Raunchy tunes can lead to kid sex

Teenagers who listen to music with raunchy sexual lyrics are more likely to have sex at a younger age than those who don't listen to sexually explicit music, says a new study.

Teenagers who listen to music with raunchy sexual lyrics are more likely to have sex at a younger age than those who don't listen to sexually explicit music, says a new study.

HT Image

Researchers studied the sexual behaviour and musical tastes of 1,461 US adolescent participants in reference to 16 top artists whose lyrics "depicted sexually insatiable men pursuing women valued only as sex objects".

"Adolescents who listen to a lot of music containing these objectifying and limiting characterisations of sexuality progress more quickly in their sexual behaviour, regardless of their race or gender," said Steven Martino, the study's lead author and a researcher for the Rand Corporation.

The study published in the August issue of Paediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Paediatrics, claims to be the first to examine the relationship between the music and the sexual development of teens.

Among heavy listeners of sexually degrading music - where men are "studs" and women are sex objects - 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who listened to little or none of that type of music.

He said degrading lyrics teach boys to relentlessly pursue women, while girls view themselves as sex objects.

"We think it really lowers kids' inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful," he said.