Report says: Vulgar lyrics lead to teen sex
A new study has found that teenagers who listen to songs containing vulgar lyrics become sexually active at a younger age than those who prefer less explicit fare, reports the Associated Press.
Among heavy listeners, 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.
Exposure to lots of sexually degrading music “gives them a specific message about sex,” said the lead author, Steven Martino, a researcher for Rand, in Pittsburgh. Boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women, and girls learn to view themselves as sex objects, he said.
“We think that really lowers kids’ inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful” about sexual decisions and may influence them to make decisions they regret, he said. Whether it is hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of popular music aimed at teens contains sexual overtones. For example, the number one pop record in the country for the past several weeks is titled “Promiscuous.”
The study also found that songs depicting men as “sex-driven studs” and women as sex objects, and with explicit references to sex acts, are more likely to trigger early sexual behavior than those where sexual references are more veiled and relationships appear more committed.
Benjamin Chavis, chief executive officer of the Hip-Hip Summit Action Network, a coalition of hip-hop musicians and recording industry executives, said explicit music lyrics are a cultural expression that reflect “social and economic realities.”
“We caution rushing to judgment that music more than any other factor is a causative factor” for teens initiating sex, Chavis said. David Walsh, a psychologist who heads the National Institute on Media and the Family, said the results make sense.
The brain’s impulse-control center undergoes “major construction” during the teen years at the same time that an interest in sex blossoms, he said. Add sexually arousing lyrics and “it’s not that surprising that a kid with a heavier diet of that would be at greater risk,” he said.