Producing sexual order: A comparison of public and private regulation of sexuality in television and film

This thesis analyzed what I call the deliverance of sexual order in television and film, as begun by sex law but utilized and produced through the power systems and social regulation of entertainment and capitalism. I conducted a textual analysis of the texts relating to sexuality and its distribution in these industries of entertainment. This included analyzing the Supreme Court cases on obscenity and indecency law, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, a rating system service from the Motion Picture Association of America, and the websites for the Federal Communications Commission and the Motion Picture Association of America. This produced two themes that dominate and produce a sexual hegemony: sexuality as harm to minors and sexuality as dirty. Furthermore, this sexual hegemony is fed by capitalism and limits artistic expression, which in turn limits the available space for alternative sexual expression.