TheWrap has obtained a letter from The Parents Television Council criticizing CW affiliates who plan to air a Nov. 9 episode of Gossip Girl featuring a threesome. TheWrap says the letter claims the stations will be “complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films.” The author of the letter, PTC chief Tim Winter, also claims that affiliates have the right to preempt the programming. The CW has no comment.
Update: The Parents Television Council has sent EW the letter in full. See it printed after the jump.
November 2, 2009
Dear [Name]:
By now you must be aware of reports in Entertainment Weekly and elsewhere that the November 9th episode of the teen-targeted drama Gossip Girl will feature major characters in a sexual threesome.
To include a story line like this on a program that is expressly targeted to impressionable teenagers is reckless and irresponsible. I appeal to your highest sense of decency, respect and common sense in urging you to preempt this episode.
Television is profoundly influential in the lives of children, especially when it comes to sexual decision making – it has even been described by one researcher as a “sexual super-peer” – signifying television’s power to amplify, many times over, the peer-pressure teens are already feeling to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
When television portrays attractive, popular teenage characters as sexually active, it sends a powerful message to young viewers that they, too, should be sexually active and in fact, there might be something wrong with them if they aren’t.
Teens are aware that television influences their behavior. According to one survey, a third of youths 12 and older say the media encourages them to have sex by making it seem like “everybody does it.”
At least half a dozen studies in the past few years have documented a strong correlation between exposure to adult media content in childhood and early onset of sexual activity among teens. Viewing of sexual media content has even been found to be predictive of teen pregnancy.
As one researcher who has seen these effects first-hand observed, “Children have neither the life experience nor the brain development to fully differentiate between a reality they are moving toward and a fiction meant solely to entertain. Children learn from media, and when they watch media with sexual references and innuendos, our research suggests they are more likely to engage in sexual activity earlier in life.”
Gossip Girl routinely depicts teenage characters engaging in promiscuous and consequence-free sexual behavior, and that’s bad enough. But will you now be complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films? Behaviors that not only increase health risks, but which are emotionally and psychologically damaging to participants, as well? I certainly hope not, and I’m sure members of your community and parents of children who watch your network expect more of you.
May I also remind you that it is the affiliate, not the CW network, that will bear the financial burden of an FCC fine should any of the content of the November 9th episode be found to violate broadcast decency laws.
Finally, you must ask yourself, how does airing this program serve your obligation to serve the public interest?
In a declaratory ruling last year, the FCC affirmed affiliates’ ability to pre-empt any network programming that is “unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public interest.” The record on this is clear: contracts between networks and their affiliates may not legally prevent preemption of programming that does not meet LOCAL COMMUNITY standards. As a station manager you not only have a right, but an obligation to preempt programs like Gossip Girl that fail to meet that standard.
Please be advised that the PTC will monitor this episode very closely. Our members will not hesitate to contact local and national advertisers; and if this program violates broadcast decency law, rest assured that our members will contact the Federal Communications Commission.
Sincerely,
Timothy F. Winter,
President
Parents Television Council
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shut up! don’t judge anything before you see it. if you have no control what your kids watch don’t be a parent
The funny thing is, the producers at GG are probably loving this. Can anyone say: Free Publicity?!
Gossip Girl has already use the PTC’s criticism of the show to their advantage. They used the PTC’s description, “Mind Blowingly Inappropriate” in their billboards. As a fan of the show, I say keep the publicity coming!
Seriously… the show regularly shows teenagers drinking in bars, stoned, having sex with prostitutes, being prostitutes, having sex with teachers, and the uncle of your boyfriend… but a threesome makes the PTC clutch their pearls? SUDDENLY the show has crossed a line? I think it’s pretty standard, if not a bit sensational. Let’s wait and see what actually happens.
