This is my Sex and the City research paper proposal. My working proposal which includes my thought process and questions in pink is first, followed by my final proposal. Writing my thoughts in the text helped me to revise my proposal. Writing this proposal helped me organize my thoughts. I plan to write some sort of proposal as I tackle writing projects in the future whether they be for school or for work.
Working Proposal
I am interested in studying the effects of viewing Sex and the City on females’ sexual attitudes and behaviors. More specifically, I would like to examine how watching Sex and the City impacts undergraduate female college students’ (ages 18-22) views about casual pre-marital sex, views about women’s sex roles, and own sexual behaviors. I think this is an interesting topic to explore because the content of Sex and the City is heavily based on sex. The show portrays sex as a form of recreation by having the four main female characters frequently talk about sex and engage in casual pre-marital sex. The characters also display a form of female empowerment by embracing fashion and pursuing men. The latter of which is a contradiction to the stereotypic portrayal of women in media and society. The following research questions are of interest to me: “Are frequent SATC viewers more likely to think positively about casual premarital sex?” “Does the high focus of sex in SATC impact viewers’ sexual attitudes and behaviors?” “If so, why?”
In past studies, research has indicated
I propose that those who frequently watch the Sex and the City television show (weekly viewers) will be more likely to hold positive views on casual sex, refute the stereotypic representation of a woman’s sex role, and as a consequence, be more likely to engage in casual pre-marital sexual behaviors. This effect will be stronger for those not in committed romantic relationships. My areas of interest are as follows: sex portrayals on SATC, gender portrayals on SATC in regards to sex, viewers’ identification with the four main female characters, participants’ attitudes and beliefs about casual pre-marital sex, and participants’ sexual behaviors. I will be looking at how the characters talk about and engage in sex (with who? how frequently?).
In contrast to the usual stereotypic representations of men as sex-driven, Sex and the City represents the female characters as initiating, engaging in and talking about sex more often than men as is indicated by the absence of sexually dominant male characters. It will be interesting to learn if this reversed representation of gender roles will affect how undergraduate female college students think about and engage in sex. My guess is that undergraduate female college students who do regularly watch Sex and the City will believe in female empowerment and assume more powerful, stereotypical “male” behaviors in the bedroom. I believe this will be the case because of the modeling theory DEFINE. As teenage girls watch Sex and the City, they will attempt to imitate the beliefs and behaviors shown by the main characters. Effects will be stronger for viewers who form parasocial interactions DEFINE with the characters (Ex. “I’m a Carrie.”). In a past study by Laurie (YEAR), she finds “…that identifying with popular characters, such as Carrie on Sex and the City, was associated with stronger agreement that women are sexual objects.” These beliefs include the following: casual sex is fun, premarital sex is okay, confidence in the bedroom is attractive, a high sex drive is expected, and the female should sleep with a man on her terms. These behaviors include the following: engaging in casual pre-marital sex, engaging in sexual acts with men who the females do not know very well, initiating sex, and talking about sex with friends. SHOULD I INCLUDE THE WORD FREQUENTLY?
The Cultivation Theory DEFINE/SOURCE helps explain my reason for proposing this study because the more time teenage girls spend watching Sex and the City, the more likely they are to view the world, and in this case, sex, in terms of what they see in the television show. One finding of the Cultivation Theory proposes that heavy viewers are more likely to “hold stereotypic views of gender roles based on how different genders are portrayed in the media.” However, I expect the opposite to occur in heavy viewers of Sex and the City because as proposed by LIST STUDY, the female gender is portrayed in contrast to stereotypic representations. It is also possible that those teenage girls who already view casual sex favorably and who engage in casual pre-marital sex choose to watch Sex and the City because it fits with their existing views. This fits well with the Uses and Gratifications Theory DEFINE.
Final Proposal
I am interested in studying the effects of viewing Sex and the City on females’ sexual attitudes and behaviors. More specifically, I would like to examine how watching SATC impacts undergraduate female college students’ views about casual pre-marital sex, views about women’s sex roles, and own sexual behaviors. I think this is an interesting topic to explore because the content of SATC is heavily based on sex, but presents the female figure in a way that most shows do not. This is an important avenue of inquiry because the expected results could help explain other things like teenage pregnancy. The show portrays sex as a form of recreation by having the four main female characters frequently talk about sex and engage in casual pre-marital sex. My areas of interest are as follows: sex portrayals on SATC, gender portrayals on SATC in regards to sex, viewers’ identification with the four main female characters, participants’ attitudes and beliefs about casual pre-marital sex, and participants’ sexual behaviors. The following research questions are of interest to me: “Are frequent SATC viewers more likely to think positively about casual premarital sex?” “Does the high focus on sex in SATC impact viewers’ sexual attitudes and behaviors?” “If so, why?”
I propose that those who frequently watch the SATC television show will be more likely to hold positive views on casual sex, refute the stereotypic representation of a woman’s sex role, and as a consequence, be more likely to engage in casual pre-marital sex. This effect will be stronger for those not in committed romantic relationships and those who form parasocial interactions with the characters (Ex. “I’m a Carrie.”). My reason for suggesting this is because past research has indicated that “more frequent viewing and stronger identification with popular TV characters were associated with greater levels of sexual experience” (Ward & Friedman, 2006). However, this study looked at the effects of various television shows on children and I plan to study the effects of just SATC on an older female population.
In contrast to the usual stereotypic representations of men as sex-driven, SATC represents the female characters as initiating, engaging in and talking about sex more often than men as is indicated by the absence of sexually dominant male characters. In contrast to typical media representations, the male characters on SATC seem to be the ones who are objectified. Lorie (2011) says, “After viewing the entire series we have witnessed how Samantha and her sexually aggressive lifestyle more or less victimizes men by treating them mostly as sexual objects.” It will be interesting to learn if this reversed representation of gender roles will affect how undergraduate female college students think about and engage in sex. In a study analyzing the depictions of certain subjects in the show, Lorie (2011) says, “The programme thus endeavours to promote a new standard of sexual etiquette to match the highly fluctuating and pressured environment of contemporary society.” My guess is that undergraduate female college students who do regularly watch SATC will assume more powerful, stereotypic “male” behaviors in the bedroom. I believe this will be the case because of the modeling theory; as viewers watch SATC, they will attempt to imitate the beliefs and behaviors shown by the main characters. The Cultivation Theory helps explain my reason for proposing this study because the more time teenage girls spend watching SATC, the more likely they are to view the world, and in this case, sex, in terms of what they see in the television show (Gerbner et al., 2002). It is also possible that those who already view casual sex favorably and who engage in casual pre-marital sex choose to watch SATC because it fits with their existing views. If this is the case, the Uses and Gratifications Theory could also help explain the expected findings (Rubin, 2002).
References
Gerbner, G., et. al. (2002). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Ed.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 43-67, 2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lorie, A. F. (2011). Forbidden fruit or conventional apple pie? A look at Sex and the City’s reversal of the female gender. Media, Culture & Society, 33 (1), 35-51.
Rubin, A. M. (2002). The uses and gratifications perspective of media effects. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Ed.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 525-548, 2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ward, L. M. & Friedman, K. (2006). Using TV as a guide: Associations between television viewing and adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16 (1), 133–156.