Broadcast television by far depicts sex in the context of marriage as either “nonexistent or burdensome” while on the other hand portraying adultery and pre-marital sex as acceptable and desirable, a new study by the Parents Television Council (PTC) said.
“Today’s primetime television programming is not merely indifferent to the institution of marriage and the stabilizing role it places in our society. It seems to be actively seeking to undermine marriage by consistently painting it in a negative light,” PTC said in the report released Aug. 5, titled “Happily Never After: How Hollywood Favors Adultery and Promiscuity Over Marital Intimacy on Prime Time Broadcast Television.”
Verbal references to non-marital sex “outnumbered references to sex in the context of marriage by (a ratio of) nearly 3 to 1,” PTC said, and scenes “depicting or implying sex between non-married partners outnumbered similar scenes between married couples by a ratio of nearly 4 to 1.”
“Even more troubling than the marginalization of marriage and glorification of non-marital sex on television is TV’s recent obsession with outré sexual expression,” said Tim Winters, president of PTC. “Children and teens are now exposed to a host of sexual behaviors that less than a generation ago would have been considered off limits for broadcast television.
“Behaviors that were once seen as fringe, immoral or socially destructive have been given the stamp of approval by the television industry. And recent studies show that children are influenced by those messages,” Winter added.
“Throughout much of the history of broadcast television, the networks adhered to a voluntary code of conduct which stipulated that respect should be maintained for the sanctity of marriage and the value of the home.
“Our report finds that not only are the boundaries no longer respected — they have been obliterated.”
The watchdog group examined all scripted primetime entertainment programs which appeared on the major networks — ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and the CW — during four weeks last September and October for a total of more than 200 programming hours. Broadcasts of movies, news, sports, reality shows and game shows were not included in the analysis, PTC noted.
Among the findings:
- The Family Hour, the time slot between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern set aside by the industry for the largest audience of children, contained the highest frequency of references to non-married sex.
- PTC found that references to non-marital sex during Family Hour outnumbered references to sex in marriage by a ratio of 3.9 to 1.
- By comparison, during the following hour the references to non-marital versus marital sex averaged 2.5 to 1. (BP)
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