5% of 9th-12th grade boys said they had been sexually abused.

Sexuality Content in Contemporary Music

In the United States, approximately 85% of young people between the ages of 8 and 18 listen to at least a few minutes of music. On average, youth listen to music for about 2 hours a day.

Interestingly, young women listen to about 30 minutes more music than young men do on a daily basis.

Among the youth of today, rap and hip-hop music seem to be the most popular. On any day, 65% of junior and senior high school aged kids report listening to these two styles of music. This is more than double the percentage of young people who listen to any other single type of music.

Among African American youth, 81% reported listening to rap and hip-hop. Seventy percent of Hispanic youth identified rap and hip-hop as their favorite. And the same was true for 60% of Caucasian youth.

Given that rap and hip-hop have mass appeal among many young people, it’s important to understand the influence that music has on the sexual development of youth.

Recent research has focused a lot of attention on the sexually explicit lyrics of songs and their accompanying music videos. It has been suggested that youth who are exposed to such music and videos are inclined to have sexual intercourse earlier than their peers who do not listen to or watch such videos. In one study, adolescents who had more exposure to such videos were twice as likely to have had multiple sex partners and almost two times as likely to contract a bacterial sexually transmitted infection.

While the real-life implications of these studies may vary for individual kids, it is certainly true that young people want to fit in with their peers and will emulate clothing styles, use current slang found in music, and incorporate messages from music into their lives and conversations. Many songs and videos, in addition to being very sexually suggestive, also appear to endorse the use of alcohol, drugs, violence toward others and generally negative attitudes toward women. The messages are often contrary to parents’ values and contrary to living a healthy life.

Help your children make sense of what they are hearing and seeing and make decisions about what is and isn’t appropriate for your children.

Many young people report that they don’t always listen to the lyrics of the song or closely watch the video. Instead, they just enjoy the beat of the music and the dancing in the videos. It’s still important for a parent to be informed about what their children are listening to and watching and how sexuality, gender relationships, and other important issues, such as drugs and alcohol, are addressed.

While research has often focused on the music most commonly listened to by young people, it doesn’t mean that other kinds of music and lyrics don’t have content that might be objectionable. Even nursery rhymes contain messages about traditional gender roles.

Be mindful about the musical and lyrical content that appeals to your children. Help them understand what the songs mean so that they can be better informed. As always, remember that you are the adult and should feel empowered to remove objectionable music from your home if needed.

References

Martino, S.C., Collins, R.L., Elliot, M.N., Strachman, A., Kanouse, D.E., & Berry, S.H. (2006). Exposure to degrading versus nondegrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth. Pediatrics, 118, 430-441. Accessed on November 14, 2006 at http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/118/2/e430

Gilliam, T. (2007). Hip hop and politics. Accessed on February 15, 2007 at http://blackyouthproject.uchicago.edu/primers/reviews/hiphop.pdf