Becca's Paper Topic Idea

In my paper, I think I want to explore the way that books are censured compared with the way that other media our youth are exposed to are censured. Specifically, youth are often allowed to play violent video games, watch television shows and movies featuring sex, violence and drugs, and listen to music with profanity and topics of gangs, sex, drugs and drinking and yet, books are often banned at schools because of these very topics! I would like to research the way ratings are determined for video games, music and movies and also the enforcement of these ratings and then compare that with the way that books are evaluated by schools. I think this is going to be challenging, especially because each family, store, school district and move movie theatre may have different rules and methods of enforcement. I think that will also be an interesting aspect to explore, perhaps by state or by city in our area - I will need more research to decide how to narrow that down. Further I think some historical statistics about book, movie and music censure will be interesting to throw into the mix.
I am particularly interested in the effects that religion has on these censures - for all media. I'm not exactly sure how to work that in yet - perhaps I can work in religion statistics for certain areas when comparing their censure rules. I'm not even sure if there is a correlation, but I am interested to find out more about that. Anyone have any other ideas about how to work that in?
Thanks!
Becca

My thoughts on Hine's discussion of destructive sexual behaviors.

Hine suggests that dating, as a socially acceptable practice whereby two teenagers could participate in consensual “petting,” was born out of the death of courting combined with the need to reduce “the tension between [teens’] physical maturity and their social immaturity” (Hine, 200). This takes on a particularly interesting meaning when combined with the ideas he mentions frequently throughout the book about social maturity and the desire of teens to join the “adults” in their acts of destructive behaviors.

In those negative behaviors we must inevitably include sexual exploration and promiscuity. My own experience is one of having sex too young, but not realizing until very much later that it was a poor choice. However, I do feel that this choice is a part of what made me who I am today and thus important in my development as an adult. Despite regretting it, I would not change it. I work with teenagers now, as an educator, and I find the way that Hine frames the evolution of dating to be most interesting. Of course I had sex because it made me feel grown up, and of course my students do the same. What is interesting is that in watching my students make the same mistakes I did, it only affirms to me their immaturity, their inability to consider the reproductions and developmental importance of sex. Rumors of my student’s sexual acts make their way to my ears all too often. I am witness to a desire for sexual acts seemingly happening at a younger and younger age (though some may argue that this only stems from my growing older). Furthermore, I see a deep reverence and even respect that the peers of those engaging in these acts have for them. Sex has become a status symbol for youth within the same age bracket. Nothing is private because they don’t wish it to be. Telling all of your friends has become more than seeking advice and comfort, it has become seeking respect. In the context of what Hine considers to be trying to act “grown up,” this can be further understood but in my opinion is that much more disturbing. We train our youth to think that acts of sex are bad for them and this succeeds in nothing more than making them want to engage in them even more desperately. Sadly, I have no solution to propose, but I do think the solution may lie in simply understanding that the way we treat, discipline and receive the information of these acts informs teenagers’ next decisions and their friends’ decisions too. I am not implying that discipline will solve the problem, because we as a society demonstrate everyday that this is not the case. However, reactions and attitude form more of our youths’ behaviors than we may realize at the time.

Cheers,

Becca