The letter has a point though. I love titillating Gossip Girl scenes, but this is going to make kids feel like this is expected, normal behavior for cool young people. Most of us here are adults (I think), but I know 12-year-olds who watch Gossip Girl, bc their parents are too dumb to know it can make a difference.
Why must we dictate what is “normal” to our children? Your post assumes that a threesome is an inherently immoral practice. I disagree.
I agree with you ernie! It’s not that threesomes are immoral or not, its the consequence free approach that the GG writers give their story lines. It makes for good tv but its not responsible. Then again its the parents responsibility to filter what their kids see not the GG writers.
Jennifer, whether you think a threesome is immoral or not (personally, I don’t want my kids doing it and I wouldn’t engage in one, but I suppose it works for some people and I don’t think it’s evil), you have to admit that it’s riskier than monogamous sex. More partners always equals more risk, and kids are often thoughtless and reckless enough not to protect themselves. Plus some kids may think it weird, but feel pressured into it because it seems expected of them, same as regular sex. I wish there wasn’t so much teen sex on TV in general. Most teens really aren’t mature enough to handle it well.
Hi Jennifer. So you think threesomes are normal? Can I have your number? Do you have a cute friend?
dear Jennifer, and Stephanie, Assuming you are both not fat, i would love to have a 3way with the two of you. Lets live out our gossip girl fantasies!
Then they’re probably going to think catfights, back-of-a-limo-sex, jetting to Europe alone to party, regular underage drinking, slipping your friends roofies to loosen them up, and watching someone overdose and not calling 911 are expected, normal behavior for cool young people too. But no one’s complaining about that.
Everything on Gossip Girl is inappropriate by conservative right wing standards.
This show is so far fetched! Everything that the characters do on the show is quite unattainable… they fly around the world, party everywhere, are unquestioned when drinking in bars, hookers, $20 000 poker games… a threesome is actually better than any of that! As long as all involved consent, why not?!? Drugs, hookers… etc are far scarier than a threesome. Parents need to watch their children. I am a mother, and my daughter does not watch the show… but I do!! If she was older… she likely would, older teens already know what threesomes are, and they know how far fetched this show is.
Thinking that parents have total control over their teenagers is a moronic idea. likeme, parents do the best they can but how are they possibly going to watch the show and then judge if it is good enough for their kids? Some level of decency on “public” television should be maintained.
I understand the concern of this storyline, then again I hate Gossip Girl so I’m probably biased. That being said I do not think the media is entirely to blame for high sexual activity in teens. Sure the media could stand to stop promoting unhealthy ideas but parents need to talk to their children. I’m a 19 year old college student that is not sexually active and it is because my parents raised me to understand that sex is not something to be taken lightly. I watch tv shows like Smallville and other teen shows that do show a high content of “bad” behavior but I do not find myself influenced by it because I know what is real and what is not. Blaming the media only goes so far, parents need to take responsibility and talk to their kids!
Smallville has bad behavior?? Clark waited like 5 years to have sex with Lana. I think Oliver/Green Arrow is the only one who ever gets laid on that show. Smallville is the Parent’s council’s wet dream.
Correct. Perhaps they should worry about parental influence. Oh wait, why not just blame someone else for their parental failures, that’s so much easier.
Totally agree.Why don’t you try and parent yor kids instead of letting the TV do it for you. Here’s a thought, if you don’t like what is on the TV turn the Channel! lol
You simply cannot blame parents for not filtering programming. People do not appreciate how hard it has become to be strict as a parent. If you ban a child from watching it during original air time, they will watch it on a repeat, online, on youtube etc. It is impossible to monitor everything your child does, and you do hope that the media would have some base values. Threesomes are not necessarily ‘wrong’ for lack of a better word, but they are something you may come to later in life rather than at teenage years, when one is slightly more mature and completely sure of what one is doing. I agree that it is probably wrong to expose teenagers to this in such a blase manner that is usually depicted on gossip girl. I am a huge fan of the show, but I agree that it should accept that some things are definitely inappropriate for younger audiences.
