1. TV-MA: An Examination of Sexually Explicit Behaviours in "Sex and the City" and "The L Word" and Their Revivals.
- Author
-
Burton, Katherine, Hicks, Hannah, Crann, Sara, and Ménard, A. Dana
- Subjects
- *
TELEVISION programs , *HUMAN sexuality , *SEX customs , *ORAL sex - Abstract
Sex and the City and The L Word were two groundbreaking television shows aimed at female audiences featuring explicit sexual content and queer characters; however, both have received little research attention over the last two decades. This is a serious omission in light of their popularity and their enduring capacity to influence viewers through streaming platforms as well as the successful launch of two revival series, And Just Like That... and The L Word: Generation Q. The purpose of this study was to examine depictions of sexual behaviours in the original runs of Sex and the City and The L Word and compare both with their respective revivals. Sexual behaviours across all episodes of the original runs of both shows and the first season of each revival were coded using a sheet and codebook developed for this study. Results showed that The L Word contained more explicit instances of oral sex and intimate touching, whereas Sex and the City showed more explicit instances of kissing and total explicit behaviours. The original run of Sex and the City contained more total explicit behaviours and more explicit kissing compared to its revival, but The L Word featured fewer instances of explicit penetrative/genital sexual behaviours compared to its revival. The implications of these findings for viewers, clinicians, and sex educators are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF