User:Ahhthewitch/sandbox

Flirting
One way in which sexually suggestive behaviour is performed is through flirting. Flirting is a behaviour which can be used to intentionally elicit a sexual response from another person. However, sometimes it can lead to unintentional sexual responses. Research has identified different motivations for engaging in flirting behaviours such as sexual motivation, which is done with a view to engaging in sexual behaviour, fun motivation, in which the interaction itself is the pleasurable part, as well as instrumental motivation, which is performed to accomplish an instrumental goal, such as getting someone to buy a drink for you. If the motivation behind sexually suggestive behaviour is misinterpreted or miscommunicated, then a sexual response could be elicited which is neither warranted nor wanted. If escalated, this can lead to sexual harassment in the workplace or sexual coercion in a relationship. In line with evolutionary explanations of sexually suggestive behaviour, research has shown that females are more likely to view flirting for a relational purposes, and males are more likely to interpret female flirting as having a sexual motivation, which could explain why males engage in more sexual harassment. .

Peer Review
Pheromones are chemical compounds (such as odors) that are used for communication, and are sometimes called "airborne hormones". A female moth may release a pheromone that can entice a male moth that is several kilometers downwind. Honeybee queens constantly release pheromones that regulate the activity of the hive. Workers can release such smells to call other bees into an appropriate cavity when a swarm moves into new quarters, or to "sound" an alarm when the hive is threatened.

Perfume and Sexual Attractiveness

Sexually suggestive behavior in the media
A considerable amount of research has concluded that sexually suggestive content is pervasive in the media. The most common type of sexually suggestive content in adolescent programming is in the form of a sexual innuendo. Sexual innuendoes give a suggestive alternative meaning to an otherwise neutral phrase. For example, the use of the phrase "bend over backwards" when describing a colleague, in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother is used by the main character Barney to imply something in both a figurative sense (I.e. that she is willing to work hard) and a suggestive sense (alluding to her flexibility in sexual positions). Content analyses of sexual behavior in the media found that sexual content on television has risen from 45% in 1975 to 81% now. 83% of all programmes on television contain sexual content. ; 80% of programmes contain sexually suggestive references, and 49% of shows contain sexual behavior which include flirting. Sexual innuendoes occur as much as twice per programme in popular American sitcoms, whilst flirting occurred at least once per programme. The use of sexual innuendoes in the media is also done through newspapers, magazines and music, and accounts for roughly 12% of the entire sexual content shown in the media overall. Analysis of sexually suggestive behavior in sports media showed that there was considerable gender differences in how sports stars are portrayed visually. For example, females are photographed nude more frequently than men, and were photographed in a hetero-sexy manner which was done to attract the male gaze, such as with sports equipment covering their genitalia due to its suggestive nature. Overall, females are portrayed in a manner that alludes to their status as a sex symbol.

Advertising

Sexual content in the from of innuendo, suggestive imagery and double entendre is used as a tool in advertising. Suggestive advertising is used to draw in attention, by monopolizing attentional resources, and as a means of distinguishing their products from similar products which are usually advertised in the same medium (such as in the same magazine). Furthermore, advertisers use sexually suggestive material to imply an association between their product and benefits which are in some way related to sex (such as mate attraction). There was a significant increase in the amount of advertisements from 1983 to 2003 which used sexually suggestive images of models, suggesting that advertisers are finding it beneficial. Whilst the physical properties of the model are the most sexually suggestive, a number of non-verbal communicative features have also been identified as being provocative, such as the models pose (plumped lips, cocked head to show the neck) as well as verbal communicative features such as suggestive comments

Effects of Sexually Suggestive content in the Media
A number of studies have looked at the effects of sexual content in the media on pre-adolescent and adolescent sexual development. It has been put forth that watching a high level of television, in which there is a lot of sexually suggestive behaviour, can lead to the initiation of sexual intercourse at a younger age than those who watch the least amount of sexually suggestive programming. In addition to this, adolescents who had been exposed to a high level of sexual content, would engage in a level of sexual activity expected by those up to three years older who watched less sexual content. It has been suggested that according to social learning theory, television is a method by which children can acquire behaviors, through observational learning, and that this is a potential method through which children are becoming increasingly sexualized. STDs and pregnancy in the U.S are more common among adolescents who begin sexual activity earlier, demonstrating that earlier sexualisation, for which sexually suggestive content in the media has been implicated, has far reaching effects.

Sexually suggestive content can also affect adolescents’ views and attitudes towards sex, and their sexual socialization as whole. Research conducted with the cultivation theory in mind, has found that there is an association between people with a high regular exposure to sexually oriented genres (such as soap operas and hip-hop music) and more liberal attitudes towards sexual behaviour like the acceptance of pre-marital sex, as well as non-relational sex and sexual harassment. Furthermore, as sexual competence is portrayed as a positive attribute on television, particularly for males, regular exposure to sexual content can cause adolescents to form unrealistic expectations, and view their own sexual experiences (or lack thereof) as negative. Moreover, the vast majority of this sexual content alludes to the positive nature of sex only, suggesting that sexually suggestive behavior in the media is serving to perpetuate a view that there are little negative consequences of engaging in sexual activity. Research has shown that the effects of sexually suggestive references in the media are also moderated by the developmental stage of the viewer. For example, 12 year olds have more difficulty correctly interpreting innuendos than 14 year olds. Furthermore pre-pubescent adolescents often view sexual references on television with disgust and embarrassment, whereas pubescent adolescents viewed it with interest