This collection brings together research from independent scholars and studies supported by the Kaiser Foundation to illustrate innovative research on the media's sexual content and adolescents. Contributors address the topic of sexuality broadly - including evidence not only about physical sex acts, but also about the role the media play in the development of gender roles, sexual orientations, standards of beauty, courtship and relationship norms. Each chapter in this book contributes an intriguing look at what teens are most likely attending to in the media or insignts into how teens are understanding and applying what the media present about sex and sexuality. The studies take different methodological approaches, include a diversity of adolescent audiences, and deal with a wide variety of media content ranging from teens' favourite TV programmes to magazines, movies, music and teen girls' web pages. Taken as a whole, they paint a picture that suggests more attention should be paid to the media as important players in adolescents' sexual lives.
