Innocence Lost

Vice Magazine UK Edition

Vice Magazine UK Edition

I find myself shocked and surprised at media geared at young people from time to time. Take for instance, the preview for Gossip Girls, while I understand that The OC had quite a bit of sex in it's programing I don't remember it being advertised with the same intensity as the recent Gossip Girl ads. I don't want to feel like I am getting old and appalled at what they will show on tv. My sister watches this stuff with amazing levels of interest and while I'm sure at her age I was aware of similar programming (MTV's Undressed) it was not as easy to find. Or maybe I was just sheltered. 

Gossip Girl has caught my attention from the beginning. I read one of the books years ago and while I remember it being drama filled I don't remember the characters to be such sexualized creatures. While there is nothing wrong with programming that addresses and discusses the sexuality of high school students, I have to wonder if the way in which it is packaged is damaging. 

A problem with the depiction of young adult sex life in current media is this:  The characters are not yet 18 in the show but the women who play them are. This creates and unrealistic image of maturity in the characters that isn't always there in real high school students. The actors are just working, they don't have to deal with the consequences that the characters do. Whatever happens or doesn't in the show stops when the actors leave the set. This is not so in real life and that isn't addressed when many young adults watch the programming.

There are many issues that can come with the age differences between the actor and the character the actor is playing. First, those watching the show who are the same age as the character is suppose to be can look up to these characters and get caught in the idea that, at this age, the actions the characters are partaking in are normal actions of the age range. In Gossip Girl some of these actions are promiscuous sex, cocaine use, blackmail, and sabotage just to name a few. Looking back to my high school years I can safely say that while some of the students were getting into these kinds of things, it wasn't as prevalent as the show makes it seem. In tv shows about high school these events and actions have become norms. I'm not saying it would be a good idea to ignore the fact that these events do sometimes occur in high school, more in some groups than others, but showing it without talking about it creates an unsafe reality for real teens to watch. 

A major part of porn's influence on pop culture is the obsession with young but sexually ready and willing young women. There is an abundance of fashion spreads with women looking at the camera like little girls, wide eyed with wonder and fascination. They are clothed in dresses and positioned with feet pointed inward. In one of my examples, the girl is eating a banana in a little pink dress, hair a little messy and her bangs falling on her forehead like they would a child. While she looks young in dress and hair, she doesn't look too young to be completely innocent. Because of her make up, and where the dress falls on her leg, one can assume that she is at least consenting age, if not older.