Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Tony Matterhorn thrilling the crowd at Passa Passa on Spanish Town Road in February 2004. A study found that reggae music is one of the influencing factors of early sexual behaviour in teens. - File

Teenagers are identifying music, mainly of the dancehall genre, as a trigger for early sexual intercourse, according to a scientific study conducted by public policy analyst and doctoral candidate, Tazhmoye Crawford, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, last year.

The study, which centred on contraceptive use among adolescents, revealed that a number of children aged nine to 17, identified popular music as the main influence for experimenting with sex.

Music was identified as the fifth leading reason for having intercourse, with 10 per cent of boys indicating that it was the main reason, compared to three per cent of girls.

But, the study's findings is generating a mix of arguments among artistes as well as academics.

Behavioural scientist and music educator, Dr Marilyn Anderson says despite the fact that the music is being laid out as part of the culture, there is no doubt that hard-core dancehall lyrics and content has an impact on the brain.

"Some rhythms, timbres and amplitudes of the music can affect emotional behaviour in humans, particularly the young," she says.

Sexual activity on buses

She surmises there is a direct correlation, for example, between the loud, hard-core music played on some public transportation and the proliferation of sexual display and activity on these same buses.

Lecturer and author, Dr Donna Hope says while there are legitimate linkage between the two, the influence of the music is not great when compared to other influences like peer pressure and early exposure to pornography.

"The role of the music is quite negligible," she explains, "except that it takes so much from what is around us in the society then it would speak about these scenes in ways that would suggest - along with all the things that are happening on the ground - that, yes, a man should have sex because the heterosexual practice is very important in defining who is a man".

Her thoughts are shared by Dylan Pow, organiser of the famed 'Passa Passa' street dance that takes place on the west Kingston end of Spanish Town Road. He argues that dancehall music is merely a speck in the array of sexual messages promoted by the mass media and is, therefore, no more influential than Hip Hop or Soca.

Pow adds that sexuality is only one component of the music which reflects a wide cross-section of the inner-city experience.

"Sometimes is a slack man on top [of the music charts]; sometime is a bad man on top; sometimes is a comedic artiste on top," he says.

He reasons that while events like his does not shun children, despite the graphic overture of sexuality, it does not influence them any more than other aspects of global popular culture.

"The kids are not patrons, they are not buying liquor, they not doing anything and if you go to any open event in Jamaica for the most part, you going to find children who should be in their bed sleeping," he adds.

Big impact on teenagers

Popular cultural artiste Tony Rebel is not buying the argument that dancehall merely mirrors the experiences of inner-city folk. He says it equally impacts on those receiving the message, especially teenagers. He says while it is not the only medium of exposure and influence, it plays an important part in early sexualisation.

"The music is the one that is teaching a lot of the youths how to have sex, the name of certain types of sex acts, how to do it. It is all descriptive and even prescriptive," he argues.

He adds that the music has reduced sex to a casual activity and fails to promote and educate youngsters about protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases during intercourse. Rebel notes too that more males are impacted by the sexual messages coming out of the dancehall because it is delivered from a masculine perspective.