Teenage Sex Goals - how the influence of teen movies and shows is changing

From a first kiss and the ‘first time’, to a sexual act with a pie – and even depictions of sexual assault – films and series can influence our views on sex. And because of famous series and films like the American Pie franchise, sex analogies, clichés and tropes kinda became a thing.

Caitlin is one of our Youth Facilitators – she plays a key role in engaging with rangatahi and getting their perspectives on movies, shows, games and other content they’re watching.

From a first kiss and the ‘first time’, to a sexual act with a pie – and even depictions of sexual assault – films and series can influence our views on sex. And because of famous series and films like the American Pie franchise sex analogies, clichés and tropes kinda became a thing.

A great example is the first stages of being intimate described in baseball terms. Baseball isn’t even a major sport here in NZ but because of the influence of entertainment media a lot of us grew up understanding and using these terms.

However, do analogies like these and what we watched as young people stand the test of time? And what should we be taking note of when watching content that’s aimed at rangatahi today?

American Pie aside, more recent content like Euphoria, and Riverdale, are examples of content that oversexualise young people. It’s actually really easy to forget that most of the characters in these shows are teenagers.

In Riverdale Betty pole dances in a room full of adults in order to get into local gang the Southside Serpents. The show frequently depicts females dressed in lingerie, and hyper-sexualised and steamy sex scenes.

Relationships in these shows tend to depict different experiences with sex. We seemed to have moved on from the common narrative of characters ‘just’ losing their virginity.

In Euphoria, Maddy, who recently broke up with her boyfriend, has ‘revenge’ sex with another guy publically in a pool at a party. In another storyline after having sex for the first time at a party Kat finds out that it was filmed and the recording is circulating online. From this experience she realises she can make money by becoming a camgirl.

These depictions are unrealistic, oversexualised and can exploit issues and experiences that young people face today. They take relatable situations like being in a relationship, breaking up and the sharing of intimate visual recordings and run with it.

But some shows like Netflix series Sex Education provide a counter narrative. Alongside humour and a fair dose of teenage angst and awkwardness this show depicts what consensual safe sex can look like. It shows that while communicating may feel awkward to begin with it can lead to intimate experiences that are safe and pleasurable, for everyone.

Sex in teen films – or “going all the way” – used to be the ultimate goal, but it’s pretty clear that it isn’t anymore. In a famous line Coach Marshall from American Pie says “I don't want any of you boys thinking that you're gonna score. You don't score, until you score!” – but sex no longer seems to be the final destination and is just more of a pivotal stage.

It’s important to understand that these shows generally depict the exception and not the rule but at the same time can have a massive influence on rangatahi today. The way we can best support rangatahi is stepping them through critically thinking about what they watch and ensuring that the door is always open to talk with them about what they watch.

Further reading

Talking with young people about what they’re watching