How does Superman have sex. Wouldn’t his semen rip Lois Lane’s vagina apart?
Nerwen, I agree. My parents raised me the same way. I watch Gossip Girl and I have not thought to myself “oh the 16 year old who looks 25 is having crazy sex. I should definitely do it too.” Parents need to take responsiblity for their kids, not blame TV.
I agree with you Kayla, I am a teenager too. And I mean if your parents teach you and talk to you about that stuff, when you see it on TV it’s not going to affect you or think you should definitely do it. I watch the show and I really like it, but i don’t like alcohol AT ALL or smoking.. but that’s me, because of my parents.
And you think your precious little children don’t know what a threesome is! COME ON! THEY KNOW A LOT MORE THAN thaT.
Alvaro Pizarro Carranza – hmmm, is that your real full name? If so, your parents didn’t teach you enough.
Smallville hardly has any sexual content. This past episode was advertised as portraying a “legendary” moment because Lois and Clark kissed. Meanwhile, Gossip Girl is planning a “legendary” threesome.
Lame.
Word.
Since when television is a children’s keeper on the first place? Parents need to get back to the education of their children, no matter what TV shows or internet broadcast. The young fans of GG also know that the main actors and actresses are for most of them involved in serious relationships and living a decent life. Btw, as far as I know GG, those parents are making a fuss out of nothing because nothing will be clearly shown, just like the “gay kiss”: 2 weeks of buzz for 2 seconds of nothing.
Um, have these people ever seen ANOTHER episode of gossip girl? It’s hardly surprising that they are having a threesome. It sounds like they are a little late to this sex-drenched party.
And I would actually be interested in knowing how many teens actually watch this show. Because the only people I know who watch are in their 20s and 30s and wish their teen years had been like that.
I’m a college professor, and we discussed gossip girl in my freshman class a few weeks ago – only two of the students had ever seen it.
It’s not the writers of Gossip Girls responsibility to parent teens. It’s a t.v show, It’s entertainment. If he’s worried about impressionable kids sit down and talk to his kids. People take stuff like this too seriously. And no teen i’ve ever known would think to themselves “i need to participate in a 3-some cuz the kids on Gossip Girl did!”. Teenagers arent as stupid and impressionable as some adults think.
I agree for the most part – and it may be true that most teens woudln’t think that way.. but don’t you think that there’s at least ONE who would? Is it worth airing something like that if there’s a chance that some insecure, impressionable kid will take is seriously? The whole thing is trash, anyway.
Insecure teens will always do stupid things. I was one such teen once, and I did dumb things on occasion. Now I’m a fully functional adult capable of recognizing good and bad decisions from a safer distance. Gossip Girl exists to entertain the masses and as one of CWs most popular shows, I’d say it succeeds where something more family friendly might not.
As much as a parent should have the ability to change the channel, I think this letter rightly points out the influence that a show featuring teenage characters and aimed at a teenage audience can have. If this were a show that was marketed to adults, it would be a different story. It is not; it is marketed directly to youth.
totally agree GFON
No it isn’t. This show is aimed directly at the most coveted age group of viewers, 18-24 year olds. An 18 year old is a teenager yes, but in our country, an 18 year old is also an adult.
My god, concerned parents really just need to turn off the TV, change the channel, or get a friggin’ v-chip and shut the hell up already!
Chances are if teens have parents like these, they’re probably already so oppressed and having multiple orgies anyway.
TV or not, teenagers lead very sexually influenced lives because of their hormones. I mean, I myself am a little surprised that there will be a threesome on a teen-designated show, but really, it’s still an unfair claim to make that this threesome will make kids want to go out and have threesomes.
