Monday, 16 March 2009
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Four on Four: The S & M Topic
Welcome to Round 2 of the inaugural Four on Four topics of commentary.
The topic of this blog entry pertains to a college research experiement linking sex to music.
Topic Two: According to a study performed by the University of Pittsburgh, some explicit song lyrics may be linked to sexual activity among teens.
Researchers compared the lyrics of music that teens listened to and their sexual behavior.Overall, 31 percent of the teens in the study had sexual intercourse. Of the teens having sex, 44.6 percent listened to degrading lyrics. And of those teens who were less exposed to the lyrics, only 20.6 percent had sex.
A lead researcher said it is not the music itself causing sexual behavior but it does help mold the perception and is therefore a "likely" factor in sexual development.
Source - © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.And that leads us to this round’s perspectives from our panel of posters. Allow me to introduce you to them once more -- again, as described in their own words:
VaneDave (DAVE) - a black/latino comedian from NYC, who's been blogging here at "The X" for five and a half years.
Trunthepaige (PAIGE) - I am American, that is something I am rather grateful for, but not proud of... Because I had nothing to do with were I was born. I'm an Architectural Sales Representative, from Seattle, Washington, who's been blogging here for three years.
Lotta_Valdez (CARLOTTA) - a Mexican American student from Houston, Texas, who's been blogging here at Xanga for five years.
Franksabunch (FRANK) - a half-superhero, half-Taiwanese American physician from Honolulu, HI, who's been blogging for almost five years.
Out of courtesy to you kind readers, I will post one topic per blog entry as part of a series.
Today, I will only cover Topic #2.
Now, I ask the four of you, is there something to the aforementioned topic - or is this a crock? What say you?
VaneDave: I don't think this finding is a crock, but I so think it's unfair to put the blame on music lyrics. The music lyrics are bad, and they definitely don't help the situation, but this problem is so prevalent in many aspects of our culture, that it would be wrong to hone in on some lyrics to a song. What about television, and movies, and magazines, and the type of clothing being marketed to children. What about these skank ass moms who dress even worse than their daughters. What about the messed up dads who tell their sons to bed as many women as they can?
Trunthepaige: I make no claims to being an expert on this one. What I believe this study is showing, is that people surround themselves with other people, art, culture, and music, that makes them feel comfortable. The teens with lower moral standards, enjoy music that reflects those rather promiscuous standards. If you want to be a slut, if you idealize sluts, or long for them, you don't want to be listening to church hymns. It is not the music’s fault. The music is just a reflection of the people who enjoy it. The music may reinforce their lower moral standards, and make them feel that they are the norm. But first came the lower standards, the music came second and can not be blamed for it fans.
Lotta_Valdez: Such a crock. Most of the abstinence people I know are also very religious and do not soak up a lot of dirty pop culture anyway. Music never “made” anyone have sex.
Franksabunch: Birds of a feather will flock together, as the saying goes. That's why gangstas don't roll down the street in the 5.0 blasting Michael Bolton... and Republicans (besides me) don't listen to the Wu-Tang Clan and Rage Against the Machine. Knowing that, why would it be surprising that all the kids "sexting" with their phones also listen to Katy Perry singing about kissing a girl? People are always trying to place the blame somewhere else instead of where it belongs -- the parents and the children.
And that concludes this edition of Four on Four. Thank you dear readers for stopping by.
Please don’t forget that Round 3 is on the horizon with a topic of discussion involving the dynamics of a high-profile relationship amongst two young R&B stars of the opposite sex, whose domestic issues affect women of all races. See what our four esteemed xangans have to say about this highly serious subject.
Stay rooted, stay grounded… and stay out of trouble.
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Comments (18)
I would just like to point out a flaw here, and I think it's a rather big one. That report reads that "Of the teens having sex" 44.6% listened to the degrading music. It then said that "Of those teens who were less exposed to the lyrics" only 20.6% were having sex.
This is comparing apples to oranges. The first statistic implies that 55.4% of the students having sex listened to explicit lyrics, leaving a difference of 10.8%. The way the report is given is misleading if you do not read it carefully. To be able to know if this 10.8% is impactful, we must also know how many students were being tested and be certain to eliminate other variables as well.
In conclusion, while I do lean toward such music being an influence on the culture, I believe moreover that the entertainment industry is a reflection OF the culture to a greater degree than it is an influence on it.
...and please note that my conclusion has little to nothing to do with the study. It is just my observation and opinion on the matter and has as much to do with the study as the listed statistics have to do with each other hehe.
PEEEEENIS. PEENIS. PEEENIS.
penis.
I am the smartest one here. No doubt about that.
Very interesting. I don't think music could MAKE anyone have sex, but it might lower their resistance perhaps? Hmm, not sure.
I have to say, "Me likes your posts lately"
Very nice.
I have a really good friend who mastered in performance. She and I had the music/behavior discussion. She contends that music--classical, rap, alternative, etc. all has the power to shape emotion and (at times) thought.
It's an interesting discussion.
I think it's backwards. For instance, lately I have been in heat like a bitch dog. Can't get enough. I find that I have been more apt to listen to sexual music because of that, but the music isn't what put me there.
All this time and I just noticed you are not on my sub list. Off to take care of that. My inbox gets flooded at times and I miss entries
I think the next topic was my favorite.
I don't think music makes kids have sex. The only thing that makes anyone have sex is themselves.
As my friend Anna would say - Be good, or at least be good at it.
:)
Good topic.
Epicness. I've heard of that study before. For the most part, I don't listen to that genre of music because of the lyrics; that, and it gives me a headache...
I would say that 3 of your panalists are correct in that "birds of a feather DO flock together". It's interesting to see how kids gravitate to what they like. On the flipside.. Industry knows this.
There are powerful people driving the market and activists who want to see certain ideals promoted.
So what you have happening, is music that appeals to a certain generation/personality group and they add lyrics that not only reinforce their current feelings, but add an element of something "new" and exciting...therefore keeping a constant turn over in the market....and in essence hapazardly degrading morals...
does that make sense?
@tjordanm - Hahahaha! They should've hired you to sing the chorus to that "detachable penis" song. I think King Missile was the name of the band?
*waves* hey DC, how goes it? miss ya. *hugs* hope everything's okay.
you might like my post, so please check it out ;)
Back in the old days, people would gather at Mars Hill and philosophize about life, morals, deeds, etc. Perhaps Mars Hill has been replaced by the iPod and instead of Socrates there is Young Jeezy and mah cuzzo Fity.
And perhaps the reason why I see so many idiots (or at least ppl who look like idiots) running around is due to the type of philosophizing people imbibe themselves with several hours a day.