Are American Kids Being Sexualized?

Sex is part of the human condition. We are instinctively fascinated by it and drawn to it. We think about it. We study it. We talk about it. We write and read books about it. We watch films about it. We use it to sell, and sometimes we sell it. It creeps into everything that has anything to do with our culture. But are we going too far? Two recent news items present an interesting perspective on this.

The first news item comes from Mike Stock, a legendary music producer. He’s handled people like Debbie Harry, Donna Summer, and Kylie Minogue. Together with two partners, he’s produced 100 top 40 hits and earned an estimated £60 million. So it’s pretty safe to say that this guy is not a prude. And that makes what he said recently all the more surprising. He claims that children are being “sexualized” by popular culture.

“The music industry has gone too far. It's not about me being old fashioned. It's about keeping values that are important in the modern world. These days you can't watch modern stars -- like Britney Spears or Lady Gaga -- with a two-year-old. Ninety-nine per cent of the charts is R 'n' B and 99 per cent of that is soft pornography.”

He went on to criticize Lady Gaga’s new single “Alejandro,” which features her dressed in a nun’s habit while simulating sadomasochistic sex and swallowing a rosary as semi-nude male dances perform mock homosexual acts. He also criticized Madonna’s new kiddy clothing range which features extremely revealing clothing, and Miley Cyrus for sexualizing her image. As an interesting aside, in the last few years, Disney has become notorious for making stars of young girls who then turn to sex as their careers fade. Take a look at this procession of recent Disney starlets: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, Mylie Cyrus and Justin Timberlake.

And Stock isn’t alone in his criticisms.

Yesterday, the nation’s leading group of pediatricians issued an extremely strong statement directed at pediatricians, parents and the media outlining the danger of the sexual messages kids are getting from television, the internet and other media.

They note that U.S. children spend seven hours a day or more viewing sexually explicit media. Seventy percent of teen shows contain sexual content, and “less than 10 percent of that content involves what anyone would classify as being responsible content.” They note an utter absence of a discussion of the negative consequences of having sex, such as contracting an STD. And they link this to the United States having the western world’s highest teen pregnancy rate and “an alarmingly high rate of STDs -- one in four children.”

Says Alan Delamater, the Director of Child Psychology at the University of Miami School of Medicine:

“The research shows us that the portrayal of sex in the media is really unrealistic. It's unhealthy. It doesn't consider the consequences of sexual behavior. This is what our kids are growing up thinking [that] this is what sex is about. To deny its impact is ignorant because there's so much knowledge of it at this point.”

Based on these findings, the pediatrics association recommends that physicians advise parents to cut down on the amount of time children watch television or roam the internet, and they recommend that children not be allowed to do this in the privacy of their own rooms. They also would like to see ads for erectile dysfunction drugs not be shown on television until 10 pm, and advertisers no longer use sex to sell products. Good luck with that one.

In any event, it’s rather clear that neither this group nor Mike Stock are doing the bidding of religious conservatives, yet they make many of the same points. So maybe it’s time that people stopped viewing this as an issue of religion or nostalgia or grumpy conservatism? Maybe we have hit a point where there is just too much sex in our culture?

Consider sit-coms. You would be hard pressed to find a sitcom today that isn’t primarily about sex. But think about the classic sitcoms of the past (those that continue to air today in syndication): “Night Court,” “Taxi,” “Cheers,” “Leave It To Beaver,” “WKRP,” “MASH,” “Barney Miller,” etc. . . . these just aren’t focused on sex. And then think about the internet, which has become the world’s most advanced pornography delivery system.

Now I’m not concerned about adult culture. What adults choose to entertain themselves with really isn’t any of my business, nor do I really care. And I normally don’t buy the “what about the children” argument either. Too often this argument is used as a way to turn pet peeves and irrational fears into bad laws. But in this case, I think the concerns are valid. Those little buggers are quite malleable, and maybe blasting them 7 hours a day with fantasy images of sex is not a great idea? I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to see the connection between instilling bad values into children and those kids acting on those bad values. . . and we seem to have the pregnancy and STD statistics to prove it.

So is there a government answer to this? No, not in my book. But I think there is a cultural answer to this. I think having groups like the pediatricians taking a stand and talking to parents about these dangers is a good start. I think other groups should join them as well. More importantly, I think people need to realize that this is an issue that goes way beyond just a handful of religious conservatives or grumpy types looking to remake America in the “Leave It To Beaver” mold. And most importantly, people need to vote with their wallets -- the only kind of speech that is guaranteed to be heard. Stop buying the garbage and let the companies know of your displeasure. They will eventually change.