I like sex.
I like sex.
No, that wasn't just a trick title to catch your attention. That's really what this post is about.
I like sex, but I don't like what people have done to it.
Sex is one of the most pleasant things you can do with another person. I'm not talking about just if you love them - it feels nice and (generally) makes people happier. The problem is that we as a culture have decided sex is something dirty and wrong. We don't want to talk about it.
It starts fairly young, really. Sure we get sex education and that is, for the most part pretty objective. The problem is that it's very clinical and doesn't address intimacy. Human beings have instincts and feelings and I don't feed sex education properly teachers people how to cope with their sexual emotions.
Outside of school and sexual education, we hide sex from children. Cartoons shy away from any mention of it. Even parents make a big deal about discussing it with their children. By the time they're old enough to start feeling confused about sex, we let them see television shows that turn sex into little more than toilet humour. If a show contains sex, it's almost always ugly and/or a joke. Few shows targeted at teenagers show sex in a positive light and fewer still show how to develop or maintain a healthy sexual relationship. Love is not sex and sex is not love so let's look at sexual dynamics in television. We see male characters more interested in the act than the partner and females more interested in using sex as a weapon or a tool to manipulate. If the characters are in love then it's usually shown as some 'pure' or 'virtuous' thing that doesn't need sex. Another way to step around the issue.
I'm not saying we should have televised, "how to have sex" television programs, but why not even consider it an option as part of a story? Sure the pursuit of temporary gratification is not terribly noble but we've made shows about worse things. And you don't have to show the sex-act to have a healthy sexual relationship on-screen. You don't always show the best-bud characters playing basketball but having them mention they do can help build their characters and flesh out their relationship. So... why not with sex?
What is so wrong with sex, really? It's two (or more) people making each other feel good.
No, that wasn't just a trick title to catch your attention. That's really what this post is about.
I like sex, but I don't like what people have done to it.
Sex is one of the most pleasant things you can do with another person. I'm not talking about just if you love them - it feels nice and (generally) makes people happier. The problem is that we as a culture have decided sex is something dirty and wrong. We don't want to talk about it.
It starts fairly young, really. Sure we get sex education and that is, for the most part pretty objective. The problem is that it's very clinical and doesn't address intimacy. Human beings have instincts and feelings and I don't feed sex education properly teachers people how to cope with their sexual emotions.
Outside of school and sexual education, we hide sex from children. Cartoons shy away from any mention of it. Even parents make a big deal about discussing it with their children. By the time they're old enough to start feeling confused about sex, we let them see television shows that turn sex into little more than toilet humour. If a show contains sex, it's almost always ugly and/or a joke. Few shows targeted at teenagers show sex in a positive light and fewer still show how to develop or maintain a healthy sexual relationship. Love is not sex and sex is not love so let's look at sexual dynamics in television. We see male characters more interested in the act than the partner and females more interested in using sex as a weapon or a tool to manipulate. If the characters are in love then it's usually shown as some 'pure' or 'virtuous' thing that doesn't need sex. Another way to step around the issue.
I'm not saying we should have televised, "how to have sex" television programs, but why not even consider it an option as part of a story? Sure the pursuit of temporary gratification is not terribly noble but we've made shows about worse things. And you don't have to show the sex-act to have a healthy sexual relationship on-screen. You don't always show the best-bud characters playing basketball but having them mention they do can help build their characters and flesh out their relationship. So... why not with sex?
What is so wrong with sex, really? It's two (or more) people making each other feel good.