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Has
sex, or even porn, gone mainstream? Greg Tingle asks
people who know!
Bessie
Bardot: Author, Broadcaster & Body Model
Sex
has hardly become mainstream!. We still miss out on
fantastic advertisements and shows simply because
the 'moral majority' deem them too sexy - even within
an adult time frame. It disgusts me that people are
so hung up on sex and can dictate what the rest of
us can and can't see. We are MILES behind Europe in
accepting sex as something we all do and getting it
out of the closet into mainstream life to be talked
about responsibly. GROW UP AUSTRALIA!
There is everything to gain by de-mystifying sex.
Why do they restrict the general public viewing sensual
material yet allow homicide and other violent crimes
on Tv and film, as if killing people is so much more
acceptable? The Australian media need to fight for
the rights of the people and get the censors of their
back! And the moral majority need to use the OFF button
more often.
x Bessie
www.bessiebardot.com
Yolanda
Corduff: Writer & Freelance Journalist (EROS Journal,
Australian Penthouse and many more)
I
think sex is slowly coming back to the mainstream
after years of being excluded by increasing, and often
confusing, censorship policies," says journalist
Yolanda Corduff, who also works as a contributing
editor of Eros Journal, a national anti-censorship
publication. "Back in the 70s and 80s, sex was
well and truly mainstream, with TV shows like Number
96 and The Box giving viewers a taste of male and
female nudity and exploring all kinds of sexual issues.
These programs had huge audiences in their day and
were shown in prime time viewing timeslots.
If
you've ever wondered why these 70s programs never
come back on telly, even as late night repeats, it's
because the content is now considered too raunchy
by our censors. Channel 10 said as much a few years
back, in an interview for a Four Corners documentary
on the subject of censorship.
When
you look at other media, like motion pictures and
publications, you'll find that there is more censorship
of sex. Most people don't realise how many Hollywood
blockbusters are censored because, in a way, the studios
edit the films voluntarily, rather than have their
films classified for an adult audience," says
Corduff. "What happens is the Office for Film
and Literature will view a film, let the Distributor
know what rating they're going to get, such as 'PG15'
or 'R', and which scenes are most responsible for
their decision. The Distributors/Studios then cut
the 'offending' scenes out to get a lower rating,
thus increasing their potential audience, and no-one's
the wiser.
I
am offended that this goes on and that it's not common
knowledge. I don't like the idea that when I pay to
see a film, I'm not seeing the same film that's been
distributed in the rest of the world. Needless to
say, sex is one of the most contentious issues when
it comes to this kind of censorship and the increased
vigilance is due to the changes in our censorship
laws made by politicians.
I'm
glad that TV shows like Big Brother are bringing sex
back into the mainstream," adds Corduff. "After
all, sex is a natural bodily function, it's fun and
it's safe to view. Pity more censorship isn't focussed
on violence, instead of sex, but I guess there's just
too much profit in violence these days. Or maybe politicians
just enjoy viewing violence more than sex, who can
tell?
Links:
Interviews
Greg
Tingle interviews EROS Association Media Director,
Robbie Swan - 14th July 2003
Greg
Tingle interviews Bessie Bardot
Greg
Tingle interviews Yolanda Corduff
XXX
- ceptable - MSNBC.com
more
interviews
Article:
Giving Hedonism a go, by Vivian Vixen
*Greg
Tingle is currently writing a feature article on sex
and porn going mainstream.
Profiles
Sexy
Sydney
Adult
Industry
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