Gatekeeping Of Sex

I chose to read the article For Whose Eyes Only? The Gatekeeping of Sexual Images in the Field of Teen Sexuality written by Tara Chittenden. Tara Chittenden works in sex education and deals with sexuality, society, and learning. (Chittenden, T. (2010). For whos eyes only? The gatekeeping of sexual images in the field of teen sexuality. Sex Education, 10(1), 79-90). The purpose of this article is to examine the way in which gatekeepers shape the field of teen sexuality by controlling access to sexual images. The research question that is examined is that the author questions who decides whether an image is “appropriate” for young adults and how these judgments shape the cultural field. This is interesting because gatekeepers go to certain extents in which to attempt to shield teens from certain sexual images and thus offers some explanation as to failing to educate and empower teen in sex education with the tools to engage with sexual images with themselves. It is an important issue because teens may turn into adults who have “unhealthy” attitudes toward sexuality, which then may result in a role as a sexual gatekeeper. In the following paragraphs I will discuss gatekeeping, Bordieu’s field theory, the field of teen sexuality, and finally what I gained from reading this article.
Bordieu’s field theory examines the production of teen sexuality. This theory provides insights into the structuring logic of fields and the macro-structural constitution. Bordieu’s theory states that players in all fields are endowed with different amount of capital, such as symbolic, social, cultural, and economic. This capital is effective in relation to the particular field. The players in the field of teen sexuality are referred to as gatekeepers and...

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...t gives useful information on the topic of gatekeeping and teen sexuality. It is explained in a way that is easier to understand than some other articles would be. From this article I learned that parents are very concerned about media gatekeeping and sexual images in advertisement. This is an important fact to understand because it shows us how much our parents care for us, when sometimes this is not the case. Being educated on sexual behavior and identity is very important in life and should be understood the best it can.
Overall, this article provides and does a good job of discussing gatekeeping and why and how it occurs. I think it would make it better if they did a more widespread study to find out if teens really have such unhealthy view of sexuality. This would help to get a better understanding for the parents and would give us better insight from teens.