Sexuality Sex sells. That's one of the most basic concepts behind marketing something today. Sexuality catches the attention of the audience. Because most people want to be viewed sexually by other people, insinuating that whatever product is inherently sexual gives the idea that you will become more sexual if you have it. Similarly, seeing sexuality in a story makes people think that they could do that, too. They could have that same kind of sexuality or romance in their real lives. And it's fun to fantasize about, anyway. Sexuality is one of the most gripping parts of a story. It is what connects an audience to the relationships between the characters. Seemingly overlooked sexual tension between characters pulls people back to the story time and time again. The audience wants to know if and when the characters will finally acknowledge and deal with that sexual tension. In the meantime, the tension between the characters keeps building stronger and stronger, making it more intriguing. Audiences' connection to these characters and their sexuality can be explained by Elke Van Damme when she says that "media do not reflect or present reality; they interpret and provide a possible presentation of reality" (Damme 80). The sexuality from and between the characters in these shows is something that normal people fantasize about. We want to have these kinds of relationships and behave in these kinds of ways but do not because we realize that it would not be socially acceptable or because we chicken out. These kinds of actions may not come naturally to us, so we dream about the ability to act the way these characters do but do not act on our desires in real life. Instead, we live out these desires through the characters. Home Male Sexuality Female Sexuality Conclusion Works Cited on this page Damme, Elke Van. "Gender and sexual scripts in popular US teen series: A study on the gendered discourses in One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl." Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies (2010): 77-92.