In this day and age is sex a big influence on culture? (mature conversation)

[Aberinkula]

I have noticed on TV/Newspaper/magizines that sex is having a giant effect on our social lives. Is it true? I mean you can go to your favorite local grocery store and in the magazine section you see Cosmopolitan,Redbook all those things. And on the covor you probably (most likely) Will see an article of sex. Positions, ways to make it fun. TV projects these subjects from either PG rated TV shows to M rated TV shows.

So do you think that our culture has a lot of sex related themes.Discussion time!!

[James]

[font=arial]The clear answer is yes. It always has been the way and it always will be the way. Human beings are inherently sexual - sex plays a major role in our society, not just in terms of media but also in terms of interaction with one another and how we organise our society in general.

In some ways sex is probably more apparent now because we're still struggling out of the Victorian era ([i]still[/i]), but if you go even further back in time you'll find that sex has always been one of the biggest (if not [i]the[/i] biggest) influences in human history. And it's not just the act of sex or the idea of sex...it's also gender and sexuality - these things are large parts of who we are and they largely dictate our lives (just think about how even fashion heavily revolves around gender/sex).

Whether or not sex influences humanity isn't debatable, especially if you are someone with any knowledge of history. I guess the question is whether it influences the world in the right or wrong ways and how that changes over time. It's all about perception, I s'pose.[/font]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]For starters: [quote name='Split Keyblader']So do yopu think that our culture has a lot of sex related themes. Yes or no.[/quote]I expect more than a simple yes or no from people on this subject. And Split Keyblader, using a program like word or hotmail is also recommended as your post is full of spelling errors.

Anyway, seeing that sex is essential to our very survival, how can it not have a giant impact on our lives and culture? Do I actually see it in the grocery stores? Only if I take the time to pull the magazine out as here in Utah they put black boards in front of the actual magazines. They even fasten them in place so you can't move them. It is kind of fun to pull one out and make fun of what they are hiding when I?m at the store waiting to check out. Though the others waiting in line don?t find my antics amusing.

And when I was on the road, other states had porn magazines right there as well. Though those were sealed to keep the customers from taking a peek before they bought the magazine, and they were behind the counter with the checker in the same way cigarettes are, I assume to keep people from stealing them.
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[John]

[left] [quote name='"Split Keyblader"'] So do you think that our culture has a lot of sex related themes.[/quote] [center][img]http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/662/pshawjv9.jpg[/img]
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But seriously, James put it pretty well. Societal behaviors tend to go in cycles, and right now the cycle of sexual obsession is on the rise. We're certainly not at the peak yet, particularly in America, but we're on the way there.
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[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][quote name='Split Keyblader]So do you think that our culture has a lot of sex related themes. Discussion time!![/QUOTE]Definitely and James really put it quite well in that human beings are inherently sexual. I suppose part of what makes it seem as if our society is being flooded by it, is the restriction or rather taboo associated with it is becoming a thing of the past. So movies, articles and advertising are reflecting that change. [QUOTE=SunfallE][COLOR=RoyalBlue']Do I actually see it in the grocery stores? Only if I take the time to pull the magazine out as here in Utah they put black boards in front of the actual magazines. They even fasten them in place so you can't move them. It is kind of fun to pull one out and make fun of what they are hiding when I?m at the store waiting to check out. Though the others waiting in line don?t find my antics amusing.[/COLOR][/quote]I?ve always found the black boards rather hilarious too. Especially the one covering some tabloid magazine with an article about ?who?s gay? that I saw at the store the other day. And the only thing on the front was a very small picture of two guys kissing. [/COLOR]

[The13thMan]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]I'm sorry but i fail to see any real interesting conversation coming from the question of whether sex is big in our culture today or not. I think most anybody with half a brain or even just two eyes can tell you that it is. Instead i think a more interesting conversation can come from asking the question of morals. Is it ok to have all this sex in our culture? Should we hide it from our kids or embrace the reality of it? Censorship comes into play in asking these questions. Fortunately i'm doing a paper on it as we speak! Hurray! <_<

Anyways, maybe it's only me that feels that way, so i guess i'll answer the question as everybody else has so far.

Yep, sex is everywhere. ^L^ It's obvious to me that most of a person's decisions are based upon whether it'll bring them closer to sex or not. Of course i believe that to only be a factor and not the only deciding point in our day to day decisions. For example: in the morning when i choose what i'm going to wear one factor involved is comfort and the appropriateness in the current weather, but another factor is how good i look to the opposite sex. Honestly i think you can factor sex into most any decision a person makes.

Also, who doesn't like sex? That's right, a-sexual organisms....those bastards.

Later.


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[kalon]

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Also, who doesn't like sex? That's right, a-sexual organisms....those bastards.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]
I resent that! We can like sex! Just not so much with other people.

On a more serious note, there's no question that it has an impact on our culture, but I think people make too big a deal out of it in many situations.

You encounter sex, as has been stated, spread all over magazines, television, the music we listen to, John's billboard, and any other form of media. We buy, we let it consume us, we let it affect a pretty good deal of our decisions. We see sex scandals on a tabloid, we buy the tabloid. We see hot dancers in a music video, we download it. We see steamy scenes on television, we watch.

As long as we place value in it, it will keep cropping up. If sex makes us spend money, then things are going to be marketed using sex. Society places value on it, corporations put more of it out, people buy it up, and the corporations distribute more and more and more sex-related items.

As to the morality of it, I think that's a personal choice. Having sex does not make you a "bad" person. I don't even think it makes you immoral. What you do with your body is up to you.

The only time I see sex as a problem is when it involves someone who cannot give proper consent.

Of course, just because I don't see sex as immoral does not mean it should still be posted everywhere like it is. There are children, impressionable children, who usually end up seeing sex infiltrating a great deal of our culture. I think it's better for children to grow up without being overexposed to sex, so they can eventually make their own personal decisions about it.

The media is powerful, and right now little kids are being encouraged to flaunt themselves, which is not the ideal for a child to grow up in.

[nomad19]

[QUOTE=kalon]I resent that! We can like sex! Just not so much with other people.
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That actually freaked me out....

My answer to the question, of course is a yes! In our world today everything can relate to sex, even our beloved world of anime, you all know about hentai and the not so direct perversion of ecchi...blah blah blah...

Plus we have to remember that we live in an age where media is king, it controls everything!almost every commercial out there has a phallic symbol embedded on it somewhere maybe it's sybliminal, maybe not, that fact of the matter is sex has always been a big influence on our culture, that's why AIDS is such a threat to us, how many times do we have to remind single people to have safe sex!? Every year! When i was in vegas earlier this year, i walked the strip and right by treasure island and somewhere near circus circus(two of the known kid themed hotels) i see porn ads cluttered all over the sidewalk, and kids pass by there every day!...

I guess, we aren't really human beings without sex...