I’ve never seen Gossip Girl–not interested. But I’ve never gotten the impression that it is intended as an accurate representation of the adolescent experience–quite the opposite. It reminds me of nothing so much as Nip/Tuck, another show dedicated to pushing boundaries, sexual or otherwise. But only idiots accuse Nip/Tuck of glorifying plastic surgery and the narcissists who partake of it on the show. If anything, the show is making fun of all those people–I view Gossip Girl in a similar light.
I also think it’s a good point that this is NOT a show targeted at teens. It’s a show about teens, but its main audience is clearly people in their 20s and 30s.
I am a parent we dont watch gossip girl. But I have taught My oldest what they should watch or not watch and I monitor what they watch. But wife and I have also taught my oldest that he can ask us questions which he has asked and we answered to the best ability we can. I dont need THE PTC telling me how to be a parent. And I wanna know these “studies” I can tell you a study that says the world is flat also that you can see Russia from Alaska
I want a parent like you. Well said!
Amen to what you said about the “studies” they cited. I think the studies are accurate, but as a graduate student in psychology I’m fairly certain that they refer to young children. As in toddlers, maybe young elementary-school students. Very likely NOT teenagers.
BJ, my parents were very much like you, I wish more parents would be like you in cases like these!
Exactly how a parent should be when it comes to their children’s TV viewing. Good job, bj.
If parents don’t want their kids watching this, then it is up to parents to make sure their kids aren’t watching. And if their kids do see it, it is up to parents to talk to their kids about their values and what they think is right. Refusing to air it is censorship.
Another busybody organization with way too much time on their hands. Change the channel and shut up.
LMAO! Word.
Did somebody miss the part where the characters on Gossip Girl are now…. adults?! Meaning 18 or older. Not teenagers. And if teenagers think they should be having sex because of what they see on television, it’s a lack of parenting that’s the problem.
Sorry, this may be irrelevant, but fyi, eighteen is still a teenager. Actually, nineteen is too. Just saying…
18 and 19 are qualified as young adult.
if the word “teen” is in their age, they are considered “teen”agers
12-18 is “teenager”, for research purposes. Not that this niggling differentiation is germane to the debate.
Bottom line: consenting adults.
Legally, they are considered adults. Someone can put a gun in their hands and send them off to another country to kill someone at 18 but they can’t watch a sexually explicit TV show? Get real.
You are wrong. For all purposes an 18 yr old is considered a young adult. They are leagally able to vote, they are legally able to drive a car and serve in the military. They can hold full time postions in the workforce. That is a young adult. Not a teenager.
The word “teen” being in their name is just that, a word. It has more to do with the numerical order then being a child. After all the “teenager” part came years after the number itself was brought into existence. Try intelligence for a change instead if idiocy.
In regard to the topic, GG is not one to aim to teach what is good and what is bad, though this season I’ve seen more moral lessons and consequences then usual(they’re subtle but they’re there). As for the sex itself, the show hasn’t been overly sex drenched in a year. This season has been incredibly tame to the point of annoyance. I do have a feeling that what is going to happen will not be seen fully onscreen and will actually have consequences of regret and shame. This is not going to go down as a happy sex fest. IMO.
People honestly need to lighten up a bit and turn the channel if you’re turned off. I mean hey, I don’t like all the CSI and Law & Order shows because of the content/violence so guess what?? I don’t watch them!! And I’ll take sex over violence on tv ANY DAY, at least it’s more fun.
I understand the concern, but I don’t agree with it. If you don’t agree with what is shown on the television, DON’T WATCH IT. Television shows don’t parent children, PARENTS do. If they allow their teen to watch the show, they should be ready to defend their moral standards if they don’t match up to the show. To delete the show would be fruitless and a waste of money seeing as writers and actors would have to film another. Bottom line? TV is ENTERTAINMENT. If you don’t want to watch what is on it, turn the channel. Teenagers aren’t stupid. They know what’s right and wrong.
I don’t think you have kids. You really can’t tell a 16 or 17 year old what to watch or prohibit certain shows! I am not a prude and consider myself a very liberal and open person but I agree with the parent council on this!
