Parents and adolescents need to become aware of the stereotypical portrayals of sexuality in soap operas and other television shows and the subconscious repercussions that may evolve with heavy consumption. I understand that sex and sexuality is a highly sensitive subject which parents choose to tackle in the most suitable way for the benefit of their children, but not teaching children about their sexuality can lead to far dire outcomes than if they are educated.
Sexuality should not be hidden, but rather spoken about, explained and understood by both parents and adolescents. By speaking to children does not necessarily imply that you approve of underage sexual activity, but rather that you are giving your child life lessons to shape their growth and sexual identity. Young people learn from the behaviour they witness. Wouldn’t parents rather this behaviour be their own or a fictitious character on television?
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Effects of Soapies on Sexual Identity
As a little girl, I was a true romantic who believed that one day a ‘knight in shining armour’ would sweep me off my feet. Somewhere along the way I started believing that my life would only be complete and successful if I had the ‘true love’ of a male counterpart and that men were only interested in fun and frivolous activities, rather than love and commitment. Where did I learn this bizarre notion if not from my friends and family? During my teenage years I became very interested in the idea of love and sex (as I’m sure you are) and even though I had liberal parents and a tight circle of friends, I latched onto characters from television to guide me through my sexual and romantic choices.
Television became my friend, I learnt about anything and everything from the different shows I watched. I was particularly fond of soap operas and my favourite was the Bold and the Beautiful. I was fascinated by the character Brooke Logan. Brooke Logan can never be single, she is constantly trying to break up marriages and manipulate people in order to get her latest love interest into her bed and life. Her character implies that woman need a man in order to be happy and fulfilled and even though she is a successful and intelligent woman, nothing else matters as much as her personal relationships with men
The more time I spent in front of the television, the more addicted I became to the idea of love and romance.
Finding ‘true love’ became so important to me that I did not care about hurting people’s feelings let alone my own self worth. By trying to find the romance portrayed on television, I constantly broke up existing relationships, became too intimate too fast and dated numerous boys at once in order to increase my chances of finding it. I immersed myself so far into ‘television reality’ and did not offer enough time to the formation my own identity.
The ‘reality’ portrayed on television soap operas do prove to be highly entertaining but it is questionable whether they depict a valid representation of ‘reality’. The twisted plots of soapies and series make it very easy for one to become addicted to them as well as so involved that one forgets that it is only a show.
Television became my friend, I learnt about anything and everything from the different shows I watched. I was particularly fond of soap operas and my favourite was the Bold and the Beautiful. I was fascinated by the character Brooke Logan. Brooke Logan can never be single, she is constantly trying to break up marriages and manipulate people in order to get her latest love interest into her bed and life. Her character implies that woman need a man in order to be happy and fulfilled and even though she is a successful and intelligent woman, nothing else matters as much as her personal relationships with men
The more time I spent in front of the television, the more addicted I became to the idea of love and romance.
Finding ‘true love’ became so important to me that I did not care about hurting people’s feelings let alone my own self worth. By trying to find the romance portrayed on television, I constantly broke up existing relationships, became too intimate too fast and dated numerous boys at once in order to increase my chances of finding it. I immersed myself so far into ‘television reality’ and did not offer enough time to the formation my own identity.
The ‘reality’ portrayed on television soap operas do prove to be highly entertaining but it is questionable whether they depict a valid representation of ‘reality’. The twisted plots of soapies and series make it very easy for one to become addicted to them as well as so involved that one forgets that it is only a show.
Sex and Soapies
We spend hours in front of the television everyday and never consider how far from ‘reality’ these shows are. Yes, they are entertaining, but real, they are not. Just look at soap operas for example. Have you ever noticed how far fetched soap operas are? If you forget about the unrealistic plots and characters and just focus on the love and sexual relationships you will realise how warped their portrayal of ‘reality’ really is.
Female characters who are hell bent on “bagging a man”, who will go to any measure (lying, manipulation, fake pregnancies and adultery). Do these women have no pride? And as teenagers, we sometimes find this type of lifestyle appealing and can imitate these behaviours without even realising it. These women are not the kinds of role models we need to help us develop who we are. The thing is, we don’t consciously want to learn from television. However with the constant reinforcement of these images and behaviour and our human nature, we become susceptible to a change in attitude.
