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Presuming the influence of the media: teenagers' constructions of gender identity through sexual/romantic relationships and alcohol consumption
Author(s) -
Hartley Jane E K,
Wight Daniel,
Hunt Kate
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.12107
Subject(s) - romance , psychology , social psychology , human sexuality , developmental psychology , alcohol consumption , negotiation , perception , identity (music) , gender studies , sociology , alcohol , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , neuroscience , acoustics , psychoanalysis
Using empirical data from group discussions and in‐depth interviews with 13 to 15‐year olds in Scotland, this study explores how teenagers’ alcohol drinking and sexual/romantic relationships were shaped by their quest for appropriate gendered identities. In this, they acknowledged the influence of the media, but primarily in relation to others, not to themselves, thereby supporting Milkie's ‘presumed media influence’ theory. Media portrayals of romantic/sexual relationships appeared to influence teenagers’ constructions of gender‐appropriate sexual behaviour more than did media portrayals of drinking behaviour, perhaps because the teenagers had more firsthand experience of observing drinking than of observing sexual relationships. Presumed media influence may be less influential if one has experience of the behaviour portrayed. Drinking and sexual behaviour were highly interrelated: sexual negotiation and activities were reportedly often accompanied by drinking. For teenagers, being drunk or, importantly, pretending to be drunk, may be a useful way to try out what they perceived to be gender‐appropriate identities. In sum, teenagers’ drinking and sexual/romantic relationships are primary ways in which they do gender and the media's influence on their perceptions of appropriate gendered behaviour is mediated through peer relationships.