There are various connections between music and sexuality. Music is often used to create a romantic and/or erotic atmosphere. Moreover, sex and love are frequent themes in music – from opera to chart hits. A recent media content analysis conducted by the Media Psychology and Media Design Group at TU Ilmenau examined how often sex and love appear in chart hits from the 1970s compared to those from the 2010s. In light of the media sexualization thesis, the question arises whether modern songs might be focusing less on love and more on sex. Detailed information on the current state of research, quantitative results of a content analysis of N = 620 song lyrics, and qualitative interpretations of selected songs lyrics can be found in a recent publication in the Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung.
Döring, N. & Mohseni, M. R. (2025). Sex und Liebe in der Musik. Eine Inhaltsanalyse von Songtexten aus den US-Charts der 1970er- versus 2010er-Jahre [Sex and Love in Music. A Content Analysis of Song Lyrics from the US Charts of the 1970s versus 2010s]. Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung 38(1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2531-9472