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Mass Media and Adolescent Female Sexuality

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Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health

Part of the book series: Issues in Women’s Health ((WOHI))

Abstract

Jessica, 16, wakes up to the music on her clock radio. This morning Britney Spears sings “Baby hit me one more time” and then Brandy asks “What do I gotta do to get you in my arms, baby?” as Jessica stumbles out of bed to the shower. Later, as she gobbles a Poptart for breakfast, the TV on the kitchen counter flashes images of the scene of a rape and murder the night before. On the drive to school, Jessica glances at a billboard that in big red letters declares: “Virgin: Teach your kids it’s not a fouretter word.” During homeroom, Jessica and her friends laugh about the awkward kiss on the new WB program Jack & Jill they all watched on TV the night before, and they ponder if Joey will lose her virginity on Dawson’s Creek this season. At lunch, they pore over the latest issue of Glamour magazine, wishing they were as thin as the perfect models and celebrities and giggling at the tips for how to “get the guy.”

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3365, USA

    Jane D. Brown

  2. Communications Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA

    Susannah R. Stern

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  1. Jane D. Brown
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  2. Susannah R. Stern
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Gina M. Wingood ScD, MPH  & Ralph J. DiClemente PhD  & 

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Brown, J.D., Stern, S.R. (2002). Mass Media and Adolescent Female Sexuality. In: Wingood, G.M., DiClemente, R.J. (eds) Handbook of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health. Issues in Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0689-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0689-8_6

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