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Sex Sells!
Cambridge: Westview Press, 2004
P96 .S45 S77 2004
In 1953 when Lucille Ball became pregnant, the censors required the characters on I Love Lucy to say only that the wacky redhead was "in a family way." They feared the word "pregnant" might conjure up, in the minds of the viewers, images of a man and a woman having sexual intercourse. Now, some fifty years later, from giant billboards featuring nearly nude models in Times Square to Bill Clinton's creative definition of sex to Madonna and Britney's prime-time kiss, sex pervades virtually every aspect of public life. What happened?
Sex Sells! illuminates this arc from repression to obsession, showing how sexual mores have changed during the last five decades. Not only does the author examine the broad range of media genres that have reflected this libidinous journey, but he also shows how the media have played a leading role in propelling the Sexual Revolution. Streitmatter argues that much of the media's sexual content is actually beneficial, because it gives parents and educators a way to broach difficult subjects like AIDS, sexual identity, and appropriate sexual behavior.
Quoted from dust jacket.