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Amanda Couture Ms. Caruso ENGL 1103 11 October 2012 Reality Televisions Effect on the Usage of Birth Control How does reality television effect how people think and use birth control? Why, as a society, do we sweep issues like sex and birth control under the rug? To answer these questions, further knowledge of the history of reality TV, its psychological effects on the population, birth controls history, and the positives and negatives of birth control must be explored. Without being well-rounded about a topic, an informed decision cannot be made. What is reality television and how did it get its start? According to Dictionary.com, reality TV is, a genre of television programming in which real life people are followed in a situation, game, etc. The first reality TV show to air was in 1948 and it was called Candid Camera. However, this show and many others created an artificial reality in the 1950s and had secret cameras to watch people on the show. It wasnt until the 1970s that cameras were truly brought out of the studio and captured real life in the show An American Family (Slocum 2). It was because of the show An American Family, that the words reality TV was created. During this time, the videocassette came out which made this show affordable and portable for every television. These shows later branched out into money making shows where contestants could earn money by completing a task or answering questions correctly. There are now talent shows where people sing, dance, and do other neat tricks to win contract deals with major companies and money. Examples of these shows would be Big Brother, Americas Next Top Model,

Comment [DRS1]: Reviewed by Daphne Sykes

Comment [DRS2]: Is there research to say what artificial reality is so a reader may know

Comment [DRS3]: Kind of a repeat of the sentence before

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Dancing with the Stars, the Bachelorette, and many others. There are many types of reality TV genres and each year since their conception, more of them are created and each is a different variation of the one before (Slocum 5). Why do these reality TV series seem to be so successful? They dont cost as much money to produce as regularly programed shows. There are not as many sets, paid actors, paid crew members, and less equipment which is also cheaper than other programs. Reality TV shows can also help the public. In the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, volunteers went around to homes that needed a lot of work because the homeowners do not have enough money to fix up the house. Americas Most Wanted, which was shot in 1983, helped catch 842 criminals. This show was watched so frequently that people often called in for tips which led to the arrests of many criminals (Time). Reality TV shows cant be all that bad, or so the public might be led to think (Slocum 10). Since the creation of reality TV, family morals have lowered while divorce rates increased, people have difficulty dealing with conflict and connecting with other people (Karim 4). Since the 1920s and 1930s, the divorce rate has tripled (BLS GOV). Whats caused such a dramatic change in the family dynamic? The media has played such a dramatic role in the life of many families. Dr. Krika S. Pontius stated, many studies have focused on how television programs that appear to be real (such as news and daytime dreams) alter the viewers perception of reality (or social reality) (Pontius 1). The Cultivation Theory, hypothesized by George Gerbner, states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid, (Mass Communication Theory 1). The United States has 314,624,509 people (US Census) so truly understanding the psychological effects on the population is
Comment [DRS7]: How? Maybe put at beginning of next paragraph. Comment [DRS6]: Repeat of divorce rates increasing Comment [DRS5]: How is the public made to think this? Comment [DRS4]: How much do each cost?

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difficult because the population is so great and so many people watch TV there is no control group to test the effects (Pontius 2). Therefore, testing and supporting or disproving certain theories are difficult to create because these are new tests and do not have many models to create procedures to and its difficult to test on such a visually stimulated society. Majority of people think birth control is a relatively new. However, in 1550 B.C., Egyptian women were taught how to mix dates, acacia, and honey into a paste which was then smeared over wool as a pessary, a removable device placed in the vagina, to prevent conception (Time). In the 1700s, Casanova experimented sheep-bladders as condoms and half of a lemon as a cervical cap (Time). Charles Goodyear, the man who created vulcanized rubber, led to the use of manufacturing rubber condoms, intrauterine devices, douching syringes, and womb veils (Time). Birth control has been experimented with for over 2,000 years. Margaret Sanger was the sex education pioneer of her time. She began her efforts by writing a newspaper column called What Every Girl Should Know and also worked as a nurse on the Lower East Side (Bio). Working as a nurse, she treated many women who sought the termination of their pregnancies in back-allies. To prevent future women from suffering she fought to make birth control information known and contraceptives like, the magic pill, accessible (Bio). In reaction to her efforts, Anthony Comstock created the Cromstock Act of 1873. This act prohibited the trade in and circulation of obscene and immoral materials. This included Margaret Sangers feminist publication The Woman Rebel, created in 1914, which promoted a womans right to birth control. Instead of facing a five-year jail sentence, she fled to England where she continued to work for the womens movement and research many types of birth control (Bio).
Comment [DRS9]: In this paragraph try to use your research to explain what certain things on so there is more detail in it. Comment [DRS8]: confusing

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After returning to the United States in 1915, she toured around the country to promote birth control, a term she also coined. In 1916, she opened up the first birth control clinic in the United States (Bio). This clinic would later be known as Planned Parenthood. Her and her sister Ethel were later charged with providing contraception information and fitting women for diaphragms. Their convection was later appealed which became the first victory for the birth control movement (Bio). Without Margarets fight for women to have the right to use birth control, womens rights in general would have suffered. Without the media and through outlets like reality TV, people might not understand the importance of birth control. A poll taken by the Associated Press-Ipsos, stated that 67 percent of students favor letting their public school provide birth control to them (MSNBC). The public is also divided on whether sex education and birth control information is more effective than stressing abstinence to teenagers. Does teaching students encourage them to engage in sexual intercourse or teach them to be safe in the future? How does seeing pregnant teenagers affect peoples views on giving their children birth control?
Comment [DRS11]: Just the students what about their parents what do they think? Comment [DRS10]: In this paragraph it seems more detailed about what Sanger did but how did her fight save womens rights?