
Old 08-08-2006, 04:11 PM   #29 (permalink)
Laid back
 
Bacchanal's Avatar
 
Location: Jayhawkland
Music is raunchier now, and kids are having sex sooner.

AWESOME ARTICLE!

Is that really worth publishing? I don't see it as "news" at all.
__________________
Universal Truth Is Not Measured In Mass Appeal
Bacchanal is offline  
 

Tags
music, sex, teens


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:19 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360