The Journal of Sex Research

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hjsr20

“I Can Tell You Wanna F***”: A Content Analysis of

Sexual Communication in Popular Song Lyrics

Cassandra Alexopoulos, Annie Maheux & Zoë D. Peterson

To cite this article: Cassandra Alexopoulos, Annie Maheux & Zoë D. Peterson (07 Sep 2023): “I
Can Tell You Wanna F***”: A Content Analysis of Sexual Communication in Popular Song Lyrics,
The Journal of Sex Research, DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2246952

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2246952

Published online: 07 Sep 2023.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 147

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=hjsr20
THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH
https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2246952

“I Can Tell You Wanna F***”: A Content Analysis of Sexual Communication in Popular
Song Lyrics
a
Cassandra Alexopoulos , Annie Maheuxb, and Zoë D. Peterson c

a
Communication Department, University of Massachusetts Boston; bDepartment of Psychology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; cDepartment
of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Indiana University

ABSTRACT
Given that exposure to sexual messages in song lyrics can influence sociocultural norms and expectations
surrounding consent communication between partners, we sought to understand the types of messages
regarding sexual initiation and consent language that are available to media consumers. Through the
lens of sexual script theory, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of sexual consent in pop
(n = 197), hip-hop (n = 193), and country songs (n = 194) from 2016 to 2019. Differences in these
messages were examined across singer gender, music genre, and time (pre- vs. post-#MeToo). Results
indicated that references to sexual demands (e.g., “Strip that down”) and sexual preferences (e.g., “I want
it slow”) were the most common types of sexual communication, appearing in approximately one-third of
the singing parts included in the sample. Sexual suggestions (e.g., “Let’s get nasty”) and sexual requests
(e.g., “Can I hit it?”), on the other hand, were the least common. References to inferred consent (e.g., “I can
tell you wanna f***”) appeared in approximately one-fifth of the singing parts. Both sexual demands and
sexual preferences were more likely to appear in pop compared to hip-hop and country songs; however,
these sexual communication messages did not significantly differ by male and female singers. Sexual
requests were significantly more likely to appear in pre-#MeToo song lyrics. The messages embedded in
popular songs may help to reinforce problematic scripts around sexual consent.

Music can be a powerful socializing agent. People around the
world spend, on average, 18 hours listening to music each week
(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry,
2019), and 82% of U.S. adolescents listen to music every day
(Rideout & Robb, 2018). References to sex and sexuality are
common in popular music (Madanikia & Bartholomew, 2014;
Smiler et al., 2017), yet these references often contain degrad­
ing or misogynistic themes (Frisby & Behm-Morawitz, 2019;
Primack et al., 2008). Music also includes references to sexual
consent communication, whereby singers ask for (e.g., “Do you
wanna come home with me?”), assume (e.g., “I can tell you want
to ****”), or provide consent (e.g., “I’ll let you set the pace”) for
engaging in sexual activity (Johnson et al., 2017). Given that
exposure to sexual messages in the media can facilitate the
acquisition, activation, and application of cognitive scripts
surrounding sexual beliefs and behaviors (Wright, 2011), we
sought to understand the types of messages regarding sexual
initiation and consent that are available to media consumers.
Although past work has examined how sexual consent is
sought and provided in visual media, such as film and televi­
sion (Alexopoulos & Cingel, 2023; Jozkowski et al., 2019), it
remains unknown how sexual consent is portrayed in popular
music.
Sex without consent (sometimes broadly called sexual vio­
lence) is illegal. In the United States, 44% of women and 25% of
men have experienced rape (nonconsensual sex), sexual coer­
cion (sexual contact occurring due to threats, pressure, or
manipulation), or other nonconsensual sexual contact, with
adolescents and young adults at highest risk (Smith et al.,
2018). Lack of consent is a defining feature of these acts, and
thus, understanding the messages that adolescents and young
adults receive around sexual consent is critical to understand­
ing the high rates of sexual violence.
There is no single definition of sexual consent. Consent is
sometimes conceptualized as an internal feeling of willingness
to participate in sexual activity and other times as an external
expression (either verbal or nonverbal) of agreement to parti­
cipate in sexual activity; sometimes consent is conceptualized
as a discrete event and other times as a continuous process
(Muehlenhard et al., 2016). Individuals communicate and
interpret consent and non-consent in a variety of different
ways, including through passive nonresistance, leaving room
for potential miscommunication (Hickman & Muehlenhard,
1999; Jozkowski et al., 2014). Given the complexities and
ambiguities of sexual consent, increasingly there is move­
ment–especially on college campuses–toward teaching affir­
mative consent and applying an affirmative consent standard
to campus sexual misconduct policies (Muehlenhard et al.,
2016). Under an affirmative consent standard, non-consent is
assumed unless clear and explicit consent is expressed.
Affirmative consent communication – in which the sexual
initiator seeks direct consent rather than assuming consent
based on indirect cues or the absence of refusal – may promote
sexual well-being. Clear communication about sex between

