Sex and the City:

A content analysis of sex and substance use

Journalism 145 The Effects of Mass Media Sri Kalyanaraman May 5, 2003 Cacky Allen Sarah Ellen Henderson Alison King Win McMurry

Introduction-Win McMurry
The booming HBO original series Sex and the City has attracted millions of viewers since its debut in 1999. Initially the show faced controversy from its storyline centered on women (for the most part unmarried) sharing their sexual experiences from the high-life in New York City. Sex and the City was one of the first shows of its nature to feature women talking openly about sex and verbalizing their sexual fantasies in an empowering fashion. The show additionally features women using substances as part of popular culture. In numerous scenes each episode alcohol and cigarettes are present where conversation, good-times, and romance seem to bloom. The massive popularity of the series is shocking in respect not only to the short amount of time that the show has been on the air (five years), but to the fact that it airs on a subscription station which naturally attracts many less viewers. The content of this popular series, built around the discussion and portrayal of sexual experiences and related scenes, was of particular interest to study to determine whether and how the content has changed as result of the pressures on producers to increase a shows ratings and popularity throughout the length of time it is on the air. The shows adult content also is a concern as research has proven that television content can affect the behavior and attitudes of its viewers. As result of the intense adult content in Sex and the City the focus of the research was on sexual material and substance use. We wanted to determine for the first three seasons of Sex and the City, controlling for the number of episodes coded, what is the relationship between sexual content and substance use and how these portrayals have changed over time? Additionally our secondary research question was how do these trends correlate with network ratings? These questions relate accurately to the realm of

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media effects as many studies have examined the extent and explicitness of sexual content in mass media (Bryant 208). In fact, in recent years the amount of sexual content on television has increased according to the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation where 68 percent of the programs on televisionduring the 1999-2000 season contained some form of sexual content, a substantial increase over the previous seasons 56 percent and most of these sexual scenes do not show the use of contraceptions or the practice of safe sex (Bryant 272). It has been proven many times over that sexual content and the use of substances such as cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs sell. In addition, the shows controversial nature is part of the appeal to its audience. To a producer, it would make sense that sexual and substance use content be used to increase the shows popularity and in fact, its vogue. Therefore, our hypothesis was that sexual content and substance use content in Sex and the City would increase over time (measured by season) and with that, the ratings for the series would also increase. This is particularly disturbing in that The availability of television to all ages makes that medium a particularly dangerous one when considering the damaging social effects that result from the consumption of sexual content (Bryant 208). In addition, it has been proven that adolescents are particularly attracted tocigarettes that use lifestyle appeals and that is the light in which Sex and the City puts cigarettes, smoking, and other substances (Bryant 269). The television series Sex and the City we surmised follows the trends of other media in that as newer seasons are produced, the show would contain more sexual scenes and more adult content in various areas. This, we believed, would result as the shows writers and producers dug for more

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trendy, fresh, and cutting-edge material, and in a show rooted in sex, more sex and more controversial sex and material would be the ticket.

Literary Research Review-Alison King

Our hypothesis was based on existing research in the areas of sex in the media, substance use in the media, and the show Sex and the City. The sexual content of the show and the notion that sex sells were what originally drew us to study the show. Indeed, the appeal of sexual content has become so apparent to the general public as to become a household clich, sex sells, but there is also research to support this platitude. Research on the use of sex in the media has often been conducted in conjunction with that of violence in the media, though we were only concerned with the former for the purposes of this study. A Federal Trade Commission study in 2002, which was first done in 2000 and has been replicated three times since, suggests that media industries, such as motion pictures, music recording, and electronic games, operate under the equation that more portrayals of sex and violence mean more audience interest (Federal Trade Commission). Sexual content is considered to be a selling point (Oliver and Kalyanaraman) as part of a marketing ploy to draw audience consumers. Sex is used as a mechanism to attract viewers as TV programmers are convinced that sex and violence will bring in viewers (Dolliver). Not only is sex a feature of Sex and the City, but the show is actually built on sex (Fields). Whereas producers of other television shows increasingly resort to portrayals of sex to enhance appeal of the show, the producers of Sex and the City completely rely on portrayals of sex as the central appeal of the show in an unprecedented way. The show is known for pushing back the boundaries of

