Why are People’s Sex Lives No Longer Private?

Growing up as an Irish Catholic girl, I have always had reservations about sex, and particularly in discussing it, after all, as most Catholics and people of other religions would agree, it used to be that everyone was taught that sex was wrong, perhaps sinful, but at the very least, they were taught that sex was a private act between two people and was not to be spoken about.

I am twenty six years of age, and even though I may be bucking highly against the trend here, I still think that sex being private is a very good way of dealing with the subject. I, of course, don’t believe that sex is wrong, it is a natural human urge just like the instinct to eat, and breath, but what I don’t understand is the ever growing practice of telling all and sundry about your sex life. To me, its like telling anyone who will listen about your bathroom practices.

It seems that nowadays, you can’t escape sex. It is in our advertisements, our magazines, on our tv screens and radios, and alarmingly, sexual innuedos are now appearing in many “children’s” movies, increasingly becoming less thinly veiled as the adult humour they really are.

There are people out there in the world of celebrity who have made a living from the sex industry. This is not a new thing, pornographic material and the demand for it, has been around for a very long time, but why, in this modern world of ours, do we have to have some talentless tart, sitting on a chat show host’s couch, discussing in graphic detail, her sexual preferences and how many partners she’s had. Why is this of interest to people?

The problem of being too open with our sex lives does not stop at the world of celebrity. We are now treated to a sex discussion when we pop round for a cup of tea to our friend’s or our sister’s house. Everyone wanting to know intimate details of something that should be special and sacred between you and the person you chose to be with.

It is not something I feel I should have to share with anyone, but when I venture that opinion, I’m often told to lighten up, to not be prudish. Having a sense of decency and respect for an act that sometimes can be truly spiritual, I don’t think makes me a prude.

My question is this. With the level of profanity and obscenity now allowed to invade our everyday lives, where does it end? In less than one hundred years, we have gone from people dressing conservatively and sex being behind closed doors, to men’s naked backsides being paraded about in perfume ads and any little two-bit starlet showing up in a pornographic video or pictures.

Because of society’s perceived demand for all things sexual, and the media’s eagerness to provide us with what we want, our children are no longer children. They no longer have that wonderful innocence about them, because everywhere they turn, they are confronted with an image or word, their little minds have no business seeing.

I firmly believe that sex should remain private, and that the over-saturated market for sexual images, words and scandals dies down soon, or I’m not sure where we will be in five years time.