Adolescent Sexual Socialization and Teen Magazines

Abstract

The majority of scientific research on teen magazines has been conducted from a single-country perspective, even though the experience of sex and sexuality is known to vary by country. Moreover, no research to date has analyzed the sexual content of teen magazines and directly linked it to how young people think or feel about sex. In response to these shortcomings, this book analyzes the topics of sexual desire, sexual danger, virginity loss, pregnancy, and the hook-up culture in the most popular teen magazines of the United States and the Netherlands. Results are then linked to US and Dutch young people's magazine reading and fear of sex, and further investigated by religiosity. While this book primarily addresses researchers of adolescent sexual socialization, it also offers practical insights to parents, health educators, government officials, and magazine editors - ultimately revealing that adolescent sex as a 'forbidden fruit' is a relative term, contingent upon culture.

About the Author

Dr. Suchi Pradyumn Joshi received her Ph.D. in Communication Science from The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), her M.A. in Communication with a specialization in Health Communication from Wake Forest University, and her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Women's Studies from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a 2005 Richter Scholar and 2006-2007 Fulbright Scholar, she conducted independent research in the Netherlands about the role that culture plays in young people's sexual health. Her research has been recognized in the Dutch media and has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Sex Research, Youth & Society, Sex Roles, and the Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. In 2007, she began working for a global health consulting firm in Washington, DC and London, England. Dr. Joshi currently works for the same firm and resides in the United States.