Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In 1953 when Lucille Ball became pregnant, the censors required the characters on "I Love Lucy" to say only that the wacky redhead was "in the family way"-they feared the word "pregnant" might conjure up, in the minds of viewers, images of a man and woman having sexual intercourse. Now, some fifty years later, from giant billboards featuring nearly nude models in Times Square to Bill Clinton's creative definition of sex to Madonna and Britney's prime-time kiss, sex pervades virtually everyaspect of public life, including the films and television programs we watch, the music we listen to, and the racy ads that bombard us. What happened?Through lively prose and engaging examples, Sex Sells! illuminates this arc from repression to obsession vis-à-vis changing sexual mores during the last five decades. Not only does the author examine how a broad range of media genres have reflected this libidinous journey, but he also shows how the media have played a leading role in propelling the Sexual Revolution. Whether it was the decision by Cosmo editor Helen Gurley Brown to run a photo of a nude Burt Reynolds in 1972 or the recent success of Showtime's sexually explicit "Queer as Folk," the media have led the charge in bringing sex into the mainstream. Along the way, what the author terms "sexual literacy" has become vital, especially for young media consumers. For Rodger Streitmatter, unlike many critics, believes that much of the media's sexual content is beneficial, as it gives parents and educators a jumping-off point from which to discuss such matters as AIDS, sexual identity, and sexual mores. In this age of continuing sexual liberation, such a viewpoint seems especially important and timely.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. ix)
• The 1950s: No Sex, Please, We're American (p. xiii)
• 1 The Pill and the Media: Spawning a Revolution (p. 1)
• 2 Playboy Magazine: Taking Pornography into the Mainstream (p. 15)
• 3 James Bond: Bringing Sex into the Movies (p. 29)
• 4 Jim Morrison of The Doors: Pushing the Limits of Sex in Music (p. 43)
• 5 All in the Family: Bringing Sex to American Television (p. 57)
• 6 Cosmopolitan Magazine: Celebrating the Sexually Active Woman (p. 67)
• 7 Donahue: Talking Sex on Morning TV (p. 78)
• 8 Three's Company: Adding Jiggle to the Small Screen (p. 90)
• 9 Movies of the 1980s: Erasing Sexual Taboos (p. 103)
• 10 American Advertising: Pitching with Prurience (p. 115)
• 11 Madonna: Tackling Sexual Issues Through Music (p. 126)
• 12 The Gay Nineties: Adam and Eve + Adam and Steve (p. 140)
• 13 The Black Nineties: Showcasing African-American Sexuality (p. 154)
• 14 Semen on the Front Page: Bill Clinton's Sex Life Redefines the News (p. 168)
• 15 Youth Media: Shaping Teenage Sexual Values (p. 182)
• 16 Paying for Sex (on Cable): Sex and the City and Queer as Folk (p. 196)
• 17 Cyberporn: Bringing Sex to the World Wide Web (p. 210)
• 18 Reality Television: Crossing New Sexual Thresholds (p. 222)
• "Sexual Literacy": Understanding the Media's Sexual Messages (p. 234)
• Notes (p. 247)
• Index (p. 273)
• Illustrations

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Streitmatter (American Univ.) provides an ambitious overview of the ways in which media have reflected changing sexual mores over the past 50 years. The author does not concern himself with the ubiquitous debate over whether media influence or merely reflect culture; he assumes a symbiotic relationship. He avoids heavy-handed moralizing as he tries to present the positive and negative aspects of viewing media as a source of sexual literacy: he argues that media's sexual content may actually be beneficial since it has the potential to educate receivers on difficult subjects such as sexual identity and risky behaviors. Well written and informative, this book is an excellent introduction to the way in which sex is presented in media, from television to cyberspace. Although it lacks a formal bibliography, it does includes bibliographic notes. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; technical program students; professionals; general readers. P. D. Schultz Alfred University