Alexopoulos Cassandra, Maheux Annie, Peterson Zoë D
Communication Department, University of Massachusetts Boston.
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
J Sex Res. 2025 May;62(4):600-609. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2246952. Epub 2023 Sep 7.
Given that exposure to sexual messages in song lyrics can influence sociocultural norms and expectations surrounding consent communication between partners, we sought to understand the types of messages regarding sexual initiation and consent language that are available to media consumers. Through the lens of sexual script theory, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of sexual consent in pop ( = 197), hip-hop ( = 193), and country songs ( = 194) from 2016 to 2019. Differences in these messages were examined across singer gender, music genre, and time (pre- vs. post-#MeToo). Results indicated that references to sexual demands (e.g., "Strip that down") and sexual preferences (e.g., "I want it slow") were the most common types of sexual communication, appearing in approximately one-third of the singing parts included in the sample. Sexual suggestions (e.g., "Let's get nasty") and sexual requests (e.g., "Can I hit it?"), on the other hand, were the least common. References to inferred consent (e.g., "I can tell you wanna f***") appeared in approximately one-fifth of the singing parts. Both sexual demands and sexual preferences were more likely to appear in pop compared to hip-hop and country songs; however, these sexual communication messages did not significantly differ by male and female singers. Sexual requests were significantly more likely to appear in pre-#MeToo song lyrics. The messages embedded in popular songs may help to reinforce problematic scripts around sexual consent.
鉴于接触歌曲歌词中的性信息会影响围绕伴侣间同意沟通的社会文化规范和期望，我们试图了解媒体消费者可接触到的有关性开始和同意语言的信息类型。通过性脚本理论的视角，我们对2016年至2019年的流行歌曲（n = 197）、嘻哈歌曲（n = 193）和乡村歌曲（n = 194）中的性同意进行了定量内容分析。我们考察了这些信息在歌手性别、音乐流派和时间（#MeToo运动之前和之后）方面的差异。结果表明，性要求（例如，“把那个脱下来”）和性偏好（例如，“我想要慢一点”）是最常见的性沟通类型，出现在样本中约三分之一的演唱部分。另一方面，性暗示（例如，“我们来点刺激的”）和性请求（例如，“我能上吗？”）是最不常见的。推断同意的表述（例如，“我看得出你想做爱”）出现在约五分之一的演唱部分。与嘻哈歌曲和乡村歌曲相比，性要求和性偏好更有可能出现在流行歌曲中；然而，这些性沟通信息在男歌手和女歌手之间没有显著差异。性请求在#MeToo运动之前的歌曲歌词中出现的可能性显著更高。流行歌曲中嵌入的信息可能有助于强化围绕性同意的有问题的脚本。