CONTACT Cassandra Alexopoulos c.alexopoulos@umb.edu Communication Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125
Present affiliation for Annie Maheux is Developmental and Social Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh
© 2023 The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
2 C. ALEXOPOULOS ET AL.
partners contributes to adolescents’ and adults’ sexual health
behaviors (e.g., contraception use; Widman et al., 2014) and
well-being (e.g., sexual and relational satisfaction; Montesi
et al., 2011). Affirmative sexual consent may be a particularly
important standard for adolescents, who must learn new social
and cognitive skills to effectively communicate sexual interest
and boundaries to partners (Suleiman et al., 2017) and who
often experience miscommunication and misinterpretation of
sexual consent cues (Righi et al., 2021). Additionally, research­
ers, educators, and policy makers are increasingly lauding the
value of affirmative sexual consent to address sexual violence
(Jozkowski, 2015), defined as any sexual act engaged in “with­
out freely given consent” (Basile et al., 2014).
Notably, application of affirmative consent standards and
use of affirmative consent in relationships is not going to
eliminate the problem of sexual violence. As Muehlenhard
et al. (2016) noted, sometimes even explicit agreement is not
freely given consent (e.g., when the person is coerced, when
there is a substantial power differential between partners,
when the person does not have sufficient sexual knowledge
to know what they are consenting to). Similarly, Gotell (2012)
noted the fact that affirmative consent focuses on the presence
of clear and affirmative consent but often ignores the context
in which that consent is provided; she illustrated this problem
with a legal case in which a woman was penetrated while
unconscious, but the Canadian court ruled, based on the
country’s affirmative consent law, that she had provided affir­
mative consent prior to losing consciousness, and thus, the
defendant was found not guilty. At the extreme end, some
authors argue that freely given consent (affirmative or not) is
not possible for women who have sex with men because of
inherent power differences caused by gender inequality (e.g.,
MacKinnon, 2016). Beyond these critiques, it is also important
to note that claims of miscommunication or misinterpretation
about consent are frequently used to justify sexual violence,
but some experts argue that most sexual violence is caused by
the assailant’s drive for power and control rather than a true
misunderstanding (Bedera, 2021; Fahlberg & Pepper, 2016).
Although affirmative consent does not solve the problem of
sexual violence, encouraging affirmative consent can have
benefits in terms of promoting clearer sexual communication
and reducing coercive sexual behavior (e.g., verbal pressure or
manipulation used to get a reluctant partner to engage in sex).
In policies, affirmative consent as a standard removes the
burden of sexual gatekeeping from the potential victim by
making the initiator responsible for obtaining consent rather
than holding the respondent responsible for clearly refusing.
More broadly, normalizing affirmative consent through media
representations can destigmatize clear sexual communication
between partners while stigmatizing coercive sexual behaviors.
Despite the benefits of promoting affirmative consent, visual
media frequently present sexual consent communication as indir­
ect, implied, unnatural, or unnecessary (Jozkowski et al., 2019;
Willis, Canan, et al., 2020). Previous research illuminates how
exposure to media can impact sociocultural norms and indivi­
duals’ beliefs and attitudes (see Valkenburg et al., 2016).
Therefore, understanding sexual initiation and consent commu­
nication in music is important given its potential influence on
consumers’ beliefs and experiences. The present study
investigated representations of sexual communication in popular
music lyrics.
Further, the #MeToo movement on social media, which
resurfaced most recently in late 2017, spurred a cultural reck­
oning related to expectations of sexual conduct, sexual con­
sent, and sexual coercion and assault (Gieseler, 2019). The
movement highlighted the pervasiveness of sexual coercion
and violence, named for the notion that most women have
had sexual encounters where consent was misinterpreted or
was not actively requested or respected. Within a single day,
the #MeToo hashtag dominated social media with over
12 million posts and comments (Gieseler, 2019). The
#MeToo movement has had an impact on cultural discourse
around consent (Hoffman, 2021), and thus may also have
impacted preferences related to sexually-themed music.
Thus, in this study, we examined songs released in the two
years preceding and the two years following the late-2017
#MeToo movement.
Sociocultural Norms and Sexual Communication
As noted above, sexual consent can take many forms. For
example, sexual consent can be sought and expressed verbally,
though is more frequently expressed by and interpreted from
nonverbal or implicit cues (see Muehlenhard et al., 2016).
Whether consent is expressed verbally or nonverbally, sexual
encounters are frequently characterized by indirect and ambig­
uous sexual communication. Importantly, people differ in how
they ask for, express, and interpret sexual consent, and beliefs
about sexual consent are associated with how people enact
sexual consent behaviors (Shafer et al., 2018).
The power strategies that people use to influence others
when initiating sexual activity are diverse and often differ
across men and women. Bilateral strategies, such as asking or
bargaining, require the cooperation of the partner, whereas
unilateral strategies, such as telling or demanding, do not
require cooperation nor invite a response from the partner
(Falbo & Peplau, 1980). In their study of heterosexual and non-
heterosexual individuals, Falbo and Peplau (1980) found that
men were more likely to use bilateral strategies and women
were more likely to use unilateral strategies when communi­
cating with their partners. Although previous research on
power strategies in the context of sexual initiation has focused
on message directness as opposed to unilaterality (e.g., Greer &
Buss, 1994; Harris et al., 2014; Vannier & O’Sullivan, 2011),
one study on condom negotiation in heterosexual relation­
ships found that twice as many men than women reported
using bilateral strategies when communicating about condom
use (Zukoski et al., 2009). These strategies included reminders,
asking, and engaging in persuasive discussions (e.g., discussing
the effects of unprotected sex). In addition, though unilateral
strategies were reported less frequently than bilateral strate­
gies, unilateral strategies such as commands or withholding
sex were more common among women than men when dis­
cussing condoms. It has been argued that women generally
anticipate rejection in non-sexual interpersonal interactions
from their partners, and that men expect compliance from
their partners (Falbo & Peplau, 1980), allowing men the

affordance of using bilateral strategies. However, sexual initia­
tion may be unique because social norms cast women as sexual
gatekeepers. Men have been found to use more indirect stra­
tegies to initiate sexual contact as compared to women
(Gossman et al., 2003; Vannier & O’Sullivan, 2011), likely as
a means of saving face and protecting against the possibility of
rejection.
Prevailing sociocultural norms about sexual consent tend to
be informed by traditional gender roles. Sexual script theory
explains traditional gender role expectations for heterosexual
interactions (Simon & Gagnon, 1986). These scripts, or cogni­
tive structures that dictate how people are expected to behave
in certain scenarios, traditionally indicate that men should be
dominant and initiate sex, whereas women should be submis­
sive and act as the sexual gatekeeper (i.e., denying or granting
consent; Simon & Gagnon, 1986). This sexual script also pro­
motes a double-standard in which men are granted more
freedom to initiate sexual behavior and directly express their
sexual desires than women; thus, traditional scripts also pre­
scribe that women signal their purity by avoiding expressions
of sexual interest. As a result, women often experience back­
lash for appearing sexually assertive (e.g., Klein et al., 2019).
However, if women cannot communicate clearly about their
desires, then men may believe that they have to infer sexual
consent, or rely on communication cues that do not directly
and explicitly express consent (O'Byrne et al., 2008). What is
more, the assumption that women commonly refuse desired
sex to avoid seeming sexually assertive (i.e., engage in “token
resistance”; see Muehlenhard, 2011) facilitates men’s perpetra­
tion of sexual coercion by condoning persistence. This belief
system frames sex as a conquest and recasts women’s genuine
sexual refusal as playful or flirtatious (Byers, 1996; Jozkowski
et al., 2017).
Music as a Socializing Agent
Prior work has shown extensively that portrayals of sexuality
in TV, movies, magazines, online content, and music videos
can contribute to the development of sexual scripts, and that
exposure to sexual media is associated with individuals’ sexual
attitudes and behaviors (for reviews, see Tolman &
McClelland, 2011; Ward, 2003, 2016; Ward et al., 2014). The
majority of this research focuses on media influences on young
viewers, given that adolescents’ developing sexualities, lack of
sexual experience, and cognitive capacity may make this group
more susceptible to sexual content in media (Strasburger et al.,
2009; Suleiman et al., 2017). Although less studied than visual
entertainment media, exposure to sexualized music lyrics has
been associated with earlier and risky sexual behaviors (Coyne
& Padilla-Walker, 2015; Wright & Rubin, 2020) and harmful
gendered beliefs about sex (Wright & Rubin, 2017). Beliefs and
attitudes about sexual consent communication are also likely
related to media exposure. Men’s magazine exposure has been
associated with lower intentions to ask for and adhere to
decisions about sexual consent among college students (Hust
et al., 2014) and exposure to certain TV shows may be asso­
ciated with greater rape myth acceptance among college men
THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 3
(Seabrook et al., 2019) and problematic beliefs about effective
strategies to request sexual contact among adolescents
(Eggermont, 2006).
There is ample evidence demonstrating that exposure to
media messages influences behavior, but this influence is not
necessarily unidirectional (Gerbner, 1998). Media plays
a dynamic role in both the development and maintenance of
beliefs, in part by reflecting the choices and values of main­
stream consumers (Gerbner, 1998). The influence of societal
norms on media is often challenging to examine empirically.
However, cultural moments such as the #MeToo movement
provide an opportunity to examine how media – specifically,
popular music that is most preferred by consumers – may
reflect social changes.
The Present Study
In this study, we present a quantitative content analysis of
language related to sexual communication messages and
inferred consent in popular pop, hip-hop, and country songs
from 2016–2019. The investigation of this language accounts
for the type of communication message, the gender of the
singer, and the genre of the song. Finally, we compare sexual
consent-related language before and after the emergence of the
2017 #MeToo movement.
Research Question 1: How common are different sexual com­
munication messages – (a) sexual demands, (b) sexual prefer­
ences, (c) sexual suggestions, and (d) sexual requests – in
popular music lyrics?
Research Question 2: How common are references to inferred
consent in popular music lyrics?
Research Question 3: Does the frequency of (a) different types
of sexual communication messages and (b) inferred consent in
popular music vary by singers' gender?
Research Question 4: Does the frequency of (a) different types
of sexual communication messages and (b) inferred consent in
popular music vary across genres?
Research Question 5: Does the frequency of (a) different
sexual communication messages and (b) inferred consent in
popular music differ between before and after the #MeToo
social media movement?
Method
Sample
The current study examined the most popular songs in the
United States from 2016–2019. Because the most recent
#MeToo movement reached worldwide popularity at the
end of 2017, for the purpose of this study, songs released
in 2016 and 2017 were considered pre-#MeToo, while songs
4 C. ALEXOPOULOS ET AL.

