I. What is Sex?

II. The Marketing of Sex

III. The Consequences of Sex

IV. Choices: Virginity, Peer Pressure and Double Standards. 

The forum combines statements from educators, activists and concerned teens.  There are three video segments that examine specific aspects of parts II, III and IV.

Teachers may choose some or all of the following discussion activities, which are listed in the order in which they occur in the video.  #1. is a Before Viewing activity. #14 is an After Viewing activity.

1. Before the program begins, we see a screen that contains the following statements and we hear the words:

“The following program contains frank discussion of sexuality and may not be suitable for all viewers.  Viewer discretion is advised.”

Why might a frank discussion of sexuality be unsuitable for some viewers? 

Why might some viewers be upset or consider such a discussion to be irrelevant to their lives?

What is viewer discretion?

Consider each of the four section titles. List the issues you predict will be discussed in each section. Formulate a question or two that each section might answer.  As the program is played, pause at the end of each section to note how well you predicted the issues and how well your questions have been answered.

I. What is Sex?

This section explores the many different meanings that people have for sex.

It also examines where people’s meanings are coming from.

2. Sue Johanson, a well-known sex educator and tv personality, states that teens are having sex at an earlier age. She suggests that the causes of earlier sexual activity are a) what teens see on the media; and b) because teens think everybody else is doing it.

Do you agree that these factors contribute to earlier teen sexual activity?

Can you suggest other factors that encourage earlier sexual activity?

How can teens put these factors into perspective so they can make informed choices?

3. What does sex mean today?

One example of sex today is a rainbow party: Girls wear different colours of lipstick and go up to a bedroom, perform oral sex on several boys, and all the different colours of lipstick create the rainbow.

Luke Costello, a volunteer support worker with the Teen Sex Information Program, states that there are three kinds of sex: Vaginal, anal and oral. Some people have different definitions for what sex means.

When asked why oral sex might be popular, Luke suggests that the risk of pregnancy and infection are less with oral sex, so that might make it more attractive.

What are the possible meanings of sex?

Why might sex mean different things to different people?

How do media messages encourage people to have different meanings of sex?
How do people’s friends and relatives help people decide what sex means?

Can there be sex without love?  Love without sex?

What do media messages, friends and relatives tell teens about love?

II. The Marketing of Sex

This section presents many examples of sex being used to sell products, and in some cases to sell sexual behaviour.  It asks the question, “Sex has always been used to sell, but are the media selling sex to a younger and younger audience?”

4. “I think cultures that are more liberated about sex in the first place and don’t teach people it’s an evil thing and don’t try to repress it so much actually have more healthy attitudes towards sex.”  John Legend

Which cultures are more liberated about sex than Canada’s?

Does Canadian culture teach people that sex is an evil thing and try to repress it?  How?

Do Canadians have unhealthy attitudes towards sex?  How do we know?

5. We see a montage of music-video clips, advertising images and commentary by artists and market researchers that talk about sex aimed at the teen and tween (8- to 14-year-old) market.  View the montage several times.  Select those images and statements that are selling to the tween market.

Are there messages in the montage that are not intended for the tween market, but which tweens will likely see?  Which ones?

Does this montage successfully make the case that marketers are selling sex to tweens? 

What additional information should people consider that is not present the montage?

6. Sue Johanson states, ‘Kids feel that they are left out if they can’t keep up with the advertising they see. They think that’s the way it is. It’s normal.’

Shannon T. Boodram, from saveyourcherry.com, states, ‘60% of teens learn about sex from TV.’

Do you think that the sexual activities in music videos and advertising are normal?

Are your sexual attitudes and activities determined by what you see in music videos and advertising?

Do you think that most people base what is normal sexuality on what they see in music videos and advertising?

If not, how do most people decide what is normal, and how do they avoid the influences of music videos and advertising?

7. One audience member observes, ‘There’s really no role model for us.  Look at Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears.’

Are all teens’ role models influencing them to behave in sexually unhealthy ways?

Which teen role models are helping teens make healthy sexual choices?

How important are role models that teens see in the media compared to role models they might know personally?

III. The Quality of Sex Education

This section examines the quality and quantity of sex education.

It asks the question, “Are teens oversexed and under-informed?”

8. Sue states,  ‘Never do schools talk about anything that is controversial or anything that is explicit.  They don’t want to upset parents.’

