BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Airwaves and publications are filled with sex and violence because it's exciting, teens say.
Yes, high school students realize they are bombarded with sexual and violent images in television shows, movies, music videos and computer games.
But no, they really don't want their parents to censor or shelter them from such images. Instead, they expect their parents to talk with them about consequences of actually trying to do the things they see in the media.
Sex and violence were just some of the weighty topics discussed Saturday at the seventh annual Hamilton County Youth Conference at the University of Cincinnati.
More than 450 students from more than 30 area high schools spent the day getting a taste of college campus life while talking about things that matter to them: peer pressure, preparing for college, prejudice, sexuality, substance abuse and self-image.
"The purpose is to bring students together to give them a voice in coming up with solutions to the issues that affect them," said event organizer Leslie Siegel Krienes.
For many students, it was the first time they've sat with or talked to students from across neighborhood, racial and economic lines. In addition to expanding minds, the goal is to encourage students to launch community involvement projects at their schools, Ms. Krienes said.
For parents, the classroom talk on sex and violence might have opened some eyes. Lisa Lewis, a clinical psychologist who was leading the talk, held up a full-page ad she found in a teen magazine called Sassy.
The ad pictured a wafer-thin teen-looking girl (who may have been an adult model) in a slinky dress, straddling a chopper behind a much older, tough-looking biker. The catch-phrase: "Sometimes even good girls want to be bad."
All that just to sell perfume, Ms. Lewis said.
Yet many of the students said they could tell the difference between entertainment and real life issues.
Why do so many violent images, from cop shows to hockey games, focus on men? "Because men are the target audience," one student said.
Do the media create more acceptance of premarital sex or just reflect today's social attitudes? "I think society has become more accepting, but then the media took it a step further," said another student.
