RonJonSurfer Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 'Degrading' Lyrics Linked to Teen Sex HealthDay Reporter by Randy Dotinga Feb. 24 (HealthDay News) -- There's still no firm proof that raunchy music makes kids have sex, but a new study provides another suggestion that there's at least some kind of link between "degrading" songs and teenage sexual activity. The findings indicate that "people who are exposed to certain messages in music are more likely to copy or emulate what they hear," said Dr. Brian A. Primack, a pediatrician and lead author of the study released Tuesday. In other words, teens who hear about degrading sexual practices in their favorite songs might decide to try them out themselves. However, it's also possible that the reverse is true: Kids who have sex just happen to like raunchy music. Expanding on previous research that linked sexually charged songs to sex itself, the researchers surveyed 711 Pittsburgh-area ninth-grade students in 2006 and 2007 about their sexuality activity and the songs they liked to listen to. The researchers then determined how many of the 279 most popular songs in 2005 were "degrading" because they referred to sex that's "based only on physical characteristics" and features a "power differential" instead of being mutually consensual. For example, "Wait (The Whisper Song)" by the rap group known as Ying Yang Twins was deemed degrading, apparently because it included a reference to rough intercourse. By contrast, the lyrics of the rap song "Baby I'm Back" by Baby Bash, including the lines "I wanna be stronger than we've ever been/I'm here to cater to you," was said to be not degrading. The researchers looked for links between the listening habits of the students and their sexual activity. Their findings are scheduled to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. After adjusting the statistics in their findings to account for the possible influence of such factors as race and age, the researchers found that youths who listened most to "degrading" songs were more than twice as likely to have had intercourse. But the findings don't prove that the music caused kids to have sex, acknowledged Primack, who's an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "The opposite could be true -- that people who have more sex then go out and seek music with degrading sexual messages," he said. Other researchers have linked music to sexual activity, but evidence of a direct cause-and-effect relationship remains elusive. In the current study and an earlier one based on the same analysis of 279 songs from 2005, the researchers did not identify any degrading songs by title and disclosed lyrics from only a handful of them. They said that 64 percent of rap songs analyzed were sexually degrading, compared with 7 percent of country songs and 3 percent of pop songs. What to do? Laura Lindberg, senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute in New York City, said that teens need to learn how to interpret and analyze the messages they see in the world around them. But, "there's no silver bullet," she said. "If you get all teenagers to turn in their iPods, the teen pregnancy rate is not going to automatically decline." More information: The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States has an online booklet for teenagers on talking about sex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Oh no, teenagers having sex Alright, ninth grade is a bit early, but you're still a teenager at 19 as well. And if you decide to have sex just because Snoop Dogg told you to in a song, then perhaps you should tackle your IQ problem first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Or, hey, maybe people have sex because people like sex, and people write songs about sex because people like sex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 I expect that those teenagers who aren't having any sex might also listen to songs about sex; possibly moreso than the ones who are too busy having sex to listen to music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Footloose (1984) Reverend Shaw Moore: I object to that kind of music, and I think you know why. Ariel: Because people fornicate to it. Reverend Shaw Moore: I never said that. Ariel:You told the church board that. Reverend Shaw Moore: That was not meant for your ears! Ariel: When do my ears get old enough? When do you stop protecting me? I'm no saint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 I wanted to do my own scientific study based on my own teen years. I started 9th grade in 1972. I selected one of the top hits of 1972, "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex. Here are the lyrics: Joe Tex I Gotcha lyrics Send "I Gotcha" Ringtone to your Cell Oh, I gotcha! Uh-huh, huh! You thought I didn't see ya, now Didn't ya? uh! Uh-huh, huh You tried to sneak by me, now Didn't you? Uh-huh, huh Now, give me what you promised me Give it here, come on! (instrumental) Hey! Good God! Hey! Hey! You promised me the day That you quit your boyfriend I'd be the next one To ease on in You promised me It would be just us two Yeah! And I'd be the only man Kissin' on you Yeah! Now, kiss me Hold it a long time Hold it! Don't turn it-a loose, now Hold it A little bit longer, now Hold it! Come on! Hold it, girl Hold it, come on Hold it! Hold it! A-ease up for me Now, get back Live! You're high! The girl's alright, ya'all Ha-ha Good Lord! You made me a promise And you're gonna stick to it You shouldn't have promised If you wasn't gonna do it You saw me and ran In another direction I'll teach you to play With my affection Now, give it here You never should-a promised to me Give it, here Don't hold back, now Give it, here Don't say nothin' Just give it, here Come on! Give it, here, uh! Give it, here, uh! Give it, here Give it, here! Give it to me, now! You're high! Oh, I gotcha Never should-a promised to me Gotcha! You never should-a promised to me Gotcha! Give it on, here I gotcha! You thought you got away from me Didn't the door lock? Gotcha, ha-ha-ha Oh, I gotcha Give it on up I've gotcha! Give it over, here I gotcha You tried to sneak from me Now, didn't you? Ha-ha Oh, I gotcha Ooh, I gotcha! (instrumental fades to end) I concur that there is a link between degrading lyrics and teen sex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 "Wait (The Whisper Song)" is one of the funniest songs ever recorded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 well... there's also a(real or imagined) link between songs about suicide and kids killing themselves, and songs about committing crimes and kids duplicating those actions in real life. I always figured that if you're not pre-disposed to do those things, no music is going to sway you that heavily. If you've got mental or emotional problems already, however, I can see where music can ramp that up a bit. But, as the insurance companies are wont to tell you, "That's a pre-existing condition." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Y'know, I listen to a lot of rap music and I have sex ALL the time. Perhaps there is something to this theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 If I'm having sex and a rap song starts playing, Little Sammy just shrivels up and hides. So, I tend to disbelieve that theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Little Sammy? My whole image is shattered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Only after hearing rap music does it become "Little" Sammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Y'know, I listen to a lot of rap music and I have sex ALL the time. Perhaps there is something to this theory. Funny... it´s the opposite for me, I have sex ALL the time too but I NEVER listen to rap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 This is wayy too much information at 11 in the morning, everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) This must be a "generation thing": when I was a teen, there were no songs about degrading sex, therefore, nothing to which researchers could attribute high levels of teenage sexual activity. In our village a likely trigger for such goings on would be "fish & chip shop closing-time" or "fairground hits town". Although I don't recall it ever leading to intercourse with a gurl*, I may have pulled a few hand-shandies listening to "Love To Love You, Baby" *(and I'm sure I would, if it had happened) Edited February 27, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 hand shandies? I think I know what that means... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 ...I may have pulled a few hand-shandies listening to "Love To Love You, Baby" Is that word even necessary in that sentence? The sentence would read exactly the same without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Where I'm from, omitting that word would imply that b-f was a huge success with the girls. Does it mean something else in the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted February 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Omitting those words doesn't mean you aren't a success with the girls...it just means you don't have a girl with you when the urge arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ahh... to me 'to pull' means the same thing as 'to get lucky'. Now I hope that means the same thing in the UK and the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ahh... to me 'to pull' means the same thing as 'to get lucky'. Now I hope that means the same thing in the UK and the US Only if you're playing a slot machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I'm not touching this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted February 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 If you don't touch, you can't pull. Getting lucky means the same in both countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Anyway, now I know what not to say to Americans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Well, just don't go around "pulling" anything in public, or you'll probably end up in jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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