Final Project ROUGH Draft

STIs and Contraceptives Remain Rare in Television Despite Societal Changes

Going from one girl to the next, the stud of an actor Vince rides his way through the night in the episode “Fantasy Island.” Entourage, an HBO show in its fifth season, chronicles four male friends in their business and sex affairs, the latter usually one night stands, no-name encounters with little thought to consequence.

Lucky for the stars, sex rarely involves contraceptives or STIs. For the rest of us, these things are a real concern.

Seinfeld, “the show about nothing,” was an extremely popular show throughout the nineties focused on four friends: Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. While it does not contain sex scenes in the least, sex is a common topic of discussion.The group often convenes in Jerry’s apartment or the coffee shop to chat about their latest relationships and sexual escapades. In one episode, contraceptives come up when Elaine learns that her preferred method of birth control, the sponge, has been discontinued. She buys up as many sponges as she can, and then evaluates men, deciding whether or not they are “sponge-worthy.” Sponges are a form of contraceptive, yes, but they do not prevent STIs. Keep in mind, this is one episode of 180, and in most episodes the majority of them are having sex. Elaine’s sponges eventually had to run out.

Another show that has run its course, Sex and the City, discusses sex in every episode. The show picked up where Seinfeld left off, running six seasons from 1998-2004. Four attractive women prance about, sleep around and are none the worse for it. Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte do just what the show’s name entails, and in doing so, they are almost invincible. According to Elizabeth Boskey, Ph.D., who wrote on the show and STIs, of all 94 episodes, only three address STIs, and only Miranda ends up with one. She gets Chlamydia, which is curable. The characters in this show are far more sexually active than those of Seinfeld, yet for the most part, they too escape any consequence.

Dated now, Seinfeld and Sex and the City are not representative of contemporary television and its portrayal of contraceptives and STIs. The shows currently on television involving sex aren’t much different, even though contraceptives are more important than ever and STIs are on the rise.

In March of 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a study showing one in four teenage girls has an STI. To make matters worse, of the girls who actually confessed to having sex, 40 percent had an STI. It doesn’t help that some of the girls think that douching with Coca-cola kills STI germs.

By failing to include more scenarios involving contraceptives and STIs, the media is skewing reality for viewers. No matter how much sex is had, rare is the show where a character discusses contraception or contracts an STI. You would think that as these statistics come out, and society is more open about sex, television would incorporate these aspects of life. Think again.
Often, those who don’t want to discuss contraception and STIs are in favor of abstinence. Television, on the other hand, seems to be in favor of thoughtless sex.

Entourage is just one contemporary example of the careless sex on tv. Showtime’s Californication runs on much the same premise. In the second season, Hank, the main character, leaves his marriage and moves into his friend’s house. One morning he sees a cook on television and tells his friend he wants to have sex with her. That afternoon, she’s in his kitchen. Married woman that she is, she willingly has sex with Hank, and then they later leave her at the side of the road. No conversations, no concerns.

While these two are adults, the no-strings worry-free sex is getting through to the teenage audience. The CDC recently released results of the 2005-2006 teen birth rates. The fourteen year decline, from 1991-2005, is over. Teen birth rates are up three percent. While it can’t be entirely attributed to television standards, the lack of discussion about contraceptives on television could very well factor in to the increase in teen births.

When STIs are included in shows, they tend to be the consequence of wrongful actions. George gets an STI on Grey’s Anatomy, but only after he cheats on Callie. STIs should not be portrayed as things that only happen as punishment or to people with lacking morals.

With the recent progress made in regards to STI testing and the necessity of contraceptives, it is disappointing to see the lack them on television. It is irresponsible of those creating and writing these popular shows not to portray a more realistic picture of discussions that need to occur about contraceptives and STIs.

They are certainly not glamorous or sexy, but neither are STIs.