Kim Martyn, sex educator and author, states, ‘Schools have two problems: timing and teacher openness. The emphasis is on the medical aspect of sex, and the human relationship aspect of it gets lost.’

Has your in-school sex education experience been similar to those described by the two sex educators?

Why might schools and teachers intentionally avoid controversial and explicit sexual education?

Why might schools neglect discussions of the human relationship aspect of sex?

Based on the educators’ statements, are schools the wrong places for teens to get their sexual education?

Where might teens get better quality sexual education?

9. Ayden — Supporting Our Youth

We see a short video segment that presents some of the issues of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered sexuality.

Ayden, a youth worker, poses many questions that face gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered youth. He suggests that these questions need to be addressed in sex ed classrooms, and asks, “Are you ready to hear about it?”

How important are discussions of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered sexuality to teens’ sexual education?

What should every teen know about gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered sexuality?

When Ayden’s video is presented, we see him in the urban outdoors.  There is a fuzzy frame around all the images. Sometimes the image flickers, sometimes the image seems to be flecked with dirt. At one point we see Ayden walking, then his motion is stopped, he backs up, and advances again.  How might viewers interpret these special effects in terms of the people Ayden is giving voice to?

10. Sue states, ‘We use fear to control youth sexual behaviour. We should be encouraging knowledgeable and shared sexual activity.’

What are the qualities of a rounded sexual education class?

If you had the authority to create the ideal sexual education course, who would teach it?

What topics would be on the curriculum?

Who would you invite as guest speakers?
What excursions would you take?

What media messages would you include?

What student activities would you assign?

11. The Consequences of Sex

Dave and Amy present their stories of unplanned pregnancies.

How have they suffered from their mistakes?

How might their children suffer from their mistakes?

As you watch the images, do you see happiness or unhappiness in their lives?

How effectively does this segment persuade teens to avoid unplanned pregnancy?

What elements might have been added to the segment to help teens understand the hazards of unwanted pregnancy?

12. Devon asks, “Why is there insufficient education about the options available to someone with an unwanted pregnancy?”

Luke states that there is a lot of passing the buck.

Sue states, “Parents are very uncomfortable talking to their kids about sex because they are afraid that talking about it will send the message that it’s OK.  They need to check their children’s sex education, fill in the gaps, and provide information in the form of books and videos.”

If sex education is sometimes a life-and-death matter, why might people pass the buck?

How realistic is it for parents to provide their children with gap-filling books and videos?  Why?

IV. Choices: Virginity, Peer Pressure and Double Standards

This section explores the option of abstinence, suggesting reasons why some people have chosen not to have sex.

13. What are some of the pressures suggested that encourage teens to have sex?

• Sex has been reduced to something that is a trophy.
• People will act shocked if you make it to grade 12 without having sex.
• Most teenagers are afraid of rejection and are afraid to say no.

What reasons are given for abstinence?

• Some religions define sex very strictly and forbid casual sex.
• Sex should be as important as intimacy—it should be saved for someone special.
• Abstinence is a sign that sex is important.

Is an intentional virgin afraid of sex, or someone who believes that sex is too important to be casual?

14. Calla from MuchMusic states, ‘Positive aspects of the media include this forum for viewers to consider the issues.’

How valuable has this forum been in helping viewers consider teen sexual issues?

Which statements would you select from the program if you were producing a short news item on the show for CityTV news?  Why?

Which statements would you select from the program if you were producing a short promo to encourage teens to tune into a repeat of the program?  Why?

What choices might this forum help viewers make?

What other positive actions have media presented to youth viewers about sexual issues?

If there was another Much Talks: Teen Sex forum, what issues should be examined?

For more information on these and other sexual issues, visit one of the websites referenced in this program:

www.saveyourcherry.com

www.spiderbytes.ca

www.talksexwithsue.com/index2.html

Written by: Neil Andersen

Neil Andersen is a Curriculum Consultant with the Toronto District School Board. He is also a speaker and consultant in media and communications technology. His most recent work includes the Media Launchpad website, the teachers' study guide for the award-winning Scanning Television, and study guides for Space, Bravo! and MuchMusic's Cable in the Classroom broadcasts of original media literacy programming.

For more information about MuchMusic’s educational programming – or to give us your feedback – please contact:

Calla Dewdney
Public Affairs Coordinator
CHUM Television
416-591-7400 x5940
callad@chumtv.com