by Jonathan Arnold

Created on: March 18, 2010

Is there too much sex on TV?

No. A thousand times. No.

One admits there is a lot of exploitation of the female form, both with television programmes and with advertising; and the entire process is absolutely plastered in the 'necessary', accompanying portions of gloss, suggestion and innuendo to go with it.

But is this actually sex?

Sexy? Well, it depends on personal preference, but you have to suppose that that is the intention, so a hesitant and disapproving 'Yes'.

But Sexy and Sex are two utterly different kettles of fish.

Sexy, as the advertisers sell it to us, is no different to pornography: Air-brushed, graceless wish-fulfilment of the highest order, designed by committee, without doubt one comprised of  men, all of whom seem to have far too much time and money on their hands. Not a hint of anything resembling realism and, unlike the adverts for a certain brand of popular mobile telephones which also function as the multimedia equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife, don't have the nerve to include small print which informs you that some processes may have been quickened or removed completely.

Sex is the reality. The need to undergo a decent hygiene regiment before and after, the expectation from both partners to pull their weight, the off-chance that a bad day will mean he's not on top form and so many other issues that are rarely addressed in TV land.

And why don't we see more of this?

Because it is lumped together with the sexy as being depraved and unnecessary and then resoundingly shunned, creating the taboo which advertisers then take advantage of, and in the process make the only really visible and accessible idea of sex a deeply unrealistic one. This vicious circle surely being a key reason in a number of problems our societies face.

And what do we do?

We demonize Sex further. Creating more of a rebellious allure about it. And then realism gets misconstrued with the Crude, Gross-Out, Shock Tactic Televisual replacement for the long lost art of the Circus Side-Show and becomes, once again, the chance to catch a glimpse at a bit of breast or a cheeky testicle, 'Guilt Free' under some sort of Medical or Self-Improvement pretense...

Shouldn't we all have a problem with that? That nudity and things that we all have and do should be shut away like some dirty little secret, only to be taken advantage of by grubby little men who consider their wallets and themselves as the first, joint and only priorities.

This is not some rallying cry to have nudists fronting children's television, or  in any way, shape or form, by all means. But what it is, is asking this:

Are we really making the right choices for ourselves, our children and future generations? Or are we just acting without fully understanding the nature of the problem?

And saying that there is not too much Sex on television. But of what there is, is it the right kind?

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