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buttoned-up US drama with its frank portrayal of sex and relationships, and regular nudity (Wells). Research shows an increasing trend of sexual content on television shows. A content analysis conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, based on ten channels, including HBO, shows that sexual content on television shows has jumped from just above half of shows in 1999 to two thirds of shows in 2003 (Step). Although the same study found that the occurrence of safe sex increased from 14% to 26% in that timeframe, the rise in overall sexual content on television outweighs that statistic (Albiniak). Though we did not specifically code for safe sex, condoms are rarely, if ever, mentioned or used and the women in the show are rarely involved in relationships with the people with whom they have sex. The trend is clearsexual content is on the rise as part of modern mainstream culture shown on television. Sex and the City is perhaps an embodiment of this trend as a show centered on sexual content. Although less research exists on substance use on television, research shows that the alcohol and drinking are shown heavily on TV, especially through advertisements (Clifford). In 2001 the alcohol industry spent $695 million on television advertising (Clifford). However, drinking alcohol is surprisingly low in actual television shows (Long, et. al.). Smoking is often used on television for characterization (Bollinger). A study by the Entertainment Industries Council shows that adults view television characters who smoke more positively than those who dont, but children, who have been exposed to the dangers of cigarette smoking for all of their lives, view characters who smoke negatively (Bollinger). This suggests that the expiration date for television media to use smoking as to enhance appeal is almost up. The trend is similar for drug use on

television. The Office of National Drug Control Policy launched its campaign against drugs on television in 1997 and has been very successful since (Boal). The government program offers money to networks who incorporate anti-drug messages into their programs (Boal). Substance use television shows is surprisingly low. One study found that the portrayal of the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs on prime-time television were all significantly lower than their actual use in the U.S. population (Long, et al.). The study found that the portrayal of television characters smoking was only 2.5%, compared to 28.9% of the population, drinking alcohol on television was only 11%, compared to 51% of the population, and drug use on television was only .8%, compared to 6.1% of the population (Long, et al.). However, substance use on the reality shows prevalent on recent television is very high (USA Today). Although Sex and the City does not fall into the category of reality shows, the portrayal of substance use in Sex and the City is more like that of reality shows in its attempt to portray the reality of life in New York City. Alcohol is so much a part of the shows portrayal of modern mainstream culture that the show is actually responsible for a international surge in popularity of the Cosmopolitan martini, which is the main characters drink of choice (East). Despite being aired on a subscriber channel, HBO, Sex and the City has become very popular and influential in a short time since its debut in 1999. HBO has 35 million subscribers, compared to the 75 million basic-cable subscribers (Ryan). By its third season the show rose to become the number-two show in the 9:00 Sunday time slot, with 7.9 million viewers, after Who Wants to be a Millionaire?(Boston). The ratings increased by 35% from season three to season four (Boston). The shows success can

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also be measured by its winning four Emmys, three Golden Globe awards, and one Screen Actors Guild award (Sex and the City). The shows influence can be seen in the many trends it has set. It is not just a television show, rather an international trendsetter with an influence more powerful than any fashion magazine or nightlife guide (Sohn). It has been credited with the starting and reviving of many fashion trends, such as large flower pins, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and Christian Dior saddlebag purses. Also, many New York City restaurants and clubs, such as II Cantinori, Bungalow 8, and Tao, have experienced clientele growth after being featured on the show (Sohn). Diverging from prior trends, the fourth season of Sex and City saw a drop in ratings (Wells). Some speculate that this trend reversal may be due to the increasingly explicit nature of some scenes (Wells). A 2002 poll by Family Circle found that public opinion says there is too much sex on TV (Dolliver). The poll found that 67% of those polled said they are concerned about the amount of sexual imagery on TV and 63% said TV is becoming obscene (Dolliver). To the surprise and dismay of the shows many fans, HBO announced this spring that the sixth season, which will be an extra long season of twenty episodes, will be the last for the show. In February HBO offered the Big Four cable networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox, the opportunity to bid on an edited, less racy version of the series that would be clean enough for cable television (Ryan). HBO asked for $3 million per episode, but all of the networks turned down the offer. Although the networks did not disclose their reasons for refusing the offer, it is hard to see how the show could survive without its sexual content, whether viewers will be seduced by the show without the graphic sex scenes and language that made it buzz in the

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first place (Ryan). The show relies so heavily on sexual content to the extent that taking out the sex could mean in effect taking out the personality of the show (Ryan).

