Sexuality in the United States

The nation's Protestant roots led to a heteronormative culture, reinforced through sodomy laws, often falsely attributed to Puritans.

This process continued until 2003, when Lawrence v. Texas ruled the 14 remaining anti-sodomy statutes unconstitutional.

[11] According to this view, the sexual messages contained in film, television, and music are becoming more explicit in dialog, lyrics, and behavior.

[12] A 2001 report found that teens rank the media second only to school sex education programs as a leading source of information about sex,[13] but a 2004 report found that "the media far outranked parents or schools as the source of information about birth control.

"[11] Media often portray emotional side-effects of sexuality such as guilt, and disappointment, but less often physical risks such as pregnancy or STDs.

[14] One media analysis found that sex was usually between unmarried couples and examples of using condoms or other contraception were "extremely rare.

[24] There are however exceptions, with for instance adult incestual relations being legal in states such as New Jersey and Rhode Island as of 2017.

[30] This has led to some analysts ruminating on a moral panic wherein young adults of the 2010s decade are uninterested in sex.