ThenAndNow: Sex on Screen

It wasn’t until 1964, with the show Bewitched, that we saw the first couple in the same bed together on television. This was also the first time a couple who weren’t married in real life were depicted in the same bedroom. Since then, the depiction of sex on TV has steadily increased, reaching milestones like the first lesbian sex scene in Tipping the Velvet in 2002.

The absence of sex on TV and in movies until 50-60 years ago wasn’t due to a lack of sexual desire among people; it was because it was banned. Hollywood, with its flair for dramatics, turned kissing into an art form. They established a glamorous iconography and an elegant choreography for an experience that, in real life, is frequently sloppy, clumsy, and less than perfectly graceful. Imagine trying to replicate a movie kiss and ending up with a bumped nose or a misplaced elbow!

In the silent film era, actors had to convey passion through lingering looks and dramatic gestures. A single kiss could cause a public outcry, leading to censorship boards wielding their scissors like overzealous gardeners trimming a prized rose bush. Fast forward to today, and the portrayal of sex on screen has become much more explicit. The "Will they or won't they?" question of yesteryear has turned into "How will they do it this time?"

Is there too much sex on TV right now? Should we return to a “simpler” time when twin beds were the norm and a kiss was the climax of romantic tension? The debate is ongoing. On one hand, some argue that our media is over-sexualized and that viewers are bombarded with explicit content. On the other hand, others believe that we, as an audience, should have the autonomy to choose what we watch.

What’s clear is that sex on screen has evolved dramatically. From the coy, coded messages of the silent era to the explicit, unfiltered scenes of today, Hollywood has been reflecting and shaping our attitudes toward sex. It's a tango of taboos and titillation, with each era adding its own twist.

So, whether you’re a fan of the tasteful fade-to-black or you prefer your scenes with a bit more sizzle, one thing’s for sure: the conversation about sex on screen is far from over. And who knows? Maybe in the future, we’ll look back at today's TV with the same nostalgia we reserve for the golden age of Hollywood, wondering how we ever found those scenes shocking at all.