Before The Media Triples the Panic…
First there was Britney’s single “3″ and the accompanying raunchy music video and now there’s the hotly contested upcoming episode of “Gossip Girl.” One more incident of threesomes in the realm of teen pop culture and we’re likely to hear the media appoint a “new” trend for parents to worry about. Sigh. Can you hear the collective groaning coming from our direction?
For those who haven’t heard the Parent Television Council’s most recent case against the primetime teen soap, here are some quotes from PTC president printed in the Boston Globe:
“Airing the teen tryst, which is being teased in an ad as a ‘3SOME,’ is ‘reckless and irresponsible,’ said PTC president Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday… Winter asked: ‘Will [the CW] now be complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films?’”
This isn’t the first time the watchdog group has come out against GG for a racy marketing campaign, and it isn’t the first time a catchy pop song has made sexual experimentation no big deal (see Anastasia’s post on “I Kissed A Girl”). The difference here is between same sex lip locks, the general hyper-sexualized tone of “Gossip Girl” and a more dubious type of adult behavior that for most teens isn’t under consideration. Threesomes are less based in the reality of teen sexuality (exploring possible lifestyle choices, raging hormones, etc.), and more a step towards the ”Porn Normal” phenomenon we’ve discussed here before with porn staples sneaking into mainstream pop culture.
Does that mean the PTC is taking the right tact against the issue? I’m not so sure. Assuming that a combination of textspeak (ugh..3SOME) and one steamy scene will instantly normalize the act of having sex with two people at once among teens is how these things get overblown on the scale of “sexting” or more outrageous outliers like “rainbow parties.” It simplifies the real danger here that lies in contributing to a skewed definition of “sexy” that’s already being pushed on teens elsewhere by our culture. While that might not directly lead to threesomes, it could be damaging for girls with low self-esteem and/or guys who think sex in whatever form is what they’re “supposed” to be doing. To reduce that complex situation into a suggestion that young people are too impressionable to handle seeing fictional characters engage in sex, won’t lead to a productive discussion — in the media or among parents brave enough to broach the topic with teens (would not want to be a fly on that living room wall). In both contexts, I think it’s important to not cloak the topic in shame and taboo, but rather in the frame of normal sexual urges, fantasies and the underlying, troubling factors that may be at play like the objectification of women or the repercussions of indulging in this behavior in reality.
The other reason I’m skeptical of the whole finger-wagging approach comes from the allure it ends up creating. The last time the council butted heads over material deemed inappropriate on “Gossip Girl” with the series of “OMFG” ads, The CW marketing team ended up using the criticism as marketing fodder (pictured here). Like sexy R-rated movies with overt teen appeal (anyone remember “Cruel Intentions”?) or actual porn, the more illicit the content is made out to be, the stronger the appeal and the motivation to seek it out. That said, who wants to bet that even if the episode does get pulled, we’ll end up seeing it “leaked” on the web and/or popping up as an uncensored version on DVD with even more teen viewers clamoring to find out what all the fuss was about? Ypulse readers, what’s your take?