TV showing more sex — but also the risks
By Lynn Elber
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Sex on television is heating up, but more TV programs are including the risks and responsibilities of sexual behavior, a study released yesterday found.
The percentage of shows depicting or implying sexual intercourse rose from 10 percent two years ago to 14 percent in the 2001-02 season, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation study.
The rate was even higher for the 20 top shows among teenage viewers: One in five of those programs, or 20 percent, included implied or depicted intercourse.
The foundation's initial TV sex study, released in 1999, found that 7 percent of shows overall included intercourse. Previous studies did not detail figures for shows favored by teenagers.
If television is becoming more boldly titillating, it's also more honest, according to the biennial study.
Among shows with depictions or talk about intercourse, 26 percent had a "safer sex" reference to topics such as abstinence or possible fallout from unprotected sex — double the rate found four years ago.
Of shows with any kind of sexual content — including talking about sex, kissing and intimate touching — 15 percent included such safer-sex references, up from 10 percent two years ago. A student facing an unplanned pregnancy on "Boston Public" and a man diagnosed with AIDS on "ER" were among examples cited by researchers.
For shows with sexual content involving teenagers, 34 percent included a safer-sex reference, nearly double the 18 percent rate found four years ago.
"It's good to see that some in the Hollywood community are seizing the opportunity to play a positive role," said Vicky Rideout, the Kaiser Family Foundation vice president who oversaw the study.
A majority of teenagers cite TV as an important source of information about sex, according to studies cited by the foundation. Other studies have found a correlation between watching TV programs with sexual content and the early initiation of intercourse, the Kaiser report said.
Researchers studied ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC; PBS; basic cable networks Lifetime, TNT and USA; premium cable channel HBO; and a Los Angeles station, KTLA, which is a WB affiliate.
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