Sex on TV - Trends or Losing Values?

[Jason_Henge]

I watch the TV Guide Channel more than I need to and recently they've aired this new special called Sex on TV. It's all about the history of TV, censorship, rules/regulations, and the breaking of those rules/regulations. All this made me step back and think: Have we lost values to become trendy? It wasn't just this special that made me realize this; I've notice little changes over the years to push the boundaries. In the 90s, I clearly remember certain words being censored, but now, they're perfectly fine to say. Is this just a trend to stay modern? If so... have we lost our values?

What does everyone else think?

[Jaredvcxz]

I'd say that people are simply wising up. There is no way to stop these things from penetrating society, and the government knows it.

If a kid hears a bad word that is censored on TV, they'll ask everyone what it was until they get an answer. That's how kids are. It's the same thing with sex. If we censor out breasts or whatever, the kids will only be more curious about it.

Now, I'm not saying I support this action. It's just that there aren't really many other options available.

[Ditto616]

Well, being of a Christian bias, I support more of a tight-lipped kind of thing. Sure, they're gonna learn about it eventually, but you really don't want them to learn about some things too early. It desensitizes them. I mean, if you've got kids watching sex scenes in PG-13 movies, then they won't think as much of it as they probably should as they see more and more of it.

[FreezeWarp]

Well, here's my take:

• Language is language. Its a word that people who speak the same language you do will find offensive. They may not even know what it means. Simply put, you are free to say whatever you want as long as it doesn't directly hurt someone's credibility - that much is a god-given human right.
• Sex is a part of nature. Its the #1 most ingrained thing in every single mammal and several non-mammals as well. If people don't have sex, they cease to exist as a species. And moreover, sex is the physical act of love: if you're going to censor sex, you should also censor "I love you" form TV. Moreover, in the case of straight-up pornography, you're just dealing with something that people find pleasurable; its not exactly hurting anybody - quite the opposite.
• Violence is a part of nature, but unlike sex which results in the creation of nature, violence results in its death. Because of violence life ceases to exist, and violence only causes harm. Though Hollywood violence isn't real, it still propagates the idea of the destruction of life. Really, violence should not be shown on TV, nor should it be enjoyed by the people who watch it, nor should it generally be admired.

So, TL;DR: Language is fine because its all subjective, sex is fine because guess what?: you exist because of sex, and violence is not because, guess what?: you could die tomorrow because of it.

[Jason_Henge]

It's not the sex that's offensive. It's how they glamourize sex to make stupid teens want to do it to appear cool. I can see I failed with this topic. Instead of an actual discussion, everyone doesn't seem to care. You have all lost your values. If you had a little 3 or 4-year-old, would you let them watch hard core porn? Because that's the sense I'm getting.

I'm not bound my religious beliefs, but allowed young generations to be exposed to this is just wrong, regardless of if it happens or if it's trendy to show it. There is a reason we have ratings for movies and a rating system for TV.

[FreezeWarp]

Originally Posted by Jason_Henge

It's not the sex that's offensive. It's how they glamourize sex to make stupid teens want to do it to appear cool. I can see I failed with this topic. Instead of an actual discussion, everyone doesn't seem to care. You have all lost your values. If you had a little 3 or 4-year-old, would you let them watch hard core porn? Because that's the sense I'm getting.

I'm not bound my religious beliefs, but allowed young generations to be exposed to this is just wrong, regardless of if it happens or if it's trendy to show it. There is a reason we have ratings for movies and a rating system for TV.

Actually, in complete honesty I would not be slow to show my 3 or 4-year old hardcore porn as long its not like rape or anything (my definition would probably be about how they were conceived more or less). Ya know, its where they came from, and sex truly is a beautiful thing: why should they be scared of it or think bad of it? They should just know the risks and the importance of making good decisions - in other words, don't just have sex to have sex, know when the time is ready, and know that your partner is planning to stick by you through the end.

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by Jason_Henge

It's not the sex that's offensive. It's how they glamourize sex to make stupid teens want to do it to appear cool. I can see I failed with this topic. Instead of an actual discussion, everyone doesn't seem to care. You have all lost your values. If you had a little 3 or 4-year-old, would you let them watch hard core porn? Because that's the sense I'm getting.

I'm not bound my religious beliefs, but allowed young generations to be exposed to this is just wrong, regardless of if it happens or if it's trendy to show it. There is a reason we have ratings for movies and a rating system for TV.

I kinda agree with you (and Ditto, for that matter). I'm starting to hate how much sex is incorporated into TV shows and other media to appeal to teens and other age groups in a wrong way. As you've said, there's a rating system for a reason, and such programs shouldn't be shown to little kids, as they are inappropriate.

Originally Posted by FreezeWarp

Actually, in complete honesty I would not be slow to show my 3 or 4-year old hardcore porn as long its not like rape or anything (my definition would probably be about how they were conceived more or less). Ya know, its where they came from, and sex truly is a beautiful thing: why should they be scared of it or think bad of it? They should just know the risks and the importance of making good decisions - in other words, don't just have sex to have sex, know when the time is ready, and know that your partner is planning to stick by you through the end.

