Americans stared at their televisions in jaw-dropping awe when Janet Jackson's right breast made an appearance during the Super Bowl halftime show after Justin Timberlake tore off its covering in what is being called an "accident."
The Federal Communications Commission's crackdown on televised indecency has been swift in the aftermath of the Jackson fiasco, but sex on TV is not a recent issue.
Dom Caristi, associate professor of telecommunications, said the Jackson/Timberlake incident was "to be trite, the straw that broke the camel's back."
In recent years sexual content has been on the rise as more TV shows attempt to push the envelope. Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera kissed Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, Jennifer Lopez went to the 2000 Grammy awards wearing a dress the scooped well below her naval and the recently ended "Sex and the City" was an HBO production focused on sex.
"It's gotten out of hand," said Trina Moser, sophomore. "If I want to watch TV I don't want to have to go through the trash that comes with it."
A 2003 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 64 percent of all television shows contain sexual content, including both sexual behavior and speech. Sexual intercourse is depicted or implied in 14 percent, one in seven, of TV shows. Caristi said sex is a popular television component that people respond to and watch.
"Sex has always sold," Caristi said. "It's been the way we've sold toothpaste, shoes, clothes and laundry detergent. Shows with sex appeal have inherent appeal already."
The FCC received complaints from parents across the country after Jackson's breast was displayed. Michael Powell, FCC chairman, launched an intense investigation into the mishap to find who was responsible.
The complaints aren't relevant because the breast was bared, but rather because the event occurred on broadcast television.
Broadcast television makes use of a limited public resource, airspace, and thus is a public medium. The FCC gives broadcast networks a license to use the limited airspace, and is given the power to regulate the networks without infringing on the freedom of speech.
Cable networks are outside FCC control because they broadcast via an unlimited medium. Shows like "The Sopranos" can show indecent behavior any time they like. Powell is attempting to change that.
He is asking Congress to pass a law that would grant the FCC the authority to regulate cable and satellite television in addition to the broadcast networks, according to the Associated Press.
"Congress seems to be upset, and it is an election year so it's very possible (such a bill could pass)," said Ralph Baker, political science professor. "This could be an issue in presidential campaigns."
Junior Kevin Bezy doesn't believe allowing the FCC to regulate cable will be beneficial.
"It's a big overkill. I understand the FCC has to draw lines somewhere, but it can't be constructed to regulate thoughts and opinions," he said. "It's not an elected committee in the first place. How much power do you want to give the government over what you view?"
If such a law is passed, Caristi said he is certain the law will be taken to court and overturned, if the telecommunications industry even lets it get that far.
Baker agrees that it could be overturned, but only if the cable companies can keep people interested in the issue long enough to create a time distance from the Jackson breast situation.
Increased sexual content on TV can't be fixed through a series of laws and additional regulations, said Caristi. He said the whole system needs to be revamped.
"We're working under a system that worked when there were three (TV) stations in the known universe," he said. The advent of cable and satellite TV has made the current laws unworkable, "just like piracy has made the copyright act outdated," he added.
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