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08/22/2006: "File Under "D" for "Duh""

Back from fishing, so I thought I'd pass along this recovered entry originally posted on August 8th ...

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In a recently released study whose finding can only be described as shocking, the Rand Corporation has found that there is a link between teens who listen to music with sexually degrading lyrics and the age at which they begin having sex. Study participants, whose ages ranged from 12 to 17 years old, were split into two groups - those described as "heavy listeners", and those who listened to little or no music with degrading lyrics.

Among heavy listeners, 51% started having sex within two years, versus 29% of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.

Exposure to lots of obscene music "gives them a specific message about sex," said lead author Steven Martino, a researcher at Rand Corp. in Pittsburgh. Boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women, and girls learn to view themselves as sex objects, he said.

Benjamin Chavis, chief executive officer of the Hip-Hip Summit Action Network, a coalition of hip-hop musicians and recording industry executives, said explicit music lyrics are a cultural expression that reflect "social and economic realities."

"We caution rushing to judgment that music more than any other factor is a causative factor" for teens initiating sex, Chavis said.

While there is some truth in Chavis' last statement, his first is asinine. He's trying to turn it into the chicken or the egg - did underage sex drive suggestive hip-hop lyrics, or did the lyrics drive the sex. I don't think we needed to spend taxpayer dollars to figure this one out.

Next time, they'll announce that there just may be a connection between having sex and getting pregnant ...