The use of sex in mass communication has been a subject of controversy for a long time. The press is paying attention to the prevalence of sex on television, causing parents to be concerned about the effect the sexual on television has on their children. Others are concerned with the effect that sex has on society as a whole. Many concerned citizens make the effort to contact the television stations or manufacturers of the product being advertised in order to register their displeasure for sexually explicit content in commercials. However, complaining about the overt sexuality in commercials can only do so much. Commercials with sexual content should be aired between 11pm and 4am.
Sex in Advertising
It is important to describe sex in advertising as it is used in television commercials. According to Richmond and Hartman, sex in advertising has four aspects of what the audience term as sexual (Ayrault 3). The first one is the functional aspect that addresses the realism of the use of sex to sell products. Second is the use of fantasy or the presence of sexual fantasies in commercials. The third is symbolism that entails the use of sexual symbols that are well known in society and lastly, inappropriate; which involves the appropriateness of the association between the product and appeal (Ayrault 3). Reid, Soley and Salmon defined sexual content in television commercials from three theories (Ayrault 3). They are sexual suggestiveness, the degree of nudity and the relationship of the sexual content to the product regardless of whether the use of sex was applicable to the product being advertised or not (Ayrault 3).
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Children and exploitative commercials
A core concern for exploitative commercials is children. Children today have easy access to all forms of media including the Internet, video games, social media, music and music videos. Among all forms of media, the most widespread form of media is the television. An average child watches between 5 to 7 hours of television daily. Children may watch more than 40,000 commercials annually (Saskatchewan 14).Television commercials regularly use sexual material as a means to sell their products, and sadly, this also applies to children’s advertising (Saskatchewan 14). There is plenty of sexual imagery in commercials including the inappropriate premature sexualization of children, especially girls. Girls may be objectified in commercials by being made to pose provocatively and dress in scanty or “sexy” clothing.
It is highly likely that children are asleep between 11pm and 4am hence the reason suggestive or controversial media should only be aired during these hours of the night. It helps to shield them from content that their young minds are not ready to handle.
Third-person effect
The third person effect makes children, and even parents as well as the rest of society to assume that the media has an impact on everyone else apart from them. The effect of this assumption is that parents will allow themselves and their children to be unduly exposed to sexual content in television commercials believing that it will not have a harmful effect on them (Saskatchewan 16). As mentioned earlier, children today get plenty of television watching hours. If the exploitative content is to be shielded from them, as well as the rest of the family, it is safer to air it late at night. It does not suggest that there are no television audiences between 11pm and 4pm. But at these hours, it is highly unlikely that the television audience consists of children. Adults have a higher capability to discern between reality and fantasy on television commercials and can shield themselves from its harmful effects as compared to children.
‘Super peer.’
Lately, with all the demands that parents have with work and additional education, children are spending more and more time away from them. Their companionship is largely their peers and television. As a result, children may turn to the media for answers to questions about sex as it is easier to access than their parents or guardians. Girls that mature early are the most susceptible to searching for such information (Saskatchewan 16). They may look to television on how to dress, act, think, and the products to use at this crucial stage. Television commercials are usually unrealistic. Commercials filled with sexual content may lead young girls to think that it is appropriate to express themselves sexually (NSVRC 1).
Social Morals
The current age is termed as the “Information Age.” Access to information is easier than it ever was before. Television is widely available today even for low-income families across the world. Since marketers are of the notion that sexual content sells best, they include it in their commercials whether implicitly or explicitly. The objective is to communicate to and sell to as many people as possible. If exploitative commercials are aired freely during the day, the social, moral fabric will be adversely tainted. The issue of social morality is already a fragile issue that society has to deal with today. Having to deal with exploitative media in the process only makes it more difficult to handle. Children learn better by observation than instruction. The learning can take place directly through interacting with other people or indirectly through media such as television (NSVRC 1). Most commercials are repetitive so that the message and content will be on the forefront of the potential consumers’ minds. If children and adults alike are repetitively exposed to exploitative commercials, they may become numb to it and adopt it as normal (NSVRC 1).
- Ayrault, Jaqueline. “Sexual content in cable television advertising: a content analysis of top-rated male, female, and general audience networks.” PDF File.
- National Center to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. “Impact of Exposure to Sexually Explicit and Exploitative Materials.” PDF File. http://www.nsvrc.org
- Saskatchewan Prevention Institute. “Mitigating the Impacts of Sex and Sexuality in the Media on Children: Best Practices for Parents.” PDF File.