Excerpt from the Bold and the Beautiful
Brooke: All I ever did, Stephanie, was to love Ridge.
Stephanie: And his father, and his brother, and your son-in-law. Is it any wonder Bridget is confused? I mean, is it any wonder your daughter would confuse natural feelings of respect and affection for romance? You have blurred the lines of socially-acceptable behaviour. And you stand here and you tell me you're proud. What are you proud of? Having your son-in-law's baby? I know what you're proud of. Chasing after a man whose wife's body is barely cold in the ground.
Female characters who are hell bent on “bagging a man”, who will go to any measure (lying, manipulation, fake pregnancies and adultery). Do these women have no pride? And as teenagers, we sometimes find this type of lifestyle appealing and can imitate these behaviours without even realising it. These women are not the kinds of role models we need to help us develop who we are. The thing is, we don’t consciously want to learn from television. However with the constant reinforcement of these images and behaviour and our human nature, we become susceptible to a change in attitude.
Excerpt from the Bold and the Beautiful
Brooke: All I ever did, Stephanie, was to love Ridge.
Stephanie: And his father, and his brother, and your son-in-law. Is it any wonder Bridget is confused? I mean, is it any wonder your daughter would confuse natural feelings of respect and affection for romance? You have blurred the lines of socially-acceptable behaviour. And you stand here and you tell me you're proud. What are you proud of? Having your son-in-law's baby? I know what you're proud of. Chasing after a man whose wife's body is barely cold in the ground.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
What is sexuality??
Sexuality is a term that conjures up different thoughts in the minds of different people. Traditionally it is seen as purely reproduction (penetrative sex), but in fact is more complex than that. Sexuality can be related to love, pleasure, sin, desire, passion and marriage. One’s sexuality is part of one’s identity. Whether you are heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, you are still a sexual being. Without sexuality our identities would be incomplete.
Sexuality can be seen in the way you dress, the way you walk and talk and the way you behave. But the question still remains, if this is such a natural part of one’s identity… why is the subject still taboo? In today’s society images of sex and sexuality are all around us – in the news, in advertising, in films and on television. We learn about the subject from many avenues and yet it is still a ‘hush hush’ matter. It is visible in our parents, friends and even our pets.
The majority of us are not blessed with parents who are open for discussion of such matters. But then where do we learn how to behave when it come to matters of the heart and body with regards to our partners and prospective partners? With this in mind, it is not surprising that we turn to television to learn about behaviour. This coupled with the large amount of sexual content in media today provide the perfect alternative for learning about sexuality.
Teenagers are at a very critical age of physiological and psychological development. Teenage girls in particular have many identity conflicts and low self esteem which could affect the development of a healthy identity. The learning and understanding of sex and sexual identity is determined at this time. At this age one becomes more able to understand and process concepts such as sex roles, commitment and sexual behaviour. Curiosity about all matters sexual becomes heightened at this age due to the surge of hormones and teens look for answers from all possible avenues. It has been shown in numerous studies that children and teenagers are prone to learn behaviour patterns from television and apply them to real life.
Sexuality can be seen in the way you dress, the way you walk and talk and the way you behave. But the question still remains, if this is such a natural part of one’s identity… why is the subject still taboo? In today’s society images of sex and sexuality are all around us – in the news, in advertising, in films and on television. We learn about the subject from many avenues and yet it is still a ‘hush hush’ matter. It is visible in our parents, friends and even our pets.
The majority of us are not blessed with parents who are open for discussion of such matters. But then where do we learn how to behave when it come to matters of the heart and body with regards to our partners and prospective partners? With this in mind, it is not surprising that we turn to television to learn about behaviour. This coupled with the large amount of sexual content in media today provide the perfect alternative for learning about sexuality.
Teenagers are at a very critical age of physiological and psychological development. Teenage girls in particular have many identity conflicts and low self esteem which could affect the development of a healthy identity. The learning and understanding of sex and sexual identity is determined at this time. At this age one becomes more able to understand and process concepts such as sex roles, commitment and sexual behaviour. Curiosity about all matters sexual becomes heightened at this age due to the surge of hormones and teens look for answers from all possible avenues. It has been shown in numerous studies that children and teenagers are prone to learn behaviour patterns from television and apply them to real life.
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