Sex as Spectacle

Abstract

In recent years, research focusing on representations of sexuality in entertainment has gained momentum. Television content can sometimes be characterized as “hypersexual,” and according to Jacobson (2005), such “hypersexual” representations can be found in two-thirds of programs. However, beyond offering teenagers more sexual content, the nature of the content has also changed. Using a qualitative textual analysis, this article gives an overview of the gender scripts represented in series that are popular with Flemish teenagers: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Skins, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and 16+. Specifically, this article focuses on the relation between gender and sexuality. Sex(uality) has become part of the spectacle, and the tendency to “casualize” sexuality is apparent. This pinpoints the possibility that it may be time to reconsider sexual license in the twenty-first century as part of youth-as-fun instead of youth-as-trouble.