Once upon a time in the "Golden Age" of television, networks deferred to their own in-house offices of standards, which kept profanity, questionable morals, and salacious behavior off the airwaves. Today's standard- free TV shows are obsessed with sex and it is very obvious to even the most casual viewer. This paper will discuss in depth, where all of this sex "stuff" started and how "bad" it's really gotten, on Network Television sitcoms.
The following research study, sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and conducted by the University of California- Santa Barbara, is described as the most comprehensive study of sex on TV. According to this news study of sex on TV, over half (fifty-six) percent of all programming contains sexual content. In prime time, over two- thirds (sixty-seven) percent of all shows deal with sex. Sitcoms, surprisingly, deal with sex, only (fifty-six) percent of the time. The study also found that most of the sexual content is talk.
English: Ellen DeGeneres in 2009.
Ellen DeGeneres at the 1997 Emmy Awards (cropped)
Photo taken at the Governor's Ball after the 46th ...About one- fourth of the shows (twenty- three) percent actually depict sexual behavior- usually passionate kissing- and three percent show the characters having intercourse. Eight percent of the shows include sexual content involving teenagers.
Sex on television did not just happen over night. It has evolved from what we now consider extreme minimal sexual contact. For example, in the fifties, "I Love Lucy"- a show based on a middle class family (the Ricardos) living in New York City. The husband Ricky Ricardo wanted his wife to stay home and take care of the house while he earned a living entertaining at a local nightclub, the "Tropicana". Lucy Ricardo was never satisfied with the dull day to day activities of a housewife. So every episode depicts her taking on another adventure, or getting herself into a messy situation and trying...