TY - JOUR
T1 - Love is all you need
T2 - A content analysis of romantic scenes in Chinese entertainment television
AU - Brown, Jane D.
AU - Zhao, Xinshu
AU - Wang, Mena Ning
AU - Liu, Quan
AU - Lu, Amy Shirong
AU - Li, Lucille Jing
AU - Ortiz, Rebecca R.
AU - Liao, Shengqing
AU - Zhang, Guoliang
PY - 2013/6/1
Y1 - 2013/6/1
N2 - A large sample of entertainment television programs that were aired on 28 channels in China in 2004 was analyzed for romantic and sexual content. Romantic scenes, typically portraying men and women already in committed relationships, appeared in 80% of the 196 programs analyzed. The analysis suggested that, according to Chinese television in the early part of the twenty-first century, emotional love was more important than physical sexual interaction in romantic relationships. More than half of the 1112 romantic scenes analyzed depicted love between the partners without any discussion or display of physical sexual behavior. Only 8% of scenes included discussion or depiction of sexual behavior (e.g., touching, kissing, and intercourse) without some sense that the partners were in a loving, committed relationship. Sexual intercourse was implied or depicted in fewer than 2% of the romantic scenes. Findings are discussed in light of the Chinese government's periodic regulation of sexually suggestive media content and attempts to filter Internet content. The extent to which such content may affect young viewers' perceptions of romantic relationships and sexual behavior is also discussed.
AB - A large sample of entertainment television programs that were aired on 28 channels in China in 2004 was analyzed for romantic and sexual content. Romantic scenes, typically portraying men and women already in committed relationships, appeared in 80% of the 196 programs analyzed. The analysis suggested that, according to Chinese television in the early part of the twenty-first century, emotional love was more important than physical sexual interaction in romantic relationships. More than half of the 1112 romantic scenes analyzed depicted love between the partners without any discussion or display of physical sexual behavior. Only 8% of scenes included discussion or depiction of sexual behavior (e.g., touching, kissing, and intercourse) without some sense that the partners were in a loving, committed relationship. Sexual intercourse was implied or depicted in fewer than 2% of the romantic scenes. Findings are discussed in light of the Chinese government's periodic regulation of sexually suggestive media content and attempts to filter Internet content. The extent to which such content may affect young viewers' perceptions of romantic relationships and sexual behavior is also discussed.
KW - China
KW - content analysis
KW - romantic and sexual behavior
KW - television
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877810414&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84877810414&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01292986.2012.729148
DO - 10.1080/01292986.2012.729148
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84877810414
VL - 23
SP - 229
EP - 247
JO - Asian Journal of Communication
JF - Asian Journal of Communication
SN - 0129-2986
IS - 3
ER -