Table 1. Singing part sample size by genre and year. Singer Gender
Year For each singing part, coders identified each singer’s gender as
Genre 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total either man (n = 578), woman (n = 195), or mixed-gender
Pop 55 53 54 53 215 group (i.e., at least one man and one woman singing at the
R&B/Hip-hop 72 71 59 71 273 same time, n = 72). There were no non-binary or gender non-
Country 83 83 92 99 357 conforming singers identified in this sample.
Total 210 207 205 223 845

released in 2018 and 2019 were considered post-#MeToo.
The top 50 songs listed on the Billboard Year-End Charts
(www.billboard.com) were selected from the pop, R&B/hip-
hop, and country music charts, for a total of 150 songs from
each year, totaling 600 full-length songs. These genres were
selected because they had the largest listenership across
streaming services (e.g., Amazon Music, Spotify, and
Pandora) and FM radio in the United States (Milkman,
2021). If a song appeared on the year-end chart for two
consecutive years, it was only included on the first year’s
list, and was replaced with the next highest-ranking song in
the second year’s list. After eliminating duplicate songs that
appeared across multiple genres, the final sample consisted
of 584 unique songs.
The unit of analysis for the current study was singing part.
For example, if one song was performed by two different
singers with independent singing roles (for example, Dancing
with a Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani), lyrics
performed by each singer were coded as two independent
singing parts. Although the study’s sample contained 584
complete songs, this approach resulted in a sample of 845
unique singing parts. See Table 1 for a breakdown of the
sample of singing parts across genre and year.
Coding
Two undergraduate coders, one female and one male, analyzed
the sample based on a coding scheme established by the first
author. The coders spent approximately 10 hours receiving
extensive training on the codebook and discussing coding dif­
ferences. Disagreements were settled by the first author. Inter-
coder reliability was established with approximately 20% (n =
119) of the song sample. Across the 845 singing parts, Table 2
shows the Cohen’s Kappa statistic demonstrating intercoder
reliability and the frequency of each measured variable.
Table 2. Variable frequencies.
Variable N (%) Cohen’s k
Gender 1.00
Men 314 (70.9) - Table 3. Singing part sample size by genre and year (songs containing sexual
Women 103 (23.3) - behavior).
Mixed Gender 26 (5.9) -
Sexual Communication
Demands 149 (33.6) .75
Preferences 160 (36.1) .76
Suggestions 54 (12.2) .64
Requests 22 (5.0) .74
Inferred consent 97 (21.9) .75
% = N/433 singing parts containing references to sexual behavior.
Sexual Behavior
Because song lyrics function like a story told from a single
perspective, whereby the presence of nonverbal communica­
tion cues can only be interpreted by the listener if discussed by
the singer, only singing parts that contained references to
sexual behavior were analyzed further for the presence of
sexual communication. Coders identified whether each singer
made references to sexual behavior using a coding scheme
described in previous content analyses (Kunkel et al., 2007),
including physical flirting, kissing, intimate touching, or pene­
trative sex. These references could be explicit (e.g., “I kiss you”)
or implicit (e.g., “Tonight I’ma let you be the captain”) in
nature and could reference sexual behavior that occurred in
the past, is occurring in the present, or may occur in the future
(for instance, propositioning sex or an expression of sexual
desire, e.g., “Let me take you home”).
References to sexual behavior appeared in 443 singing parts
included in the sample (52.4%), and thus these 443 singing
parts were subjected to further analysis for sexual communica­
tion messages. Of these singing parts containing sexual beha­
vior, 314 were sung by men, 103 were sung by women, and 26
were sung by at least one man and one woman together. See
Table 3 for a breakdown of the sample of songs containing
sexual behavior across genre and year.
Sexual Communication
Scrutinizing sexual consent communication in song lyrics
posed some unique challenges when developing the study’s
codebook. In visual media such as a film or television
series, viewers are afforded, in addition to the verbal com­
munication cues, a variety of nonverbal cues from the
characters such as physical distance, facial expressions,
and use of timing/pauses. In song lyrics, however, listeners
are limited to only the parts of the narrative as told by the
narrator or singer (Alexopoulos & Taylor, 2020). Thus, it
was difficult to rely on existing distinctions between verbal
and nonverbal consent cues that have been studied in
previous content analyses (e.g., Jozkowski et al., 2019;
Willis et al., 2020). Nonverbal cues may still be depicted,
but in the lyrics alone: They may be told in a storytelling
format (e.g., “I held her close”) or in the imperative voice
(e.g., “Hold onto me”). Because of this, coders were
Year
Genre 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total
Pop 36 31 32 29 128
R&B/Hip-hop 45 57 56 56 214
Country 26 26 26 23 101
Total 107 114 114 108 443
 THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 5

