Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410250020
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SANTA MONICA, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Soap opera executives met on Friday to ponder how to make love in the afternoon, responsibly.
The two-day soap opera summit, which features talks by Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Jane Fonda, is sponsored by Population Communications International, a group concerned about overpopulation.
PCI Chairman Sonny Fox, a former vice president of children's programming at NBC, said he hopes to persuade soap opera executives to think about population control when writing story lines.
He contends the soaps are more influential than other shows because they're on every day and viewers identify heavily with the characters.
``The teen-age viewers are, in particular, watching the soaps to develop their expectations of what their sex lives might be like,'' he said.
Just how steamy are the stories?
This year, soap opera programming showed 6.64 incidents of sexual activity or references to sex per episode, said Michigan State University Professor Bradley Greenberg. The incidents and references included sex out of wedlock, prostitution and artificial insemination.
At a news conference, Greenberg said sex usually is portrayed as something desirable, though rarely in a light-hearted manner.
But Fox believes the soaps are sending mixed messages.
He cited one episode in which a girl about to lose her virginity is warned by her stepmother about pregnancy and the risk of AIDS. But then the stepmother encourages her to go ahead and have sex, saying she'll be great in bed.
by CNB