(Digital Journal) — Put 10 adults in a room, turn on an educational TV show about explicit sex and watch what happens. For every person who stares and slobbers, another will close his or her eyes and complain. But why? The reason is the same today as it was 50 years ago: Sex is taboo. Well, sometimes.
Despite all the provocative winking and nudging in our magazines, commercials and films, many believe an open discussion of sex should remain behind closed doors. It’s a tug-of-war that pits individual rights and sexual freedom against conservative values that scream, “Think of the children!” Until the argument is settled, if ever, we will be hounded by this question: In what context is it “right” to discuss sexuality?
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Appearing semi-nude, New York’s Dazzle Dancers have performed in clubs and bars for more than 10 years to spread the message of sexual and political freedom. Their brand of comedic naked theatre has attracted attention across North America. Left to right: Cherry Dazzle, Edible Dazzle, Robbie Dazzle, Pretty Boy Dazzle and Sochny Dazzle. — Photo by djc Features |
It was a question that came up after the release of the film Kinsey. Based on the life of Alfred C. Kinsey, the film follows the career of the biologist who opened the door to a once-forbidden subject. In 1948, Kinsey published a study of sex that electrified the staid public. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was the first book of its kind to explore, among other issues, sexuality, masturbation and homosexuality. Readers revered Kinsey for his ability to have honest sexual dialogue without being judgmental, but critics fired back at him for talking about the stuff that should remain in the bedroom.
By the time Kinsey published Sexual Behavior in the Human Female five years later, audiences were no longer so receptive to his work.
Based on surveys conducted across the United States, Kinsey found that 37 per cent of the total male population had at least some overt homosexual experience to the point of orgasm; nine out of ten men masturbated; 62 per cent of women reported masturbating; and nearly 50 per cent of women had engaged in premarital sex.
He was blasted by critics in his day but with the release of this film so many years later, the controversy is still hot and heavy. Many critics praised the depiction of Kinsey’s life, as portrayed by Liam Neeson, but others argued that simply talking about Kinsey’s findings is harmful.
At screenings of Kinsey, the theatre walls echoed with gasps, even shrieks of astonishment. People of all ages got riled up at the sight of a vagina and turned various shades of red upon hearing actors mention oral sex.
There are other projects trying to open doors to straightforward sexual discourse. In the U.K., for example, a new reality TV show follows couples who volunteer to have their sexual performances critiqued by sexperts Tracey Cox and Michael Alvear. The Sex Inspectors is designed to be educational and informative, providing couples with valuable feedback about their sex lives. One volunteer told England’s Daily Mirror: “In Britain, there is this silly, sniggering attitude to sex and it doesn’t have to be like that.”
Also sparking debate is Alexander the Great’s bisexuality, as portrayed in Oliver Stone’s historical epic, Alexander. Critics of Alexander, including more than 25 Greek lawyers, have attacked Stone for tampering with history and showing Alexander (Colin Farrell) having homosexual relations with Hephaestion (Jared Leto). They argue that ignoring Alexander’s homosexuality would not have changed the outcome of the story, but those involved have been backed up by historians who insist the film is historically accurate.
And in 2005, the documentary Inside Deep Throat will examine the 1972 X-rated porn blockbuster Deep Throat, the most successful independently produced movie ever made. It grossed $600 million (US) on a meagre budget of $25,000. The documentary looks at how the porno industry changed after that seminal moment, attracting more than just the trenchcoat demographic.
The issues have been brought out of the closet. But for every step forward, there are at least two steps back.
For example, a few years ago, a woman appearing on a San Francisco TV news program was told not to say the word “vagina” on air. Even though she was promoting V-Day, an anti-violence movement inspired by The Vagina Monologues, the news director said children could be watching so she must refrain from actually using the word. More recently, Janet Jackson’s Nipplegate ignited enough controversy to effect delayed broadcasting of live TV. And in November 2004, New Brunswick parents contested grade 6 sex education programs that taught about erections, vaginal secretion and ejaculation.
Is society so afraid of sex that we have to protect our kids’ ears from something as innocuous as its anatomical terms?
According to John Ince, it is. Ince, a journalist and lawyer living in Vancouver, British Columbia, runs an erotic art centre called The Art of Loving. In early 2004, Canada Post refused to deliver flyers for his business because they contained the words “clitoris,” “ejaculate” and “penis.”
“It’s been an ongoing battle,” he says, “and it’s not getting anywhere. This is just one institutional example of how society fears sex.”
Contributing to people’s fears is an ambivalence towards sexuality, Ince says, and it stems largely from discomfort about even the slightest mention of genitalia, let alone more hands-on issues like masturbation. “Masturbation for teenage boys is a really important event,” Ince says, “yet it’s the subject of silence. How many boys have been told, ‘It’s not something our family does’?”
Even with all the hush, films like American Pie made millions poking fun at the issue, not to mention one especially ill-fated pastry. Framed as a gross-out joke, that auto-erotic scene summed up a boy’s everyday desire turned desperate, which audiences gobbled up and reactionary groups mostly ignored.
Then Britney Spears records a song about masturbation — with lyrics like, “Another day without a lover, the more I come to understand the touch of my hand” — and legions of fretful parents rush to cover their daughters’ ears. To some, sexuality is something not to be discussed — or sung.
So what are the consequences of silencing sex?
STD rates are five times higher in the U.S. than in Europe, where sexual education is compulsory, according to Barnaby Barratt, psychologist and president of the American Association of Sex Educators. In an interview with USA Today, Barratt said abstinence-only sex education makes it difficult to teach the lessons of safe sex to students who are already sexually active. The result: dangerous and contagious diseases, unwanted childbirths and unnecessary abortions.
Also, many people will argue that withholding information from curious young adults only creates more intrigue and desire. When sexuality becomes the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, the public is left to wonder if they are truly being punished for the sins of their curiosity.
Kinsey was the first to bring this issue to the forefront but sex education undoubtedly faces more turbulent periods of resistance. The Kinseys of today face just as much resistance as their predecessor. A hit list of their names — frighteningly reminiscent of the targeting of abortion doctors — is reportedly being circulated among conservative opponents. As a defensive manoeuvre, some scientists now routinely use code names for research projects.
One day, the taboos of sexuality may become obsolete, but only when society gets tired of being shocked and titillated, and chooses instead to be informed.
This article is part of Digital Journal’s national magazine edition. Pick up your copy of Digital Journal in bookstores across Canada. Or subscribe to Digital Journal now, and receive 8 issues for $19.95 + GST ($39.95 USD).