instructed to code any sexual communication messages and Table 4. Chi-square goodness of fit analyses of sexual communication messages.
potential responses to those messages based on the infor­ Test Variables χ2 df p w
mation available in the lyrics. Sexual demands x preferences .39 1 .53 .04
Sexual demands x suggestions 44.46 1 .001 .47
When references to sexual behavior were present, coders Sexual demands x requests 94.32 1 .001 .74
noted the singer’s sexual communication language use at Sexual demands x inferred consent 10.99 1 .001 .21
varying levels of unilaterality. Possible communication Sexual preferences x suggestions 52.50 1 .001 .50
Sexual preferences x requests 104.64 1 .001 .76
messages included sexual demand, or a direct command Sexual preferences x inferred consent 15.44 1 .001 .25
of a sexual nature that does not invite the possibility of Sexual suggestions x requests 13.47 1 .001 .18
refusal (e.g., “Take your clothes off,” “Search and find, feel Sexual suggestions x inferred consent 12.25 1 .001 .28
Sexual requests x inferred consent 47.27 1 .001 .63
me rise”); sexual suggestion, or a statement of sexual intent
Bonferroni correction significance level = .005.
that invites the possibility of refusal, signaled by modal
verbs such as should, shall, ought, could, and let (e.g.,
“Let’s get out of here,” “We should just kiss like real people Results
do”); sexual preference, or a statement expressing sexual
desire to engage in sexual behavior, signaled by phrases Analysis Strategy
such as want, wish, hope, feel like (e.g., “I wanna do it with To address RQ1-2 on the frequency of the sexual communica­
the lights on”); and sexual request, or a request/question tion variables, we conducted chi-square goodness of fit tests,
asking another person if they want and/or agree to engage which are used to determine whether the distribution of fre­
in sexual behavior, allowing for the possibility of refusal quencies across a single categorical variable are not distributed
(e.g., “Can I touch you there?” “Will you be my day and by chance (Colman, 2015). The presence of each variable was
night plans?”). Coders were instructed to pay close atten­ tested against every other variable. For example, the frequency
tion to the lyrics’ semantic differences such as the presence of sexual demands (n = 149) was tested against the frequency of
of modal verbs (can, should, ought to), statements of want sexual preferences (n = 160), and so on. Because 10 pairs of
or desire, and questions. For example, the line “Let me get frequencies were tested, we applied a Bonferroni correction
inside you” would be coded as a sexual suggestion, whereas such that the significance level or p value for these tests was
“I want to get inside you” would be coded as a sexual .005 (.05/10 = .005). Results for these tests are fully reported in
preference. Messages could also be delivered in Table 4. To address RQ3-5 on whether the sexual communica­
the second person narrative. For example, the line “You tion variables differed by singer gender, genre, and time (i.e.,
said you wanted me as much as I want you” would be pre- vs. post-#MeToo), we conducted two-dimensional chi-
coded as a sexual preference because it contained square tests, which are used to determine the association
a statement of one’s partner’s desire. between two categorical variables (Colman, 2015). For all chi-
Nonverbal behaviors were also coded according to these square tests, Cohen’s w coefficients are reported, as they are the
language choices. For example, “Let me put my hands all preferred estimates of effect size for chi-square tests (Colman,
over you” would be coded as a sexual demand, “I want my 2015). Findings for these tests are fully reported in Table 5.
hands all over you” would be coded as a sexual preference,
“I should put my hands all over you” would be coded as
a sexual suggestion, and “Can I put my hands all over Sexual Communication Messages
you?” would be coded as a sexual request. Although rare, We found that more unilateral forms of sexual commu­
in instances where not enough information could be nication, including sexual demands (n = 149, 33.6%) and
gleaned from the lyrics present, none of the four commu­ sexual preferences (n = 160, 36.1%), appeared more fre­
nication strategies were noted. For example, “Hands all quently compared to more bilateral forms of sexual
over you” would indeed be coded as a sexual behavior,
but would not be considered a sexual demand, preference,
suggestion, or request. Table 5. Chi-square analyses of sexual communication messages by singer
gender, genre, and time.
Coders also noted lyrics referencing inferred consent,
Test Variables χ2 df p w
defined as instances where sexual consent was assumed
Sexual demands x gender 3.18 2 .20 .08
despite direct or explicit signals or when consent otherwise Sexual preferences x gender 3.64 2 .16 .09
occurred “entirely in the observer’s mind” (Humphreys, Sexual suggestions x gender 1.48 2 .48 .06
2016, p. 462). Inferred consent was coded when the singer Sexual requests x gender 0.28 2 .87 .03
Inferred consent x gender 7.54 2 .02 .13
relied on indirect indicators of another’s willingness to Sexual demands x genre 19.76 2 .001 .21
engage in sexual activity, for example, “I know you want Sexual preferences x genre 16.03 2 .001 .19
it,” “The way you grab me, must wanna get nasty.” Since Sexual suggestions x genre 12.63 2 .002 .17
Sexual requests x genre 0.56 2 .76 .04
a singing part could contain multiple references to sexual Inferred consent x genre 10.48 2 .005 .15
communication, all variables related to sexual communica­ Sexual demands x time 0.00 1 .99 .00
tion (sexual demands, sexual preferences, sexual sugges­ Sexual preferences x time 0.49 1 .48 .03
Sexual suggestions x time 0.67 1 .41 .04
tions, sexual requests, and inferred consent) were treated Sexual requests x time 6.78 1 .01 .12
as not mutually exclusive and each was coded as 1 = pre­ Inferred consent x time 2.39 1 .12 .07
sent or 0 = not present. Time is operationalized as pre- vs. post-#MeToo.
6 C. ALEXOPOULOS ET AL.
communication (sexual suggestions: n = 54, 12.2%, sexual
requests: n = 22, 5.0%). In addition, references to inferred