Methods-Cacky Allen
After gathering research for our content analysis of Sex and the City, our group constructed a method for gathering information. The first step was to define a coding scheme that each member of our group would use while viewing episodes of Sex and the City. We divided the scheme into two separate categories, sexual content and substance use. The sexual content category included variables such as verbal reference to sex, kissing, groping, intercourse, oral sex, nudity, masturbating, sex toys and undressing. The substance use category included verbal reference to substance use, cigarettes/smoking, drinking, acting drunk and drugs as variables. Our group explicitly defined each category, and we concluded that a scene could only be coded for a single category. For example, an intercourse scene was not also coded as a kissing scene. In order to perform our experiment, we randomly selected six 30-minute episodes from each of the first three seasons. By randomly selecting six episodes, we were viewing one-half of each season. After determining the episodes, our group randomly assigned three coders to view all three seasons. We conducted three practice coding sessions, coding one episode from each season together to establish common evaluations. Because of these sessions, our group produced an intercoder reliability over 90 percent. After our group finished coding for the sixteen episodes we found several interesting results. Three of the variables that we coded for, nudity, acting drunk and

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groping, increased significantly over the three seasons, meaning that p was less than 0.05. For each of these variables, we calculated the mean from each season. With nudity, season one averaged 1.33, season two 1.13 and season three 3.33. In season one, acting drunk averaged zero, 0.5 in season two and 1.25 in season three. Finally, groping had a mean of 0.16 in season one, 0.16 in season two and 1.16 in season three. Groping proved to be an increasing trend, and each episode in the third season showed at least one groping scene. It is evident that the means of each of the variables did not have a significant difference between the first and the second seasons, but did between the second and the third seasons. This factor may have been the result of Sex and the City producers wanting to let the show become popular before adding changes. Our group concluded that four of the variables studied were marginally significant. These variables were verbal reference to sex, kissing, drugs and verbal reference to substance abuse. The marginally significant variables meant that p was between 0.05 and 0.1. Verbal reference to sex decreased with season one averaging 22.3, season two 20 and season three 16.8. We concluded that by the third season, the characters in Sex and the City actually talked about sex less and performed sexual acts more. During the three seasons, kissing increased with season one averaging 5.33 accounts, 5.66 in season two and 8.63 in season three. Drug use also increased with means of zero in season one, 0.16 in season two and one in season three. It was interesting that there were no instances of drug use in season one and by season three drug use was averaging one per episode. We concluded that the producers of Sex and the City wanted to slowly bring the show to the publics attention before they began showing

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more sensitive issues. Verbal reference to substance abuse also marginally increased as season one averaged 1.83 accounts, season two 3.33 and season three 5.5 accounts. Finally, several of the variables that our group coded for produced no significant results. In seasons one, two and three in Sex and the City drinking was high overall. Season one had a mean of 4.16 accounts of drinking, five in season two and 5.16 in season three. Sexual intercourse also resulted in no changes. The average sexual intercourse scene in each episode was two, meaning that each episode, especially in season three, was showing at least one sex scene. The use of cigarettes and smoking had no significance in the three seasons. However, it was apparent through our data that the smoking trend is lowering. Our group tied this factor to the new law that has recently come into effect in New York City. This law prohibits smoking in indoor public spaces including most restaurants and bars. Smoking in taxis and subways is also not allowed. Therefore, we assume that there will be a significant decrease of cigarette smoking in future seasons of Sex in the City in order for the show to remain realistic to the audience. Homosexuality also resulted in having no significance in the three seasons although it did, in turn, decrease. Our group found this to be ironic because we believed that as the show became more liberal then more homosexuality would be shown. However, this may have been true in the more recent episodes of the seasons we were unable to watch. Masturbating was also a variable that showed no significance.

