THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

Media Monkies will like to give a special THANK YOU to all of those who have wit hus from the start and who have been following us over the past few months. It has been a tough road but we learned from it and will continue to strive for the best in whatever we do........until next time GOD BLESS and have a safe holiday!!!!!!!!!!!

CONTENT IN THE MEDIA

What is the media? The media refers to channels of mass communications such as the radio, newspapers, television and the internet. What is the role of the media? The fourth estate, the media is there to inform and in some cases entertain. What is sexual content or sexual material? In order to know what sexual content is you first have to define “sex.” As simple a question as it may appear the reality is that the answer you get defer depending on who it is directed to. For example, Sex is a way of distinguishing male and female members of a species usually by referencing their reproductive function. Sex refers to the genitals but predominantly you’ll hear sex is the physical intercourse between two persons.

The argument being presented is whether or not sexual content in the media is positive or negative. I believe that it is in fact positive because it promotes awareness, it informs persons who are for whatever reasons deprived of information, it helps in delivering certain messages, it allows for understanding of the opposite sex and it aids in socializing skills.

Sexual material in the media is considered a taboo in many societies mainly because of the fear that it may have negative effects on the younger generation. According to World book Encyclopaedia, surveys show that many parents, psychologists, and teachers favour some kind of sex education in schools however opponents of such programmes argue that children should learn about sexuality only from their parents. In a time where having a day care service or being a babysitter is one of the most profitable business simply because parents are so busy doing any and everything, a time where families don’t event sit and have lunch or dinner together, a time where so many young girls and boys are being abused and exploited by these said parents or a time where some parents simply don’t talk to them about it because they are uncomfortable, why would we want to leave the responsibility up to them. Yes there are some parents that do their part but there is also a higher percentage that don’t and there is where the media comes in to fulfill its purpose of informing. And regardless of who informs these teenagers are curious and want to have sex. Sorry to break it to you, folks, but this is the way real life works–Teenagers are curious about sex, they wonder what it is like and yes, they’re going to have sex and it’s most likely going to be after you told them not to.

Sexual content in the media is not only positive because it saves some parents from having “the talk” with their teenage child but because it truly informs. I would like you think about America’s Next Top Model Cycle Ten contestant Fatima Siad who is a Muslim from Somalia, she also had the most severe form of circumcision done to her t the tender age of seven. Her story brought a lot of comments from persons who didn’t even know that such an act existed, while many posted the question “Is this an appropriate topic for America’s Next Top Model?” My question is why not? Why have her on a just as informative documentary that may have ten thousand viewers than have her on a show that we know have millions of viewers.

Through this persons learn that FGM is practiced in over twenty eight 28 different countries and as a result hundreds of young girls die every year. Because of Fatima’s story people banned together and formed anti FGM groups and many others have started to speak out against it.
As stated earlier on the role of the media is not only to inform but also to entertain. Women are the main focus in many different genres of music today. They are in many cases viewed as sex symbols. To some this come across as disrespectful, however a woman’s body is considered one of God’s most beautiful creations. Why should a woman be ashamed of her body or of showing it off?

As for sex scenes in movies or shows, is the sex scene the moral of the story or is it just part of the story line used to help you understand and get the bigger picture. Sex in the city for example, it’s about the lifestyle of four successful women and sex just happens to be a part of it. Sex is an extremely profitable business and it is proven that it is to be one of the best and most natural stress relievers.

Sexual content in the media is positive and should be considered a positive thing instead of being the center of blame for a number of issues that are affecting our society. At the end of the day the fact remains that the media does make an attempt in censoring the material by rating movies appropriately, labelling material as having explicit lyrics, or by telling the public that the material is for a mature audience only. Most importantly though I would like to close in saying that the media boom began in 1990 and the internet in 2000, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases existed when? The first case of HIV was in the Belgian Congo in 1959.

Teenage pregnancy is not something new/strange to societies as in the earlier days young girls had children from time of puberty, and in those days television didn’t even exist. Blaming sexual content in the media for these issues is like “Blaming the government for crime!” People need to be more responsible for themselves; parents take more interest in their children’s lives and let the media do its job of informing and entertaining its public's.