consent (n = 97, 21.0%) appeared in approximately one
out of every five songs included in the sample.
Chi-square goodness of fit tests were conducted to test
whether these messages appeared significantly more than
others. Our analyses revealed that, with the exception of sexual
demands and sexual preferences, χ2 = 3.18, p = .20, Cohen’s
w = .04, there was a significant difference between each vari­
able of interest, which included sexual demands, sexual pre­
ferences, sexual suggestions, sexual requests, and inferred
consent. In sum, references to the singer’s sexual demands
and sexual preferences occurred significantly more often com­
pared to sexual suggestions, and sexual suggestions occurred
significantly more often compared to sexual requests.
References to the singer’s inferred consent occurred signifi­
cantly less often compared to sexual demands and sexual
preferences, but more often compared to sexual suggestions
and sexual requests.
Sexual Communication Messages by Singer Gender
Two-way chi-square analyses were conducted to test whether
sexual communication messages were more likely to be sung
by men, women, or a mixed-gender group. None of the
messages (including sexual demands: χ2 = 3.18, p = .20,
Cohen’s w = .08; sexual preferences: χ2 = 3.64, p = .16, ϕ =
.09; sexual suggestions: χ2 = 1.48, p = .48, Cohen’s w = .06;
and sexual requests: χ2 = 0.28, p = .87, Cohen’s w = .03)
varied by the singers’ gender. This finding remained non-
significant after omitting mixed-gender groups (sexual
demands: χ2 = 2.03, p = .15, Cohen’s w = .07; sexual pre­
ferences: χ2 = 2.02, p = .16, Cohen’s w = .07; sexual sugges­
tions: χ2 = 1.48, p = .23, Cohen’s w = .06; and sexual
requests: χ2 = 0.24, p = .63, Cohen’s w = .02). Inferred
consent was significantly more likely to be discussed by
mixed-gender singing groups (χ2 = 7.54, p = .02, Cohen’s
w = .13), but was equally discussed by male and female
singers.
Sexual Communication Messages by Genre
Two-way chi-square analyses were conducted to test whether
sexual communication messages varied by music genre. Sexual
demands were more likely to appear in pop (47.0%) compared to
country (12.8%) and R&B/hip-hop (40.3%) (χ2 = 19.76, p < .001,
Cohen’s w = .21). Sexual preferences were more likely to appear in
pop (38.1%) and R&B/hip-hop (48.1%) compared to country
(13.8%) (χ2 = 16.03, p < .001, Cohen’s w = .19). Sexual suggestions
were more likely to appear in pop (42.6%) and country (31.5%)
compared to R&B/hip-hop (25.9%) (χ2 = 12.63, p = .002, Cohen’s
w = .17). The distribution of sexual requests was not statistically
significant across pop, R&B/hip-hop, and country (31.8%, 40.9%,
and 27.3%, respectively) (χ2 = 0.56, p = .76, Cohen’s w = .04).
Inferred consent was more likely to appear in R&B/hip-hop songs
(62.9%) compared to pop (21.6%) and country songs (15.5%)
(χ2 = 10.48, p = .01, Cohen’s w = .15).
Sexual Communication Messages Pre- and Post-#MeToo
Two-way chi-square analyses were conducted to test whether
sexual communication messages were more likely to appear in
song lyrics before or after the late 2017 #MeToo movement. Sexual
requests were significantly more likely to appear in song lyrics
released pre-#MeToo (i.e., 2016 and 2017) compared to post-
#MeToo (i.e., 2018 and 2019; χ2 = 6.78, p = .01, Cohen’s
w = .12). Sexual demands (χ2 = 0.00, p = .99, Cohen’s w = .00),
sexual preferences (χ2 = 0.49, p = .48, Cohen’s w = .03), and sexual
suggestions (χ2 = 0.67, p = .41, Cohen’s w = .04) did not vary
significantly over time. References to inferred consent also did not
vary significantly over time (χ2 = 2.39, p = .12, Cohen’s w = .07).
Because the #MeToo movement served to highlight men’s
sexual aggression toward women, we conducted post-hoc ana­
lyses to test whether sexual communication messages differed
across time in songs sung by male artists only (n = 314). Sexual
requests remained significantly more likely to appear in song
lyrics released pre-#MeToo compared to post-#MeToo (χ2 =
4.11, p = .04, ϕ = .11), while other references did not vary
significantly over time (i.e., sexual demands, sexual sugges­
tions, sexual preferences, inferred consent, ps > .05).
Discussion
In the current study, we investigated the prevalence of sexual
communication and consent language in popular songs. Sexual
communication messages in media can have a powerful effect
on shaping sociocultural norms and behavior. Our quantita­
tive analysis of approximately 600 songs across four years
highlights that sexual content is common in music and that
lyrics reflect a variety of sexual initiation strategies.
Regarding RQ1, more bilateral forms of sexual communi­
cation (i.e., sexual suggestions and requests) were significantly
less common than unilateral forms of sexual communication,
such as sexual preferences and demands. Sexual preferences
(e.g., “I want that thot”) and demands (e.g., “Gobble me,
swallow me”), the most common forms of sexual communica­
tion, each appeared in approximately one in six singing parts
of the entire sample and approximately one in three singing
parts containing references to sexual behavior. In addition,
addressing RQ2, references to inferred consent appeared in
approximately one in five songs containing sexual behavior.
Given that some individuals believe in token resistance,
inferred consent may be particularly problematic. Beliefs that
women may verbally refuse a sexual request when they intern­
ally consent to or desire such behavior (i.e., engage in token
resistance) may lead to incorrect assumptions about another’s
willingness to have sex (Muehlenhard, 2011). High rates of
unilateral communication and assumptions about partners’
desire in song lyrics may in part reflect the nature of the
medium. With the exception of duets, in which lyrics represent
a bilateral conversation between singers, most songs provide
a narrative from a single singer’s first-person perspective. That
said, prior research has found that rape perpetration and
coercive sex victimization (i.e., giving into sex due to pressure
or manipulation) were associated with sexual media exposure,
which included sexual music (Ybarra et al., 2014). To the
extent that sexual preferences, sexual demands, or inferred

