Negative Health Effects Of "PLL"

In an excerpt from the show Pretty Little Liars, Ezra is attacked by “A” and then paid a visit at his home by Aria. After briefly talking about the attack, they quickly move into having sex with each other. Also included in this scene is a pan between Alyson and Emily engaging in sexual intercourse and Ezra and Aria’s sexual moment.

It’s hard enough now-a-days not to turn on the television and be captivated by the newest and best shows out. However, the rise of sexual content on TV has risen in my opinion, to an all-time high! While catching up on old seasons of Pretty Little Liars (guilty as charged) I came across this scene, which offered a plethora of scripts surrounding femininity and masculinity. For starters, Ezra and Aria’s relationship has always concerned me from the beginning! The fact that the show, in sex scenes such as this one, glorifies underage teens having sex with much older men and frames it as though they have a “sophisticated” relationship is problematic. When looking at the potential health risks that this could have, young viewers that heavily watch the show, may begin to model these behaviors, without being shown the negative health risks such as teen pregnancy or the fact that it’s against the law (Hust et. al, 2008).  Furthermore, it offers scripts that become problematic. In this excerpt Aria is completely submissive and is more concerned that Ezra was physically hurt, so as a way of saying sorry she literally gives herself to him as a gift! If young viewers (or myself for that matter) start to identify with Aria, then they are in for it because they will identify with the characters they see on TV (Aria), learn the appropriate gender roles and then use those to guide their interactions with intimate partners in the future (Ivory et. al, 2007).  The negative implications that this could have in the long run is that women will start objectifying themselves, and playing into gendered roles of men being the aggressors and women being the highly sexualized submissive gift!

 The last thing that I will comment on in the heterosexual part of the clip is how Aria asked Ezra if having sex hurt him…..in which he responded that he could “handle it.” Are you kidding me? After this scene I had to close my computer, have a good laugh and then continue my marathon.  By Aria asking Ezra this, it painted an unrealistic portrayal that sex is for the male’s pleasure only, and that if men do find sex painful, that they are supposed to be hyper-masculine and “handle it.”

In the last part of this clip, Emily and Allie have their own sexual encounter. Emily on one hand takes on a domineering and aggressive form of sexual contact with Allie, suggesting that she is the “male partner” in the relationship, while Allie takes on a more submissive and controlled sexual pattern that would suggest her being the more “femme” partner. By having these characters take on traditional gender roles of a heterosexual couple it suggests to the viewers that homosexuality is okay, but only when the couples perpetuate stereotypical gendered roles common in heterosexual relationships (Kim et. al, 2007). This showed me that although homosexuality is becoming more prevalent on TV, it’s still being framed for a heterosexual audience.

Sources:

Hust, S., Brown, J., & L'Engle, K. (2008). Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Better Be Prepared: An Analysis ofthe Rare Sexual Health Messages in Young Adolescent's Media. Mass Communication & Society.

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007).   From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00224490701263660

Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication & Society, 12(2), 170-192. doi: 10.1080/15205430802169607