4 J. Media Commun. Stud.
a recap of the previous storylines before the new
program began. These hooks were almost always a
recap of the ‘sexual activity’ portrayals that had been
coded in the previous episode. These were the portions
of the show that the producers felt were important to the
plot, or would entice viewers to stick around and watch
the episode. Sexual activity was almost always used as
an opening or closing of a scene, and several times,
particularly in One Tree Hill, used as a cliffhanger for the
next episode. This presents sexual activity as one of the
most important element in these characters’ lives.
The hooks used in Gossip Girl were also filled with
sexual activity. However, the plot of the program did not
revolve around character dynamics or relationships. The
sexual activity presented was possibly used to illustrate
how glamorized the lives of Gossip Girl teens are. Sexual
activity clips were often mixed with laughter, alcohol and
drug use. They are young, beautiful, and surrounded by
money. This is an unrealistic representation of what life
as an average teenager in America is like. Though some
of the dialogue in Gossip Girl may be seen as ‘tongue-in-
cheek’, it is possible that younger teenage audience may
not capture the irony. They may only see that this is how
beautiful, young, rich teenagers have fun.
Brooke, a character on One Tree Hill, is particularly
sexually active. She is constantly courting Lucas and
using sexual innuendos to attract his attention. He
repeatedly tells her, “You know Brooke, you do not have
to act like this” (“Are You True?”). At first Lucas shows no
interest in her. Once she stops ‘throwing herself’ at him,
and the two get to know each other, he asks her to be his
girlfriend. Throughout the show, Brooke constantly refers
to herself as a “brainless slut”, and Lucas is always
reassuring her that she has more to offer than just her
good looks. A possible message that this sends young
viewers is a positive one. Men are not just interested in
meaningless sex, and are actually turned off by this type
of promiscuous behavior. They are more interested in
having meaningful conversations and developing
substantial relationships with women.
The lead female character in One Tree Hill is Peyton, a
cynical cheerleader. She is constantly having revelations
about ‘the big picture’ of life. “What difference does it
make if you sleep with the popular guy, or go to the right
party, or you know the right moves to a lame ass cheer?”
(Hamiton and Carson, 2004). Peyton’s character is above
all of the petty meaningless relationship crises that
Brooke and Lucas are constantly having. She also draws
comics for a newspaper. One in particular is seemingly a
caricature of Brooke. Underneath the picture reads: “High
school cheerleader: Brush perfect hair, Get straight A’s,
Have meaningless sex with faceless jock, Do not forget
to smile” (Perry and Carson, 2004). This shows viewers
that there are more important things in life than sexual
relationships. It also pokes fun at those girls who engage
in meaningless sex. Peyton is a very well rounded
character with many talents and goals. Throughout the
series we learn that there is a similar side to Brooke.
While she initially comes across as a character constantly
throwing herself at men, she eventually grows up and
learns that is not appropriate or attractive behavior.
The roles that the female characters of One Tree Hill
play are dynamic and crucial to the storyline. This is not
the case for the female characters of Gossip Girl. Almost
all conversation between male-female characters in
Gossip Girl included sexual innuendos. There were
absolutely no male-female platonic relationships por-
trayed in the program. Sexual activity with strangers was
presented as much more appealing, perhaps even a fun
game, because it led to fewer complications.
Women in this world were easily bought off,
consistently using their sexuality to get out of situations.
Female characters would also change into skimpier
clothing before meeting with the male character that they
were interested in. They were repeatedly portrayed
wearing identical scantily clad clothing. While I as a
researcher may have been particularly sensitive to these
types of portrayals, these objectifications never seemed
to be an intricate part of the storyline. Women were
presented as ‘accessories’ to men at parties. Aside from
the two main female characters, females never spoke,
but were constantly hanging around in the background.
Characters, both male and female, consistently referred
to female characters as ‘whores’, ‘sluts’, and ‘bitches’.
This was extremely evident in the dialogue between male
friends. “Look, it is easy Socrates – what we are entitled
to is a trust fund, maybe a house in the Hamptons, an
addiction to a prescription drug problem, but happiness
does not seem to be on the menu. So smoke up, and
seal the deal with Blair because you’re also entitled to tap
that ass” (Ziegesar and Buckly, 2007).
These representations are important to the construction
of reality for young female viewers after watching Gossip
Girl. They themselves may feel as though they are
objects to look at and nothing more. Furthermore, men
are entitled to use them however they see fit. The world
illustrated in Gossip Girl presents a male-dominated
society, where women should not be included in
intellectual conversation or friendships. If women have
nothing to offer other than their bodies, then why go to
college or pursue an education? The most distressing
pattern of this constructed world is that the female
characters are seemingly happy and do not question the
inferior role that they hold.
Throughout the ten episodes of Gossip Girl there was
not one safe-sex or abstinence message. The closest
representation that I found was when Dan’s father told his
son to change his sheets before Serena came over, and
advised “do not do anything she is not prepared to do”
(Ziegesar and Buckly, 2007). The only character
presented on Gossip Girl who did not engaged in sexual
intercourse was Dan’s 14 year-old little sister. However,