consent in lyrics are presented (or interpreted) as aggressive,
forceful, or persistent, exposure to these lyrics may have nega­
tive consequences. This is not to say that music is responsible
for the prevalence of sexual aggression or coercion; indeed,
such behaviors are rooted in complex issues involving power
and dominance, and are supported by the cultural-level sexual
scripts (Byers, 1996). However, media depictions of sexual
initiation and seduction that involve even subtle forms of
partner pressure or coercion may serve to normalize these
behaviors.
The current study also examined the context of sexual
communication messages. Addressing RQ3, we found that
sexual communication messages did not differ by singer gen­
der. Sexual script theory states that men initiate sexual contact
more often than women (Simon & Gagnon, 1986). Other work
has shown that men are more likely to use bilateral strategies
(e.g., requests, suggestions) to influence partners, whereas
women use more unilateral strategies (e.g., demands; Falbo &
Peplau, 1980). Some research also suggests that women use
more direct strategies than men to initiate sex with partners
(e.g., Vannier & O’Sullivan, 2011), and recent work suggests
that, compared to previous generations, women are more
likely to employ sexual aggression and coercive tactics follow­
ing a partner’s sexual refusal (Anderson et al., 2021; Smeaton
et al., 2018). However, sexualization, misogyny, and objectifi­
cation of women are common in popular music, including
among women singers who frequently objectify and sexualize
themselves (Flynn et al., 2016; Primack et al., 2008). Despite
prior work showing male singers reference sexuality and sex­
ualization more commonly than female singers (Cougar Hall
et al., 2012; Frisby & Behm-Morawitz, 2019; Primack et al.,
2008), the present results suggest that the singer’s gender does
not influence sexual initiation and consent messages in lyrics.
The lack of differences in initiation strategies by singer gender
may reflect the context of ubiquitous sexualization in popular
music (Frisby & Behm-Morawitz, 2019; Primack et al., 2008),
which has increased in past decades (Cougar Hall et al., 2012).
Popular artists, regardless of gender, may be rewarded for
including sexual initiation messages of preferences and
demands – rather than bilateral suggestions or requests that
welcome a response or negotiation from the receiver – in their
lyrics, leading to relative homogeneity in sexual communica­
tion across singers. More broadly, the normative sexual themes
in popular music–centering an individual singer’s feelings of
love, attraction, or desire–combined with the single first-
person narrative typical of music as a medium, may define
the type of sexual lyrics in music, more so than gendered
assumptions or expectations of singers’ behavior.
Regarding RQ4, sexual demands and preferences were sig­
nificantly more likely to appear in pop song lyrics compared to
country and R&B/hip-hop. These findings are somewhat
inconsistent with previous research, which has found that
music in the rap, R&B, and hip-hop genres contain the most
references to degrading sex and that music videos from these
genres contain the most sexually objectifying imagery (Aubrey
& Frisby, 2011; Flynn et al., 2016). Moreover, previous work
has found that sexualization and themes of lust have increased
across genres in the past decades (Cougar Hall et al., 2012;
THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 7
Madanikia & Bartholomew, 2014). This trend may be espe­
cially apparent in pop music as the most mainstream genre
relative to country and R&B/hip-hop. Although genres like rap
and hip-hop may contain more objectifying messages com­
pared to other genres (Flynn et al., 2016), the entire landscape
of contemporary “popular” music contains references to sexual
communication with the potential to contribute to sexual
script development.
Finally, in regards to RQ5, sexual consent and initiation
communication gained widespread public attention during the
#MeToo movement of late 2017, during which stories of sexual
harassment and assault flooded social media (Gieseler, 2019).
The songs included in this study were sampled from the
2016–2019 Billboard Year-End Charts to allow for comparison
of lyrics referencing sexual communication across this period;
however, the current study found no differences in sexual
demands, sexual preferences, sexual suggestions, or references
to inferred consent in popular music before vs. after the
#MeToo movement. Counterintuitively, sexual requests were
significantly less likely to appear in popular music following
the #MeToo reckoning than before. For some men, the
#MeToo movement resulted in their feeling less sure about
appropriate ways to interact with women, given concerns
about their behavior being misconstrued as harassment
(Graf, 2018). Although sexual requests allow for the possibility
of refusal, and thus potentially reflect respect for a partners’
desire and comfort, sexual requests may be viewed by consu­
mers as ambiguous or even potentially coercive. Notably, how­
ever, sexual requests were by far the least common form of
sexual communication messages, with sexual demands parti­
cularly pervasive – both before and after #MeToo. The lack of
differences in unilateral initiation strategies across time likely
reflects the perniciousness of this form of sexual communica­
tion in media, despite cultural movements intended to change
these potentially harmful norms.
Limitations and Implications
It is important to note that, compared to visual media such as
television, film, and music videos, song lyrics are devoid of
other musical elements that may influence how listeners inter­
pret song narratives, such as beats per minute (BPM) and
instrumental cues. Further, song lyrics do not afford listeners
with the visual cues that may be important for sexual consent
negotiation. In our study, coders were only able to analyze the
features of the narrative as told by the narrator. Thus, some
important contextual information could not be considered,
such as relationship status, closeness, and any recipient
responses not discussed by the singer.
In addition, sexual initiators’ and gatekeepers’ race was not
coded, but may have implications for audience effects. For
example, the Jezebel gendered racial stereotype depicts Black
women as hypersexual and promiscuous, with implications for
how Black women survivors of sexual assault may be perceived
(Donovan, 2007). In combination, references to inferred con­
sent and objectification of Black bodies in popular song lyrics
may reinforce Jezebel stereotypes and promote the harmful
belief that Black women do not need to consent because they
always desire sex.
8 C. ALEXOPOULOS ET AL.
Finally, this study is limited in that it was descriptive in
nature, and we therefore cannot make any claims about the
effects of exposure to song lyrics associated with sexual initia­
tion attempts. Although the extent to which these linguistic
