Context and a T.V. Show: Unsafe Sex on "Girls"
This interview originally aired live on March 20, 2013. An edited version was re-aired on August 9, 2013 as part of a special episode of The Brian Lehrer Show.
The depiction of unprotected sex on HBO's "Girls" has been criticized for sending the wrong message about how twenty-somethings should think about sex and risk. June Thomas, culture critic for Slate, and sexual health expert, John Santelli, chair of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, talk about that message and how it compares to real life concerns about sexually transmitted disease and public health.
What do you think about the way sex is portrayed on "Girls"? Do you think it's realistic, or is it sending the wrong message? How important is it for media to reflect desirable behavior, like protected sex, for impressionable viewers? Leave your comment below.
A "Girls" Reading List
- Slate: “On All Fours"
- Daily Beast: "Graphic Content, Objectification, and That Scene"
- Huffington Post: "'Girls' Sex Scenes Are Surprisingly Without Condoms This Season"
- The New York Times: "TV Show ‘Girls’ Adds to the Muddle on HPV Testing"
- Lena Dunham on WNYC's Here's the Thing
