CHAPTER 6 COMM375 Unit 2 Chapter 6 Sexual Content in the Media HUMAN SEXUALITY BRINGS OUT PASSIONATE OPINION o People with Religious concerns have historically expressed their views about sexual content with passion o Another group of people that often brings the same type of pressure against the networks isn t associated with any specific religious group but advocates for the protection of children on behalf of parents who may be concerned about broadcast content o Hollywood studios and TV Networks want no part in government censorship they want to be free to produce the content that will make them the most profit regardless of who might be offended on the grounds of an inappropriate or excessive sexual depiction o U S Law does permit the government to restrict the flow of certain messages Obscenity is not protected under the first amendment if media content is judged as fitting the legal definition of obscenity it can theoretically be restricted from circulation SORTING OUT DEFINITIONS AND TERMS o Pornography is used to refer to almost any explicit sexual depiction However in a scholarly community some use this term pornography to refer to material that features explicit sexual behavior and nudity in a context frequently characterized by depictions of one character exerting physical or psychological dominance over another o Erotic Media material that features explicit sexual content in the absence of violence and without the overt power dynamics that appear in porn THE COMMISSION ON OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY o In 1967 The US Congress established the NATIONAL COMMISSION ON OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY formed under the presidency of Lyndon B Johnson The Commission was put in place because of growing concern about the role of pornography in crime and juvenile delinquency Pornography in 1967 didn t carry the same connotations as it does today o MAJOR FINDING Essentially the commission report stated that there were no known harms caused by pornography for any population studied BUT President Richard Nixon didn t buy it he rejected the commissions report an act that was probably made easier by the fact that the commission had been formed under his Democratic predecessor Lyndon B Johnson A REEXAMINATION OF THE COMMISSIONS FINDINGS o Two theoretical notions that were widely discussed in the aftermath of the commission report were the TRIGGER HYPOTHESIS and the SAFETY VALVE THEORY The TRIGGER HYPOTHESIS essentially claims that exposure to sexually explicit materials will cause a response in some individuals that will provoke them in such a way that it may lead them to commit a sex crime such as rape or indecent exposure The SAFETY VALVE THEORY in contrast claims that exposure to sexually explicit material will satisfy whatever urges might cause a person to commit a sex crime 03 19 2014 03 19 2014
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