Media Influence On Sexuality

3 Pages 853 Words

“What you see is…(influence of media)”

In the United States, the media has a great amount of influence over human sexuality. Whether it is presented by means of television shows, magazines, advertisements, news, or even radio, the result is still the same. These sources of information all shape individuals and their thoughts on sex and sexuality. They help to define for people who they should and should not be attracted to sexually, how they should look in order to be sexually appealing, and general social interactions towards a sexual partner.
Often times, young children look to the media for guidance on what is socially acceptable and what is not. From this, the media helps to shape our attitudes on what we like and what we do not. Television shows cast attractive people in their lead roles. Young children see that their parents and peers find these people attractive and therefore learn what an attractive person is supposed to look like. The same principle applies to magazine ads, and news cast members. Even through radio programs, such as Howard Sterns, we can receive vivid descriptions of what makes men and women attractive, and what makes them repulsive. Though throughout our lives, our opinions may change many times, we look to the media to layout a blue print for what makes a member of the opposite sex more appealing than another.
On the opposite side, the media also influences how we see ourselves. Most young women, including myself, look to magazines, popular television shows, and advertisements as a source for the latest and greatest in fashion. The negative effect this media influence has on us comes in the form of self-imaging. For many men and women, the bodies seen in the media are unachievable or unrealistic by the general population. For a woman to look like a runway model, she would have to be a minimum of 5’9, wear a size 9 shoe, weight a maximum of 112 pounds, have a maximum 32” bust lin...