Sex Sells — If It’s Heterosexual and Vanilla
In the world of advertising, television and film, the once taboo subject of sex has become the normality for witty jokes, plot developments and general entertainment. With 22% of adverts portraying a sexualised women and a further 6% featuring a sexualised man (Morse), it is apparent that sex does sell and this technique will continue to be used in advertising whilst there is a profit due to doing so. But while the job of advertising is to use relatable topics to sell products, must these same topics be integrated into entertainment media too? Despite the constant media attention sex receives, a 2012 survey showed that over half of the UK population found sex the most awkward topic to discuss (Styles), suggesting that perhaps its inclusion in the media should be toned down.
Of films released between 1950 and 2006, 84% were found to contain content of a sexual nature, including 68% of G rated and 82% of PG rated — as certificated by MPAA (O’Hara). If sex does have to be one of the most referenced topics in the media, need it begin so young?
The censorship implemented by companies such as BBFC, MPAA and PEGI, unfortunately, has not completely eliminated content — or subtly references — which are linked to themes and subjects that are not deemed age appropriate for a certain age certificate. In recent years a number of popular TV shows, including children’s favourite Noddy, have sparked anger for including sex references (Roberts) — a fire which has only been fuelled by social media shares.
However, it has often been argued that these sex, drug and other references are more examples of inside jokes by the producers rather than age inappropriate content (Draba-Mann). With films and television shows which are aimed at children who are likely to be watching with parents/guardians, it would be more appealing to these older viewers to pick up on ‘dirty’ jokes rather than constantly watching content aimed way below their age range. Although sex is popular to subtly reference in the media this is not exclusive, as censored topics such as drugs and violence can also be referred to in this way. If such topics should be banned in G or PG certified films, at what age is it deemed acceptable to explore these topics? With 16 being the average age which people lose their virginity in the UK (Hampson), surely adulthood — or 18 years of age — is too late for these topics to first be introduced to viewers in the media?
With such a focus on sex within the media, is it damaging to already vulnerable/minority groups? Data from the past 10 years suggests that worldwide there are now 70 million people — 1% of the world — identifying as asexual. A leading psychologist has suggested that it is the extreme sexualisation present in the media is just one of the factors that has turned people off sex (Hsu). In a society that is almost sex obsessed, there are understandably going to be issues of exclusion regarding asexuals.
In the world of advertising especially, although not exclusively, it is heterosexual sex which is used as a default to captivate customers, despite over one million UK residents identifying as either gay, lesbian or bisexual (Siddique). The highest percentage of LGBTQ identifying people lie within the 16 to 24 age bracket, suggesting that younger people are more open and comfortable with their sexualities (Bulman). One of the issues with LGBTQ+ statistics is that they cannot be a true reflection of reality due to the amount of people who may still be in the closest in relation to their sexuality.
Out of 125 Hollywood films released in 2016, only 18.4% of characters identified as LGBTQ with half of these characters having less than one minute of total screen time (Desta). With the increased number of people identifying as LGBTQ+ year on year — from 2012 there has been a 45% increase in those identifying as bisexual (The Guardian) — it is only reasonable to increase the diversity of Hollywood characters, ensuring each minority group receives a fair and realistic representation in the mainstream media.
Aside from heterosexual sex, the other default sexual act that we see depicted in the media is vanilla sex. Vanilla sex is defined as ‘conventional sex that conforms to the very basic expectations with a culture’ (Pillay). With the release of Fifty Shades of Grey in 2012 — and the film in 2015 — it appeared that the social view on sex might alter. In Australia, sex toy sales increased by 30% in the week after the release of the film (McNab), suggesting that the practises explored were things audiences were willing to try — perhaps for the first time.
Also following the release, Pornhub searches for BDSM increased by 20% — although more specific searches such as ‘submission’ and ‘dominate’ saw increases closer to 200% (Rees). A study concerning the interest in BDSM saw that, in Britain, 19% of 18–39 year olds have already tried BDSM and a further 27% would be willing to try it, compared to only 8% of over 40’s having explored this (Dahlgreen). If more media content introduced BDSM to audiences more casually — as opposed to being a products main focus such as in Fifty Shades of Grey — perhaps these ‘unconventional’ enjoyments would receive less of a shock factor in society.
Must sex have such a prominent place within our society when the large majority of it refers to a specific group of society while leaving other groups left out in media representation? And if we continue to allow sex to take the forefront of media content shouldn’t we diverse the range of types explored, so that these young audiences are not left with the idea that normal sex is heterosexual and vanilla?
References:
Bulman, May. “Number of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in UK reaches 1 million for first time since records began.” The Independent, 4 October 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lgbt-people-uk-gay-lesbian-numbers-figures-record-high-a7982571.html
Chalabi, Mona. “Gay Britain: what do the statistics say?” The Guardian, 3 October 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check/2013/oct/03/gay-britain-what-do-statistics-say
Desta, Yohana. “Most LGBTQ Movie Characters Are Marginalized, Invisible, or Punchlines.” Vanity Fair, 25 May 2017, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/glaad-2016-movies-study
Dahlgreen, Will. “1 in 4 under-40s want to try BDSM.” YouGov, 13 February 2015, https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/02/13/1-4-under-40s-want-try-bdsm/
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Hsu, Christine. “Asexuals: A Growing Population?” Medical Daily, 20 August 2012, https://www.medicaldaily.com/asexuals-growing-population-242054
McNab, Heather. “The Fifty Shades effect: Sales of sex toys have surged more than 30 per cent since Fifty Shades of Grey came out as Australians try out their kinky side.” Mail Online, 6 March 2015, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2982398/The-Fifty-Shades-effect-Sales-sex-toys-surged-30-cent-movie-came-Australians-kinky.html
Morse, Felicity. “Sexy adverts turn women off, research shows.” The Independent, 5 December 2013, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sexy-adverts-turn-women-off-research-shows-8985656.html
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“One in 30 young people in Britain ‘identify themselves as LGB.” The Guardian, 5 October 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/05/one-in-30-british-young-people-identify-themselves-lesbian-gay-bisexual
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Styles, Ruth. “Sex, death and money revealed as topics of conversation most loathed by Brits.” Mail Online, 5 October 2012, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2213325/More-half-Brits-embarrassed-talk-sex--women-worse-men.html
