Sexual Content in Media and Its Effect on Teens: What’s The Big Deal?

When was the first time you learned about sex? For many of us, it was before we turned 18, regardless of whether we had the correct information.

Bombay Begums came under fire for its depiction of minors (high-schoolers) engaging in sexual activities. It brought up the debate of how sexuality in media affects children and whether they should even consume such content. But if this is something we all knew in school and probably participated in during our teenage years, what’s the big deal? Why is it problematic, and why should we talk about it?

Sexual Development Begins Early

Sexual development, sexuality, and sex are often used interchangeably in our conversations.

Sexual development, like any other form of human development, begins right when we are born. Health studies show that it is normal for children, as young as 7, to be curious about their bodies and have questions about sex. The way our parents and our school respond to these questions forms our first lessons in sexuality.

So if our parents reacted negatively, in aggression, or disgust, or disapproval, it leads us to believe that anything related to sex, including our feelings and our bodies, is wrong.