by PH1966

Created on: August 23, 2008

There is no question that sex on television has exceeded what is appropriate. It is one thing to show a scene that implies that a couple have slept together - we can use our imagination to work out that there was a fire burning the couple without showing the mechanics of their copulation.

The actions played out on screen are downright uncomfortable to watch. The characters take their clothes off, they have a good romp in front of us and one can't help but wonder from the way the scene is playing out if there is anything they weren't too embarrassed to do. It seems nothing is off limits, and young actors especially don't seem to have any issue with playing out gratuitous sex scenes.

In Hollywood movies and shows from previous eras, we didn't see the scene of the couple making love. There was enough indication that they had been intimate, without seeing the naked skin and the clothes scattered all over the bedroom. The hint was there that something happened, but there was a sense of respectability, a respect for the viewer's intelligence and integrity - they would have figured out what the scene meant even from seeing the couple lying dressed in bed the next morning. There would be enough body language to suggest there was something more - and we didn't need to see them going for it to realise what they did.

Advertisers and psychologists tell us that sex sells, but the line must be drawn somewhere about how children perceive these scenes, and if there is any actual point in the scenes being shown. Do they help the script in any way? I don't think they do in most cases. There can't be any question that children become desensitised to the effect of these scenes, or that they emulate the actions they see on television at a much faster rate than they would have if it wasn't considered common.

Today, complaining about the sex on television makes people get labelled as a prude. What is prudish about wanting some decency on television. I want a good love story as much as the next person. But I don't feel the need to see hips grinding and the man and woman moving about in lustful abandon on the screen. There is no need for it - if anything, it makes me turn to another channel. Especially if my children are watching, then it gets turned off completely. My kids know how babies are born, from a scientific point of view. I'd be sad if they lost their innocence completely by watching some of these porno scenes which have crept into many average television shows.

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