So, you'll basically be teaching a kid of 3 or 4 years when to have sex, how to judge it and how to live with a spouse for a long time? Don't you think all those stuff are WAY too early to be taught for a little kid? Sure, it's your opinion and I totally respect it, as you are free to do whatever you want. However, teaching a kid about sex at such a young age is really out of place - actually a bit disturbing, too. In my opinion, an appropriate age to start the 'sex talk' with a kid is probably around 12 or something. Call me 'bound by religion' or whatever you want, but that doesn't entitle him/her to watch hard core porn or actually do sex until they become 18, i.e, when they're free to do whatever they want. Of course, over here, that mostly doesn't happen anytime before the age of 20-22 (at least), but I'm still talking in the general sense. Sex itself is not an offense; everyone in this world should learn about it, as it is the way the human race survives, but that has the right age and time for it. Lastly, like Jason said, glamourizing it and spreading it all over the media is considered immoral in my view.

[Jaredvcxz]

I think this is up to the parents. If the parents let their kids watch Spike TV, where everyone knows of its strong sexual and violent content which is obviously directed at adults, then it's not the fault of society, the network, or the government. Only the parent.

Also, this has nothing to do with hardcore porn. You're over exagerrating. The only station that I've ever seen show hardcore porn is HBO near midnight once in a while. Every other station still has enough morals to know not to show that stuff. There is a big difference between explicit sex and a bare nipple.

[FreezeWarp]

Originally Posted by Shadow

So, you'll basically be teaching a kid of 3 or 4 years when to have sex, how to judge it and how to live with a spouse for a long time? Don't you think all those stuff are WAY too early to be taught for a little kid? Sure, it's your opinion and I totally respect it, as you are free to do whatever you want. However, teaching a kid about sex at such a young age is really out of place - actually a bit disturbing, too. In my opinion, an appropriate age to start the 'sex talk' with a kid is probably around 12 or something. Call me 'bound by religion' or whatever you want, but that doesn't entitle him/her to watch hard core porn or actually do sex until they become 18, i.e, when they're free to do whatever they want. Of course, over here, that mostly doesn't happen anytime before the age of 20-22 (at least), but I'm still talking in the general sense. Sex itself is not an offense; everyone in this world should learn about it, as it is the way the human race survives, but that has the right age and time for it. Lastly, like Jason said, glamourizing it and spreading it all over the media is considered immoral in my view.

...I do need to ask: what is "sex" to you? I don't think it should be "glamourized" but I certainly don't think it should be hidden to the extent that it is either - I see movies all the time that try to hide the physical act of sex to be "moral" or whatever. A perfect example of a film that did it exactly right: Pink Floyd's The Wall (and that was the 1980s mind you).

To actually respond directly, I honestly don't see the harm in a 3 or 4 year old see how they were made. After all, sex in-and-of itself is really not a bad thing because it truly creates natures. Let me use the U.S. as an example: we are currently sending troops to Afghanistan who are both killing and being killed. We are destroying life. We also unfortunately seem to share a view with most the rest of the world (the exceptions are certain parts of Europe, such as Germany and the U.K., and westernized Asia, most notably Japan): sex is bad, and almost by default life is bad.

Originally Posted by Jaredvcxz

I think this is up to the parents. If the parents let their kids watch Spike TV, where everyone knows of its strong sexual and violent content which is obviously directed at adults, then it's not the fault of society, the network, or the government. Only the parent.

Also, this has nothing to do with hardcore porn. You're over exagerrating. The only station that I've ever seen show hardcore porn is HBO near midnight once in a while. Every other station still has enough morals to know not to show that stuff. There is a big difference between explicit sex and a bare nipple.

And you are right - its the parents, not the governments, decision.

And yeah, its pretty hard to find outside the movie channels.

[Alakazamaster]

I don't think the issue is just showing sex in the first place, as showing a married couple doing that and raising a family or a devoted loving couple is perfectly acceptable. However, what many shows do is show promiscuous behavior among adults or young people, or teenagers making very poor life decisions at a younger age which can negatively effect their whole lives, and the shows often don't show just how bad it can be.

For example, out of a very poor decision-making process I decided to watch an episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In this particular episode, it centered around a high school girl who got pregnant after she and her boyfriend had sex together, and she decided to keep it and is now raising it. Now, the boyfriend and some other guy who likes her are competing in a way to take care of the baby to win the heart of the girl. Also, the girl is completely able to keep going to school while remaining in the "popular" group and her biggest problem is having to take care of the baby while the other kids go to a party.

I mean come ON. More often than not, the guy will just disappear upon hearing that a child is involved, parents won't be happy, the new mother will have troubles in school and very likely ostracized from the other students, or even have medical problems from the birth. Meanwhile, TV shows like this make having a baby seem like hardly a problem or issue since everyone involved supports and loves you no matter what.

Thankfully there are programs that show the darker side of a teenage pregnancy, but the fact is that these shows don't get nearly enough attention as TV trash like what I mentioned above.

[FreezeWarp]

Originally Posted by Alakazamaster

For example, out of a very poor decision-making process I decided to watch an episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In this particular episode, it centered around a high school girl who got pregnant after she and her boyfriend had sex together, and she decided to keep it and is now raising it. Now, the boyfriend and some other guy who likes her are competing in a way to take care of the baby to win the heart of the girl. Also, the girl is completely able to keep going to school while remaining in the "popular" group and her biggest problem is having to take care of the baby while the other kids go to a party.

I stopped watching the show after the second season (at which point it just seemed stupid), so I can't speak for either the episode you specifically are referring to or later seasons, but the show certainly doesn't glamourize (at least in the first two seasons) teenage pregnancy. The first season did show all the troubles she went through; she originally planned to move to another school for other girls like her, the guy wanted nothing to do with it (she started dating a nerdy guy who wanted to take the blame or whatever - can't imagine why), and so-on. And at the end of every show for the first season (with some exceptions to an arc of the season where as different one was played) a message is shown about how bad it is or whatever.