Insignificant Findings-Sarah Ellen Henderson

From our study there were also some insignificant results that we found. When looking at all of the episodes that we coded for, we found that although we didnt find any significant or marginally significant results for the amount of drinking and sexual intercourse, overall both were very high in all three seasons. The average number of times that sexual intercourse is shown per episode was two times. On the other hand there are also some things that didnt have any significance in our results from coding. The first of these is masturbation, in which there is only one scene in all three seasons that demonstrates this. The second substance use variable is cigarettes. There is smoking shown in some of the first season episodes, but throughout the second and third seasons, the cigarette smoking is rarely shown, especially in public due to the new laws passed in NYC. These laws prohibit smoking in any public facility in NYC, which includes bars and restaurants. The decreasing number of cigarettes shown also reflects on our society and lowering trend of cigarette smoking. Less people are smoking today than in previous decades, due to the various advertisements and commercials stressing the dangers of smoking. The last thing we found that is insignificant is homosexuality. There arent any references to homosexuals in any of the first three episodes which also reflect on the values of our society. More people are open with their sexuality and portraying it in TV and films is not a big deal. This shows that we, as a society, werent open to homosexuality in the mid 1990s but times have changed and homosexuality is becoming more widely accepted.

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Discussion-Sarah Ellen Henderson

The content analysis done on Sex and the City resulted in a few significant findings. Verbal references to sex and kissing were marginally significant with a p=.1. The verbal references decreased as the seasons progressed though. Groping and nudity were significant in our study with p<.05. In terms of substance use, acting drunk was a significant variable, while verbal reference to substance use and drugs were marginally significant variables. As we have said earlier it sexual intercourse and drinking didnt change but were both overall very prevalent in every episode. When looking at the results of our study there are various implications that can be made. First off, it is important to look at Sex and the City as a HBO series that makes millions of dollars ever year for its popularity. It has a very intriguing plot, which follows the lives of four women and journeys through various relationships and experiences. They engage in various sexual activities as well the use of substances, such as cigarettes and alcohol. Throughout all of the episodes, looking at the changes in the the number of sexual acts and the number of scenes where substances are being used or talked about is very important. Through looking at these changes we can further explain what is portrayed in the media today, how people respond to it, and what these portrayals say about our society. For our project we hypothesized that the sexual content and substance use would increase over time and the ratings would also increase. According to our results we hypothesized correctly. In the first three seasons the ratings did increase along with some of the significant variables that we coded for. Also in our research we asked what the

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relationship was between sexual content and substance use and how these portrayals have changed over time. Some interesting things that we discovered after conducting this study reflect on our research question. We found that in many cases within each episode there is compensation between the amount of sexual content and substance use. In a given episode, if there is more sex shown then there was less substance use and if there is less sex then there was more substance use shown. This reflects on the relationship between sex and substance use. Through this information, we can see that sex and substance use dont relate to each other as we thought before we began this study. Initially we felt that the more sex there was, the more substances they would be consuming. We also found that although the total number of sexual acts doesnt increase, it seems that there is more sex shown and fewer verbal references made from season one to season three. This is just an observation that we made after viewing all of the episodes from the first three seasons, but this remains true because the ratings begin to decrease in season four due to the explicit nature of the sexual content. Our study relates to real world situations and the prevalence of sex and substance use in our society. Smoking and drinking are both prevalent around the world, but more so abused in the United States. Sex and the City shows this relationship in our society. Millions of people consume alcohol and smoke cigarettes everyday. It is a growing concern that affects the health of individuals. This series implies that there is a prevalence of sex and substance use in our society. They are both things that we are exposed to everyday through the media: in the news, TV shows, films, etc. Sex and the City is a highly publicized show for its controversial nature. Many people find the show to be inappropriate due to its highly sexual nature, which leads to the question of what

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our society values and considers entertaining. The sexual content in the show makes some people feel uncomfortable, but the entertaining part of the show lies in the topic of conversation being sex. Recommendations that I would give to an advertiser for the show would include, advertising the show by its sexual nature. Individuals who see advertisements for the show and then view it, may be caught by surprise when they realize the amount of sexual content and references as well as substance use. It is not a very appropriate show for young teens, therefore it should be advertised in this manner. At the same time as advertising the sex in the show it is also important to stress that there is more to the show that sex. It is about four friends who share various experiences. The show is targeted toward an older audience of at least 18 and older, so it should be advertised to appeal to that group. Overall I think there should be more advertisements to get individuals more interested in the show, since the ratings have begun to drop in the last two seasons. Our study had a few limitations that influenced our findings. The first of these is that we only had access to the first three seasons, because the fourth and fifth seasons arent available on video. Also it would have been more effective to conduct the study once the sixth comes out in the fall. Through viewing the next three seasons it would interesting to look at the change in sexual content and substance use in relation to the previous seasons that we already coded for. By looking at these limitations, there are various suggestions that could be made for future research. First it would interesting to look at the changes over a longer period by viewing all of the episodes from each season instead of the 6 that we viewed. It would also effective to have access to all of the seasons on order to have up to date data and