variations in sexual communication messages are recalled and
modeled by music consumers is unclear, adolescents and
young adults have indeed reported attitudes and beliefs con­
sistent with the themes in popular music, for example, that
men have an insatiable sexual appetite and that women’s worth
should be based on their appearance (e.g., Aubrey et al., 2011;
Peter & Valkenburg, 2007).
The current study poses several important implications for
society and future research. Music as an entertainment med­
ium is uniquely positioned to normalize sexual requests and
affirmative consent communication. Music artists are idolized
and the narratives they create are both accessible and easily
recalled (Ivaldi & O’Neill, 2008). To the extent that changes to
the norms of the entertainment industry or policies encoura­
ging respectful sexual themes in music could be enacted, con­
sumers may greatly benefit. These benefits may be greatest for
adolescents, who use music and other sexualized media as
a form of sexual education, despite the inadequacies of learn­
ing about sex from this medium (Strasburger et al., 2009).
Parents and educators can also help children and adolescents
make sense of the themes they hear in music through parental
media monitoring behaviors (see Collier et al., 2016) or media
literacy interventions in schools (e.g., Scull et al., 2021). Future
translational research can better understand the mechanisms
by which exposure to forceful sexual initiation messages in
music influences adolescent outcomes and the optimal strate­
gies for intervention.
Overall, the current study highlights that sexual demands
and references to inferred consent – sexual initiation processes
that are supportive of aggression and coercion – are common in
popular music across the 2016–2019 period. The results further
highlight that these relatively aggressive initiation strategies are
normative across both men and women singers, though may be
more common in pop music than other genres. As sexual
initiation behaviors are governed by sexual scripts (Simon &
Gagnon, 1986) that are perpetuated through media, more work
is needed to better understand how popular music exposure
influences the sexual initiation strategies, and ultimately sexual
and relational health and well-being, of consumers.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Cassandra Alexopoulos http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2317-0291
Zoë D. Peterson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2975-1062
References
Alexopoulos, C., & Cingel, D. P. (2023). Sexual consent on television:
Differing portrayal effects on adolescent viewers. Archives of Sexual
Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02563-0
Alexopoulos, C., & Taylor, L. D. (2020). Easy listening? An analysis of
infidelity in top pop, hip-hop, and country song lyrics over 25 years.
Psychology of Music, 48(6), 795–807. https://doi.org/10.1177/
0305735618824982
Anderson, P. B., Struckman-Johnson, C., & Smeaton, G. L. (2021).
Generation by gender differences in use of sexual aggression:
A replication of the millennial shift. The Journal of Sex Research, 58
(3), 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1733457
Aubrey, J. S., & Frisby, C. M. (2011). Sexual objectification in music
videos: A content analysis comparing gender and genre. Mass commu­
nication & society, 14(4), 475–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.
2010.513468
Aubrey, J. S., Hopper, M. K., & Mbure, W. G. (2011). Check that body! The
effects of sexually objectifying music videos on college men’s sexual
beliefs. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 55(3), 360–379.
Basile, K. C., Smith, S. G., Breiding, M. J., Black, M. C., & Mahendra, R.
(2014). Sexual violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recom­
mended data elements, Version 2.0. National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv_surveillance_defini
tionsl-2009-a.pdf
Bedera, N. (2021). Moaning and eye contact: Men’s use of ambiguous
signals in attributions of consent to their partners. Violence Against
Women, 27(15–16), 3093–3113. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1077801221992870
Byers, E. S. (1996). Sexual coercion in dating relationships. Haworth.
Collier, K. M., Coyne, S. M., Rasmussen, E. E., Hawkins, A. J., Padilla-
Walker, L. M., Erickson, S. E., & Memmott-Elison, M. K. (2016). Does
parental mediation of media influence child outcomes? A
meta-analysis on media time, aggression, substance use, and sexual
behavior. Developmental Psychology, 52(5), 798–812.
Colman, M. (2015). The Oxford dictionary of psychology. Oxford
University Press.
Cougar Hall, P., West, J. H., & Hill, S. (2012). Sexualization in lyrics of
popular music from 1959 to 2009: Implications for sexuality educators.
Sexuality & Culture, 16(2), 103–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-
011-9103-4
Coyne, S. M., & Padilla-Walker, L. M. (2015). Sex, violence, & rock n’ roll:
Longitudinal effects of music on aggression, sex, and prosocial beha­
vior during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 41(1), 96–104.
Donovan, R. A. (2007). To blame or not to blame: Influences of target race
and observer sex on rape blame attribution. Journal of interpersonal
violence, 22(6), 722–736. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260507300754
Eggermont, S. (2006). Television viewing and adolescents’ judgment of
sexual request scripts: A latent growth curve analysis in early and
middle adolescence. Sex Roles, 55(7–8), 457–468. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s11199-006-9099-7
Fahlberg, A., & Pepper, M. (2016). Masculinity and sexual violence:
Assessing the state of the field. Sociology Compass, 10(8), 673–683.
https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12397
Falbo, T., & Peplau, L. A. (1980). Power strategies in intimate relationships.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(4), 618–628.
Flynn, M. A., Craig, C. M., Anderson, C. N., & Holody, K. J. (2016).
Objectification in popular music lyrics: An examination of gender and
genre differences. Sex Roles, 75(3–4), 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s11199-016-0592-3
Frisby, C. M., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2019). Undressing the words:
Prevalence of profanity, misogyny, violence, and gender role references
in popular music from 2006–2016. Media Watch, 10(1), 1. https://doi.
org/10.15655/mw/2019/v10i1/49562
Gerbner, G. (1998). Cultivation analysis: An overview. Mass
Communication and Society, 1(3–4), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.
1080/15205436.1998.9677855
Gieseler, C. (2019). The voices of #MeToo: From grassroots activism to
a viral roar. Rowan & Littlefield.
Gossman, I., Julien, D., Mathieu, M., & Chartrand, E. (2003).
Determinants of sex initiation frequencies and sexual satisfaction in
long-term couples’ relationships. The Canadian journal of human
sexuality, 12, 169–181.

