United Press International - February 4, 2003

"Sex on TV 3: Content and Context" -- presented in Beverly Hills on Tuesday by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation -- found that two-thirds of all shows examined contained sexual content. In its third biennial report on the subject, the organization said one out of four shows that depicted or talked about sexual intercourse also featured some reference to safer sex -- including abstinence, waiting and the possible consequences of unprotected sex.

The rate of references to safer sex, 26 percent, was nearly double the rate observed four years ago, 14 percent. References to safer sex were more prevalent in shows involving sexual activity by teens, with 34 percent of such shows addressing sex also referring to safer sex issues.

The study also looked at the top 20 shows aimed primarily at teen audiences and found that 45 percent of episodes that included a reference to sexual intercourse also referred to safer sex. Eight in 10 of those shows included "some sexual content," while one in five included varying depictions of sexual intercourse.

"From a public health standpoint, it's encouraging to see this trend toward greater attention to safe sex issues on TV," said Kaiser Family Foundation Vice President Vicky Rideout, who oversaw the study. "This generation is immersed in media, so when Hollywood makes safer sex sexier -- whether it's abstinence or protection -- that's all to the good."

In Washington, Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty challenged the study's conclusions.

"Condoms aren't safe and the National Institutes of Health has talked about it," said Lafferty. "They're being sold as being safe from STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), from all sorts of things."

Lafferty accused the Kaiser Foundation of "peddling" sex.

"It's a leftist organization," she said. "Kaiser is part of the sex-peddling crowd."

Lafferty took particular exception to Rideout's assertion that the trend toward more attention on safer sex was encouraging from a public health standpoint.

"I just don't know what they're proud about," said Lafferty. "The only trend that there is, is more sex, peddling more sex to kids."

Lafferty was not impressed with the study's finding that there are more references to abstinence in TV shows dealing with sex.

"There may be a few references to abstinence, and I think that's important," she said, "but I wish there were more of them."

The study was designed by the Kaiser staff, along with Dale Kunkel, a communications professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It examined programs that were aired between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. during the 2001-02 TV season.

Researchers examined a random sample of 1,100 shows, including movies, comedy and drama series, daytime dramas, talk shows, newsmagazines and reality shows.

The study did not look at daily newscasts, sportscasts or children's programs.

The study found that some shows emphasized the risks of sex, including sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy.

"If you turn on the TV today, the odds are that you'll be watching some sort of sexual content, especially if you're a teen," said Rideout. "Given how high the rates of STDs and unwanted pregnancy are today, making sure that more of that content is about safer sex is an important step in the right direction."

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