Sexy and I Know It?

Studies initiated by Brown et al., "found that adolescents (12–17 years old) who watched television shows with more sexual content were more likely than those who saw fewer shows with sexual content to have engaged in more advanced sexual behavior, as well as sexual intercourse, up to 1 year later" (2006). While sitting in front of the television is considered a thing of the past nowadays, web based sites such as Netflix and Youtube are what kids are using...making it harder for parents to control what their kids are consuming. For example, in response to LMFAO's "Sexy and I know It," a concerned parent left the following comment:

Now, why is this parent so concerned? LMFAO is a group who produces humorous music videos, not to be consumed seriously, right? Well, this isn't necessarily the case with younger kids who turn to the Internet as a sexual super peer, or a "source of information and models about sexuality that is unavailable in their peer group" (Brown, Halpern, & L'Engle 2005).  After acknowledging the fact that consuming sexual media as a super peer may increase the chances of a young boy or girl to engage in sex earlier in life, let's examine LMFAO's video and find out why a parent, such as the one above, might show concern. 

First, off we notice the group walking down the Venice Beach strip while hip thrusting several times while women look on and lick their lips seductively. While I find this video hilarious, and not to be taken seriously, a 12 year boy old might think being "sexy" by hip thrusting in the direction of these women is a great way to get a girl. After this initial hip thrusting, the main singer rips off his pants to show off a brightly covered speedo and proceeds to whip his junk around in front of the camera with confidence while the women are mesmerized. Then his back up dancers also reveal their speedos, which result in a group hip thrust junk shaking scene. We see here how the penis is the object of focus in this video, and women look on with desire, which again raises a red flag for young children because a young male learns that his penis is a source of power in a sense that women "want" it. In fact, before the men shake their junk, they sing "I've got a passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it," which may contribute to this notion of penis pride in this video, which could cause a young boy to be more willing to engage in sexual activity earlier in life in order to entice women, as seen in the music video.    

You'd think the thrusting diminishes after this first scene. However, as the video progresses we see how the penis is the SOLE and only focus of this music video as weird as this sounds. The next scene progresses to a bar where the group parades down a table like a runway shaking their parts, while women literally grab their package...yes the actually grab it in the video. Other men parade down the table the same way...so it becomes almost like a speedo fashion show highlighting the male genitalia, so we now understand this parent's cause of concern.

This leads me to my next thought...the phrase "she wants the D" is one I hear on a daily basis in college. This phrase is used to describe women who put off a vibe that they want sex.  In my personal experience, guys use this as a degrading term due to the fact that these women are "desperately" seeking sex. Although this phrase is somewhat new in my opinion, this idea isn't new, as seen in this 2011 video. We see women distracted by "the D" and one women grabbing one. I honestly hate this phrase because it makes women look submissive and weak. So what if women want sex? Men want sex all the time and they aren't punished for it.  I've heard this phrase only in my college years, but I'm sure that this phrase is popular among the younger generations due to the increased prevalence of sexual content in the media. So, we can see how this parent has a right to be angry and hopefully their son won't be seen in a speedo dancing around anytime soon.


Works Cited:

Brown, J. D., L'Engle, K. L., Pardun, C. J., Guo, G., Kenneavy, K., & Jackson, C. (2006). Sexy      media matter: Exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines predicts Black  and White adolescents' sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 117(4), 1018-1027. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-1406

Brown, J. D., Halpern, C. T., & L'Engle, K. L. (2005). Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 420-427. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.06.003