Gotell, L. (2012). Governing heterosexuality through specific consent:
Interrogating the governmental effects of R. v J.A. Canadian Journal
of Women and the Law, 24(2), 359–388.
Graf, N. (2018). Sexual harassment at work in the era of #MeToo. Pew
Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/04/
04/sexual-harassment-at-work-in-the-era-of-metoo/
Greer, A. E., & Buss, D. M. (1994). Tactics for promoting sexual
encounters. The Journal of Sex Research, 31(3), 185–201. https://doi.
org/10.1080/00224499409551752
Harris, S., Monahan, J. L., & Hovick, S. R. (2014). Communicating new
sexual desires and the factors that influence message directness. Sexual
and Relationship Therapy, 29(4), 405–423. https://doi.org/10.1080/
14681994.2014.954992
Hickman, S. E., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (1999). “By the semi-mystical
appearance of a condom”: How young women and men communicate
sexual consent in heterosexual situations. The Journal of Sex Research,
36(3), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499909551996
Hoffman, L. J. (2021). Grab ‘em by the pussy: An exploration of consent in
the #MeToo era. In S. J. Dodd (Ed.), The Routledge international
handbook of social work and sexualities (pp. 347–359). Routledge.
Hust, S. J. T., Marett, E. G., Ren, C., Adams, P. M., Willoughby, J. F., Lei, M.,
Ran, W., & Norman, C. (2014). Establishing and adhering to sexual
consent: The association between reading magazines and college students'
sexual consent negotiation. The Journal of Sex Research, 51(3), 280–290.
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. (2019). Music
listening 2019: A look at how recorded music is enjoyed around the
world. https://www.ifpi.org/ifpi-releases-music-listening–2019/
Ivaldi, A., & O’Neill, S. A. (2008). Adolescents’ musical role models:
Whom do they admire and why? Psychology of Music, 36(4), 395–415.
Johnson, K., Markham, C., & Tortolero, S. R. (2017). Thematic analysis of
mainstream rap music-Considerations for culturally responsive sexual
consent education in high school. Journal of Applied Research on
Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 8(1). https://doi.org/
10.58464/2155-5834.1328
Jozkowski, K. N. (2015). “Yes means yes”? Sexual consent policy and
college students. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 47(2),
16–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2015.1004990
Jozkowski, K. N., Marcantonio, T. L., & Hunt, M. E. (2017). College
students’ sexual consent communication and perceptions of sexual dou­
ble standards: A qualitative investigation. Perspectives on Sexual and
Reproductive Health, 49(4), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12041
Jozkowski, K. N., Marcantonio, T. L., Rhoads, K. E., Canan, S.,
Hunt, M. E., & Willis, M. (2019). A content analysis of sexual consent
and refusal communication in mainstream films. The Journal of Sex
Research, 56(6), 754–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.
1595503
Jozkowski, K. N., Peterson, Z. D., Sanders, S. A., Dennis, B., & Reece, M.
(2014). Gender differences in heterosexual college students’ concep­
tualizations and indicators of sexual consent: Implications for contem­
porary sexual assault prevention education. The Journal of Sex
Research, 51(8), 904–916.
Klein, V., Imhoff, R., Reininger, K. M., & Briken, P. (2019). Perceptions of
sexual script deviation in women and men. Archives of Sexual Behavior,
48(2), 631–644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1280-x
Kunkel, D., Farrar, K. M., Eyal, K., Biely, E., Donnerstein, E., &
Rideout, V. (2007). Sexual socialization messages on entertainment
television: Comparing content trends 1997–2002. Media Psychology,
9(3), 595–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260701283210
MacKinnon, C. A. (2016). Rape redefined. Harvard Law & Policy Review,
10(2), 431–478.
Madanikia, Y., & Bartholomew, K. (2014). Themes of lust and love in
popular music lyrics from 1971 to 2011. SAGE Open, 4, 3. https://doi.
org/10.1177/2158244014547179
Milkman, S. (2021). Slicing contemporary music tastes by demographics
and consumption. Colman Insights Media Research. https://colemanin
sights.com/coleman-insights-blog/slicing-contemporary-music-tastes-
by-demographics-and-consumption
Montesi, J. L., Fauber, R. L., Gordon, E. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2011). The
specific importance of communicating about sex to couples’ sexual and
overall relationship satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal
THE JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 9
Relationships, 28(5), 591–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/
0265407510386833
Muehlenhard, C. L. (2011). Examining stereotypes about token resistance
to sex. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(4), 676–683. https://doi.org/
10.1177/036168431142668
Muehlenhard, C. L., Humphreys, T. P., Jozkowski, K. N., &
Peterson, Z. D. (2016). The complexities of sexual consent among
college students: A conceptual and empirical review. The Journal of
Sex Research, 53(4–5), 457–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.
2016.1146651
O'Byrne, R., Hansen, S., & Rapley, M. (2008). If a girl doesn't say ‘no’…”:
young men, rape and claims of ‘insufficient knowledge. Journal of
Community & Applied Social Psychology, 18(3), 168–193. https://doi.
org/10.1002/casp.922
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2007). Adolescents’ exposure to
a sexualized media environment and their notions of women as sex
objects. Sex Roles, 56(5), 381–395.
Primack, B. A., Gold, M. A., Schwarz, E. B., & Dalton, M. A. (2008).
Degrading and non-degrading sex in popular music: A content
analysis. Public Health Reports, 123(5), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.
1177/003335490812300509
Rideout, V., & Robb, M. B. (2018). Social media, social life: Teens reveal
their experiences. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsense
media.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/
Righi, M. K., Bogen, K. W., Kuo, C., & Orchowski, L. M. (2021).
A qualitative analysis of beliefs about sexual consent among high
school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(15–16),
NP8290–NP8316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519842855
Scull, T., Malik, C., Morrison, A., & Keefe, E. (2021). Promoting sexual
health in high school: A feasibility study of a web-based media literacy
education program. Journal of Health Communication, 26(3), 147–160.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1893868
Seabrook, R. C., Ward, L. M., & Giaccardi, S. (2019). Less than human?
Media use, objectification of women, and men’s acceptance of sexual
aggression. Psychology of Violence, 9(5), 536–545.
Shafer, A., Ortiz, R. R., Thompson, B., & Huemmer, J. (2018). The role of
hypermasculinity, token resistance, rape myth, and assertive sexual con­
sent communication among college men. Journal of Adolescent Health,
62(3), S44–S50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.015
Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1986). Sexual scripts: Permanence and
change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15(2), 97–120. https://doi.org/
10.1007/BF01542219
Smeaton, G. L., Struckman-Johnson, C., Fagen, J. L., Bohn, R., &
Anderson, P. B. (2018). Generation cohort differences in male and
female use of tactics to gain sex from an unwilling partner. Journal of
Sexual Aggression, 24(2), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.
2018.1440088
Smiler, A. P., Shewmaker, J. W., & Hearon, B. (2017). From “I want to
hold your hand” to “promiscuous”: Sexual stereotypes in popular
music lyrics, 1960–2008. Sexuality and Culture, 21(4), 1083–1105.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-017-9437-7
Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M.-J.,
& Chen, J. (2018). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey:
2015 data brief – Updated release. National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.
cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf
Strasburger, V. C., Wilson, B., & Jordan, A. B. (2009). Children, adoles­
cents, and the media (3rd ed.). Sage.
Suleiman, A. B., Galván, A., Harden, K. P., & Dahl, R. E. (2017). Becoming
a sexual being: The ‘elephant in the room’ of adolescent brain devel­
opment. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 209–220. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2016.09.004
Tolman, D. L., & McClelland, S. I. (2011). Normative sexuality develop­
ment in adolescence: A decade in review, 2000-2009. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 242–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.
1532-7795.2010.00726.x
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Walther, J. B. (2016). Media effects: Theory
and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 67(1), 315–338. https://doi.
org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033608
10 C. ALEXOPOULOS ET AL.
Vannier, S. A., & O’Sullivan, L. F. (2011). Communicating interest in sex:
Verbal and nonverbal initiation of sexual activity in young adults’
romantic dating relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(5),
961–969. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9663-7
Ward, L. M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the
sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research.
Developmental Review, 23(3), 347–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0273-
2297(03)00013-3
Ward, L. M. (2016). Media and sexualization: State of empirical research,
1995-2015. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4–5), 560–577.
Ward, L. M., Reed, L., Trinh, S. L., & Foust, M. (2014). Sexuality and
entertainment media. In D. L. Tolman, L. M. Diamond,
J. A. Bauermeister, W. H. George, J. G. Pfaus, & L. M. Ward (Eds.),
APA handbook of sexuality and psychology, Vol. 2. Contextual approaches
(pp. 373–423). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.
1037/14194-012
Widman, L., Noar, S. M., Choukas-Bradley, S., & Francis, D. B. (2014).
Adolescent sexual health communication and condom use: A
meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 33(10), 1113–1124.
Willis, M., Canan, S. N., Jozkowski, K. N., & Bridges, A. J. (2020). Sexual
consent communication in best-selling pornography films: A content
analysis. The Journal of Sex Research, 57(1), 52–63. https://doi.org/10.
1080/00224499.2019.1655522
Willis, M., Jozkowski, K. N., Canan, S. N., Rhoads, K. E., & Hunt, M. E.
(2020). Models of sexual consent communication by film rating:
A content analysis. Sexuality and Culture, 24(6), 1971–1986. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09731-7
Wright, P. J. (2011). Mass media effects on youth sexual behavior asses­
sing the claim for causality. Annals of the International Communication
Association, Communication Yearbook, 35(1), 343–385. https://doi.
org/10.1080/23808985.2011.11679121
Wright, C. L., & Rubin, M. (2017). “Get lucky!” Sexual content in music
lyrics, videos and social media and sexual cognitions and risk among
emerging adults in the USA and Australia. Sex Education, 17(1), 41–56.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2016.1242402
Wright, C. L., & Rubin, M. (2020). Sexualized popular music and risky
sexual behaviors among emerging adults from the United States and
Australia. Howard Journal of Communications, 31(1), 1–19. https://doi.
org/10.1080/10646175.2019.1567407
Ybarra, M. L., Strasburger, V. C., & Mitchell, K. J. (2014). Sexual media
exposure, sexual behavior, and sexual violence victimization in
adolescence. Clinical Pediatrics, 53(13), 1239–1247. https://doi.org/
10.1177/0009922814538700
Zukoski, A. P., Harvey, S. M., & Branch, M. (2009). Condom use:
Exploring verbal and non-verbal communication strategies among
Latino and African American men and women. AIDS Care, 21(8),
1042–1049. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540120802612808