Sex sells! : the media's journey from repression to obsession / Rodger Streitmatter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Streitmatter, Rodger.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sex in mass media.

Physical Description:

xix, 283 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Westview Press, 2004.

Summary:

In 1953 when Lucille Ball became pregnant, the censors required the characters on I Love Lucy to say only that the wacky redhead was "in the family way." They feared the word "pregnant" might conjure up, in the minds of viewers, images of a man and woman having sexual intercourse. Now, some fifty years later, from giant billboards featuring nearly nude models in Times Square to Bill Clinton's creative definition of sex to Madonna and Britney's prime-time kiss, sex pervades virtually every aspect of public life. What happened? Sex Sells! illuminates this arc from repression to obsession, showing how sexual mores have changed during the last five decades. Not only does the author examine the broad range of media genres that have reflected this libidinous journey, but he also shows how the media have played a leading role in propelling the Sexual Revolution. Streitmatter argues that much of the media's sexual content is actually beneficial, because it gives parents and educators a way to broach difficult subjects like AIDS, sexual identity, and appropriate sexual behavior. In our age of continuing sexual liberation, such a clear understanding of the sometimes cynical, sometimes idealistic history behind the "sexing-up" of America is more important than ever before.

Contents:

The 1950's : no sex, please, we're American

The pill and the media

Playboy magazine

James Bond

Jim Morrison of The Doors

All in the family

Cosmopolitan magazine

Donahue

Three's company

Movies of the 1980s

American advertising

Madonna

The gay nineties

The Black nineties

Semen on the front page

Youth media

Paying for sex (on cable)

Cyberporn

Reality television

"Sexual literacy".

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-272) and index.

ISBN:

0813342481

OCLC:

56033383