The Media and Sex Education: Y2K Edition

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The recent media coverage of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s romantic getaway almost 17 years after their first ended their engagement unlocked a trove of memories from the 2000s. Growing up during this time resulted in the internalization of media representations of sex and sex education. As fashion trends from the 2000s re-emerge, the media’s critiques and constructions of sexuality, namely of famous teen celebrities during this time, also come under assessment. 

Coach Carr’s assertion that his students will either “get pregnant or die” if they have sex in the movie Mean Girls revealed the more significant issue of fearmongering often present in media representations of sex during the 90s and early 2000s. Looking back, I understand this scene was meant to be funny but watching it for the first time; I had the opposite reaction. Coach Carr hands out condoms after proclaiming the statement, and unfortunately, this was eerily like the sex education we received in school. In fact, during my high school’s prom afterparty (the teachers notably stayed far away from anything that had to do with prom) students responsible for prom event planning threw out condoms onto the dance floor. While it may have been misunderstood as a mimic of the Mean Girls scene, it pointed to the vapid nature of consent education during this time. The emphasis on abstinence as the preferred method of contraception failed an entire generation that deserved far better. 

“Coach Carr’s assertion that his students will either “get pregnant or die” if they have sex in the movie Mean Girls revealed the more significant issue of fearmongering often present in media representations of sex during the 90s and early 2000s. ”

Over the last year, the renewed interest in the 90s and 2000s fashion, culture, and celebrity figures (and resulting worship) also resulted in the re-emergence of analysis around consent and sexuality. For example, mainstream media’s constructions of sexuality around singers Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera continue to come under attack. This is especially true in Britney Spears’ case as efforts to free her from conservatorship have surged by her fans. The recent documentary, Framing Britney Spears, revisited how the media interrogated her around questions of sexuality, especially regarding her relationship with Justin Timberlake. The documentary outlined a 20/20 Barbara Walters interview where Britney was brought to tears on camera due to an especially demanding line of questioning from Walters. Justin Timberlake made music that insinuated adultery and further tarnished Britney’s image, an image created by music labels to put her at a supposed advantage for sales that targeted specific demographics. The demographics differed from that of her pop star rival, Christina Aguilera, who the media constructed to be the opposite of Britney, including in the openness of her sexuality on stage. The clear distinction between Britney and Christina, while not evident to those music labels were trying to appeal to, points to a larger conversation about media representations of sexuality and the consequences of essentializing identities. 

Addressing the media’s hypocrisy and unfair critiques of her stage performances, Britney states, “I'm just being me you know but I just think it's really funny though that […] just by me doing the baby video and with my belly showing or whatever I mean I love Backstreet Boys and NSYNC but when they're doing all those thrusts on the stage and where they're making out with the microphone thing no one says anything about that. But when I'm just showing the little belly…guys can do whatever they want, and the girls got to be very careful.” Britney’s valid and crucial response to the media’s critique of her performances signals an essential moment of media literacy and sex education. While fearmongering, lack of consent education continue to be an issue in schools, homes and workplaces, young people today can turn to better representations of sexuality and sex in the media. While growing up in the 90s and 2000s resulted in the internalization of harmful perceptions and understandings of sexuality, I remain grateful to shows such as Sex Education for addressing these issues in unprecedented and thoughtful ways that continue to aid my personal process of unlearning and relearning.

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