July 11, 2013
Column #1,663
TV’s Sexual Exploitation of
Teen Girls
By Mike McManus “When is it appropriate to laugh at the sexual
exploitation of a child?” asks Tim Winter, President of the
Parents Television Council (PTC).
Never is my answer – and probably yours.
However, a new PTC study, “TV’s New Target: Teen Sexual
Exploitation,” documents that prime time TV routinely makes
jokes about sexual exploitation of teen girls. Two examples:
On “Family Guy” broadcast May 6, 2012, Meg appears onstage for
the sex-slave auction. An announcer says, “This girl is perfect
if you want to buy a sex slave, but don’t want to spend
sex-slave money.”
On “Whitney,” aired November 2, 2011, Mark says: “Lily and Neal,
I know you both will have bachelor and bachelorette parties.
There is no such thing as a get-out-of-jail free card. Just in
case you find yourselves in a dead hooker situation.”
Lily: “You know, Mark, we’ve been talking about it in couple’s
therapy and I think Neal’s done killing hookers.”
Neal: “For now.”
Funny, right? No, but the laugh track tells viewers to laugh.
Sexual violence (child molestation and rape), sexual harassment,
sex trafficking, prostitution, pornography and stripping are
common prime time themes. While such action is usually not
visually depicted, there is often an underage female character
in a scene, which increased the odds sex “would be presented as
humorous. Underage girls are rapidly becoming the new female
image for sexualization in the media,” the report stated.
The trivialization resulting from the joke “can lead to
desensitizing the audience to serious social issues. If media
images communicate that sexual exploitation is neither serious
nor harmful, the environment is being set for sexual
exploitation.”
In studying 238 prime-time shows aired over four weeks in
2011-2, 150 episodes, a stunning 63% contained sexual content
involving females, in 640 scenes with 864 females. A quarter
involved underage girls, 60% with sexual exploitation “intended
to be humorous.”
One person briefing reporters about the PTC study was Holly
Austin Smith who called herself a “survivor of sex trafficking.”
She was left at home while both parents worked. In 1992 with
much tamer TV, “The greatest influence on my life was the
media.”
“I was sexually assaulted by older boys at age 11, and in a
skating rink was raped at 12. I had no idea I had been
assaulted. I had not seen any girl on TV say NO and be
respected.”
“My value was based on sexual appeal to older boys. I met my
trafficker at shopping malls. We exchanged phone numbers. He
convinced me to run away with him at age 14 to become a model. I
was forced to work on streets (as a prostitute) in Atlantic City
at age 14.”
PTC reports that the “average age of entry into prostitution is
growing younger and younger” and is now age 13. Victims 12 or
older experienced 188,310 rapes or sexual assaults in 2010. And
two-thirds of those girls were assaulted by friends,
acquaintances or intimate partners.
As Smith’s case illustrates, children are relying on the media
for social norms and values. If laughter is associated with
rape, child molestation, prostitution, and sex trafficking – the
desensitization of the youth culture accelerates.
Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician who has co-hosted “Family Talk”
with Dr. James Dobson, told reporters that there are 20 million
new sexually transmitted diseases reported annually, half of
which occur to those under age 23, mostly teenagers.
Unfortunately, her experience is that “Parents do not understand
the seriousness of the epidemic. They tend to think that sexual
freedom is a hard fought-for right. There is a huge resistance
by parents to accept that we have a problem.”
“I have found that teenagers are more willing to talk about
sexual activities and change their behaviors. They are willing
to look at the effects of the media…Their depression is on the
rise. The advertising of sex through TV changes behavior and
leads to sex among teenagers. Media exploitation does have a
real physical effect.”
What’s particularly alarming is that Obama’s Federal
Communications Commission is proposing allowing “isolated
(non-sexual) nudity” such as Justin Timberlake’s exposure of
Janet Jackson’s breast during one Super Bowl and “isolated”
F-words.
Yet the Supreme Court upheld the right of the FCC to rule
against “an indecent broadcast – be it word or image…Any future
`wardrobe malfunction will not be protected.”
PTC points to a more subtle erosion of decency standards – prime
time jokes involving sex with teens. Tim Winter rightly asks,
“When is it appropriate to laugh at the sexual exploitation of a
child?”
NEVER.
Parents: change channels if you see it. Tell the FCC to stop
victimizing children.
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