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results. A different study would be interesting to compare Sex and the City with the male counterpart called Queer as Folk. This show is about four males instead of four females who live in the city. It also expresses their lives and relationships. It would informative to compare the sexual content and substance use of it in relation to Sex and the City. It would also be interesting to see how the males are represented in comparison to the way the females are portrayed. The last suggestion would be to conduct an experiment to show causal relationships since content analysis only examines the content. In conclusion this study showed us the relationship between the sexual content and substance use in Sex and the City, and how these portrayals change over time. We found a few significant results that demonstrated the increase or change in these portrayals and also how these changes affected the ratings. As of right now, the upcoming season is supposed to be the last; yet, this is only what HBO claims. Just as Friends continued to air even when it was supposed to end, so might Sex and the City. It will be interesting to see the sexual content and substance use in this season in comparison to the other five due to the decreased ratings.

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Works Cited
Albiniak, Paige. More Sex on TV, but Safer. Broadcasting and Cable 133 (2003): 12. Boal, Marl. The drug wars new front. Rolling Stone March (2000): 41-42. Bollinger, Henri. Entertainment Industries Council Survey of On-Screen Smoking Shows Surprising Results. Ascribe Newswire 9 Dec. 2002. Bryant, Jennings and Susan Thompson. Fundamentals of Media Effects. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 208- 272. Clifford, Jane. Tapping into young minds. Copley News Service 17 Feb. 2003. Dolliver, Mark. Viewers have their fill of sex and violence. Adweek 43 (2002): 29. East, Louise. Cocktail of the Hour. The Irish Times 1 March 2003. Federal Trade Commission. Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: A Twenty-One Month Follow-Up Review of Industry Practices In the Motion Picture, Music Recording & Electronic Game Industries: A Report to Congress. (June 2002). Retrieved April 18, 2003, from the World Wide Web: http://www.ftc.gov/reports/violence/mvecrpt0206.pdf. Fields, Suzanne. No more sex in the city. The Washington Times 13 Jan. 2003: A17. It's always happy hour on reality TV: Plenty of cocktails on Bachelorette and Joe Millionaire. USA Today 19 Feb. 2003. Long, J.A., P.G. OConnor, G. Gerbner, and J. Concato. Use of Alcohol, Illicit Drugs, and Tobacco Among Characters on Prime-Time Television. Substance Use 23: 95-103. Oliver, M. B., and Kalyanaraman, S. Appropriate for all viewing audiences? An examination of violent and sexual portrayals in movie previews featured on video rentals. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 46 (2002): 283-299. Ryan, Leslee. Sexless and the City. Electronic Media 22 (2003): 3. Sex and the City. 27 April 2003. <http://www.hbo.com/city/>. Sohn, Amy. Sex And the City Kiss and Tell. The Citizens Weekly 2 Nov. 2002: E8.

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Step, Laura Sessions. On Television, Safer SexAnd More Of It. The Washington Post 5 Feb. 2003: C1. Boston, Pat S. The John Corbett Home Page. 27 April 2003. <http://www.johncorbett.com/panels/satc/>. Wells, Matt. Last Sex and the City series, and no more of The Office. The Gaurdian 9 Jan. 2003.

Appendix 1

Sex and the City

Season Number Episodes 1 3 4 9 10 12 Total Coder name:

Sex Verbal Reference Kissing Groping Intercourse Oral Sex Nudity Masterbating Sex Toys Homosexual/Bisexual Undressing Total Sexual Acts Substance Use

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Verbal Reference Drinking Acting Drunk Cigarettes Drugs Total Substance Use Both

Appendix 2-Result graphs of significant and marginally significant variables

Verbal Reference

Kissing

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Groping

Nudity

Verbal Reference to Substance Abuse

Acting Drunk

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Drugs

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