Another Rant about Sex & Violence.

The whole sex vs violence thing is annoying me again today, so I'm going to rant about it.

Violence permeates our culture through entertainment, much more so than sex. Look at boxing: crowds pay through the nose to sit and watch two men kick the shit out of each other. That's considered a sport. Entertainment. Fun. Change the attraction to two people having sex, and suddenly people freak the fuck out.

Children go to pro-wrestling events all the time. If you take your kid to a strip show or a peep show, you're going to jail.

Movies like Showgirls and Orgazmo are NC-17, while kids flock to horror films, action flicks, and other gorefests.

Now, I will say right now that I am not advocating that children watch pornography or go to strip shows. Not in the least. BUT, I think it speaks volumes about our culture that we allow - encourage, even - people to watch violence, especially person-on-person violence. Contrast that with how strong the sexual taboos are, and you've got some serious moral imbalance. By the time American kids have grown, I would venture a guess that they have seen more examples of domestic violence than consensual sex.

Think of it this way: Let's use the movie Titanic as an example. A "mild" example, but I think you'll get what I'm trying to say...

Would you rather your kid watch this part (sorry, Ms Papercuts, this clip left out the best part):



Or this part:



Am I making sense here?

Some will argue that what you see in porn or film isn't the way sex "really is". Well, most fictional representations of violence are also pretty far from the truth. I'd say a hardcore porn video is closer to real sex than a WWE match is to a real fight, and the dialogue is probably better, too.

And the thing is, I would assume that most children will grow up to be adults who, at some point, engage in sex. One would hope that they will not grow into adults who engage in murder, fighting, and various other unsavory acts. What I fail to understand is how a society reaches a point where sex is more taboo than violence to the degree that the former is practically forbidden and the latter is encouraged as a public spectacle. People will take their kids to a boxing match or a WWE match, but the minute Janet Jackson's breast gets some air time, they stick their kids in therapy because now they're sexually traumatized.

Sex is a normal, natural thing. Most healthy adults have it at some point. Violence is not a healthy thing. Should kids be watching portrayals of sex? Certainly not.

But someone is going to have to work really hard to convince me that, while it's not okay for kids to watch SEX, that it's okay for them to watch VIOLENCE. And if it's not okay for them to watch it, why the fuck is it okay for the rest of us - especially when it's even frowned upon for adults to watch portrayals - however graphic - of sex?

Think about it.

/RANT