Abstract
Scholars have long emphasized the harmful effects of overtly sexist and oppressive media images on young people’s understandings of sex and relationships. Yet, this emphasis on explicit harm leaves a gap in understanding how college students interpret subtle, hidden, and ambiguous media messages. To address this gap, we asked 196 California college students at a large public university to critique a range of mainstream media content— from overtly oppressive, to affirming of nondominant gender identities, to containing mixed messages about empowerment and oppression. Responses were coded using our media literacy scoring guide for assessing students’ ability to critically analyze media messages about sex and relationships. Results showed that students were most familiar with and adept at evaluating sexualized celebrity media content. They struggled when images featured unknown models conveying mixed or ambiguous messages, such as a scene that could be read as a mutual kiss while also reinforcing dominant beauty and attractiveness ideals. These findings, alongside the proposed scoring guide, offer a framework for strengthening critical media literacy education and research that addresses how meaning is constructed through ambiguity, contradiction, and subtle cues in everyday media texts.