A 16 or 17 year old should be able to handle this content. Many many many kids/teens this age have had sex, and all of them usually know about the basics, and a good deal more than that. I think you are just trying to keep your kids sheltered. Good luck when they get to college!
Folks with way too much tme on their hands….Bet they have no clue what their own children are doing….
I understand their concern but I think that young children should not watch the show. I don’t think they should decide on the content
You don’t get the point! It is not “Young Children” watching the show. You can control what a “young child” watches. You can’t and shouldn’t control what a 16 year old watches. WB should be a bit more responsible!
Why is everyone so damn concerned with parenting other people’s children?
I’m certainly not going to teach my kids that threesome’s or consensual sex between adults (which is exactly what Gossip Girl is going to depict) is “bad behavior” and I’m really not interested in the opinions of people who disagree.
Those people have the ability to turn off the television or block the channel or teach their (unfortunate) kids whatever they consider to be proper morality. And the idiots who wrote this letter to the CW will do just that, they’re pitching a fit because they think their idea of morality should be pushed onto everyone else.
And really, nobody cares what the PTC thinks. The last time they pitched a fit at Gossip Girl, the CW actually featured their complaints in an ad campaign. They’ll depict the sex and it’ll score similar ratings to the rest of the episodes this season and the advertisers will not-so-secretly not give a damn.
Life continues, only thing that changes is some of us get worked up over issues that are individually weighted and will have no bearing on the creative process or existence of this material.
Kids who get taught morality are “unfortunate”? I beg to differ! The tired, repetitive argument “let parents decide what their teens should watch” is bad enough. Now you’re saying the parents shouldn’t even decide? There are far too many children/teens parenting themselves these days, and those are the “unfortunate” ones.
What are you talking about? First, Mark was saying that parents who teach their kids that sex between consenting adults is somehow morally wrong is unfortunate. Not morality in general. Second, how is letting parents decide what THEIR teens/children should watch a “tired argument”? You don’t believe that parents should take responsibility over their own children? In other words, you would rather let some random “council” with vaguely quoted studies like the PTC and the FCC do it. Yeah! Let’s let other people decide what is best for our kids to watch so we don’t have to really be parents. It should be up to the parent to create a resilient and intelligent child/teen who can watch a TV show and not feel peer pressured and not interpret it as reality. If you aren’t willing to take the time to talk to your kids, educate them, and monitor the information they take in but would rather let some “council” do it, you shouldn’t have children. Period.
Morality is subjective, and where sex is concerned, it’s an absolute grey zone.
The older teenagers who are being taught that sex is bad behavior are unfortunate in my view. The ones who are taught that it is wrong or bad instead of being taught judgment are the reason we’re still far more comfortable with storylines about murder (like Lex Luthor throwing his father off the top-floor of a skyscraper, which the PTC didn’t comment on at all) than story lines about adults having sex.
The idea that you or the PTC should have any control over what I let MY older teenaged children watch is a joke. Keep your own kids from watching it (which is your responsibility, not Josh Shwartz’s or The CW’s) and leave mine alone.
The whole thing is just disgusting. Save it for cable and get it off of my tv!
Your TV has other channels, just change the station
I totally agree that this crosses line I really, really don’t think should be crossed. This should not be on network television, and I hope the FCC will intervene.
Parents should not be wasting time trying to bring down shows that people enjoy, they should devote their time instead to raising their kids with good values. That way, a silly, fun show like Gossip Girl is not going to make you want to have a threesome just becauase the characters are doing so. I, for example, am the most conservative person but I still enjoy Gossip Girl for entertainment.
This group makes me so angry. A television is not a parent, and channels change very easily.
Perhaps those parents should be spending time teaching their kids how to end poverty or save the planet or something. But, hah, homolicious threesomes are the biggest problems facing the world…good call.
