Risky Business
Kevin Scott and Carmine Sarracino believe porn and its accoutrements have gone mainstream, and it’s having some significant impact on youth.
Scott and Sarracino, authors of The Porning of America, contend that sexuality has become more overt, and far more of a commodity, than it was in past decades. They point to thongs geared for tweens, ads for Axe shower gel (“How Dirty Boys Get Clean”) and even Bratz dolls as evidence. Celebrities get caught in sex tapes and hire porn producers to shoot music videos; and porn stars, such as Jenna Jameson (a best-selling author) are finding mainstream success. A recent study found 90 percent of boys ages 13-14, and 70 percent of girls in the same age group, accessed sexual content online at least once. No wonder, the authors argue more teens are sending nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves. (Newsweek)
Victoria’s Real Secret
It’s not just women who can feel a little less-than-beautiful looking at today’s uber-glamorous fashion models. As it turns out, guys get a complex, too. At least that’s what University of Missouri professor Jennifer Aubrey found during a recent study. Guys who leaf through magazines populated by beautiful women (think Maxim, FHM, etc.) felt insecure—presuming, apparently—that these hotties wouldn’t have any interest in losers like them. If, on the other hand, they were shown pictures of these beautiful women cavorting with average-looking blokes, they felt much better about themselves. (www.Salon.com)
Get Moving
Adolescent girls are only half as likely to be physically active as boys, according to a new study by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport. While more girls than ever are participating in organized sports, girls who aren’t involved tend to—well, sit around.
“You could argue that kids just don’t know how to participate in unstructured play because there is so much focus on organized activities these days,” says Nicole LaVoi of the Tucker Center. (Time)
Fangirls
Once upon a time, boys ruled the hearts and minds of Hollywood. Potential blockbusters needed car chases and explosions, not relationships and (ick) romance.
Some experts say the times are changing. In 2008 alone, female audiences propelled three movies to box office gold—Sex and the City ($152 million), Mamma Mia! ($144 million) and High School Musical 3: Senior Year ($84 million and counting). And that was before Twilight—a potential franchise with millions of zealous teen girls already in tow—was released and earned nearly $70 million in its first weekend.
“[Films appealing to women] used to be counterprogramming to something extremely male in the marketplace,” says Chuck Viane, Disney’s president of distribution. “Now they’ve become the gorilla in the marketplace.” (Time)