Ok can one of you please tell me what teenager does this. None it only happens in their heads. It’s also mainly young boys who they see the media thinking it’s cool. So again blame it on the media!
What 19 year old college students experiment sexually?
You’ve got to be joking.
Gossip Girl IS a show aimed at teenagers on a broadcast network before 10pm. Just sayin’…
Anything that encourages chicks to get down with threesomes, I’m all for it. Between this and the Britney “3″ song, we have made huge progress on this front. Keep up the good work, America, and we will all be living like pron stars in no time!!
“The record on this is clear: contracts between networks and their affiliates may not legally prevent preemption of programming that does not meet LOCAL COMMUNITY standards.”
And this is why I thank God I live in New York City.
Isn’t it that there’s always a parental guidance warning logo appearing before a show starts. Maybe parents should watch Gossip Girl with their kids so at least they could monitor GG’s Nov. 9 ep.
Or why not a network warning before the airing of a very sensitive episode stating: “The following program contains scenes not suitable for very young children/contains sensitive and explicite scenes. Parental Guidance/Viewer discretion is advised”
you know you don’t have to watch it, right? Just like I don’t have to watch Yo Gabba Gabba
I know right? No ones forcing people to watch. It’s the discretion of the viewer whether or not he wants to watch a show. There are a lot of bad shows on TV, much worse than GG (GG is still awesomeness), and they’re not even scripted!
Just to avoid a misunderstanding: “There are a lot of bad shows on TV, much worse than GG (GG is still awesomeness)…”.
I meant to say that there are other shows that contain much more than what GG is airing for the PTC to file a lawsuit before the FCC.
And that’s why I’m thankful for the invention of remote. So people can just switch channels if the TV’s airing something they don’t like.
Are threesomes really THAT big of a deal?
This just shows how puritanical these Christian groups are. The characters on Gossip Girl regularly drink alcohol and do illegal drugs but the Parents Television Council completely ignores that. It takes a storyline about a non-traditional sexual encounter to set them off. The only reason they care about this is because a threesome means at least two of the participants will be of the same sex and the PTC is run by homophobic Republicans.
Its kinda considered a taboo.
No it isn’t. Sex with animals is taboo. Sex with relatives is taboo. Threesomes? That’s just kinky.
I think this letter was well-reasoned and well-intentioned. As a teacher of teenagers, I can tell you that they receive a deeper education on matters of sexuality from the media than they do from their parents — so the cultural norms that popular teen-oriented TV shows espouse are truly influential. This threesome storyline is just a sad attempt at ratings, but more troubling are, as the letter mentions, the casual sexual relationships that the show paints as normal and consequence-free, in addition to the selfishness, back-biting and materialism that it also depicts as admirable and entertaining. I may not agree with pulling it from the waves, but I do agree that the show is distasteful and promulgates values that I hope are beneath us all.
If the storyline itself is a one-off thing to raise ratings (one episode), then the show fails to live up to whatever they’re hyping about for the next episode.
But because this is what I assume Gossip Girl was intended to be, being a soapy show showing rich kids getting away with everything. You know that eventually, they will learn life lessons the hard-way. Values that may not show up on every last scene of an episode (“I learned never to…”) but eventually reach into the character’s consciousness as they develop and mature of the course of the series.
People will be curious how the storyline plays out, is it because the characters thought it was the “in thing to do”, lust maybe, or something more deeper, more intimate.
PTC’s action has the noblest of intention but IMO, it’s the parents of these kids which needs to control what they’re watching. If GG is rated PG, then teens should watch this show accompanied by parents. So at least the influence of television can be minimized that way.
I understand what they’re saying – and every so often it needs to be said. I did think the episode preview after last night’s episode was a little much – because they’re hyping it up (when I’m not even sure it fits the storyline at ALL) – doesn’t make sense to me.
I wonder if part of the motivation behind this posting has to do w/ the homecoming gang rape… I know this is a few steps before that – but you never know where ideas can lead.