I am fully aware this is 2015. My childhood was a long, long time ago. I grew up in a house without a TV, for the most part. Most of our TV watching took place at my grandparents house. Grandparents who were in control of what we watched. But, then with only 3 channels, there wasn't much to watch anyway. Children's programming was pretty much unheard of. We did have Captain Kangaroo in the early mornings before school. And the Mickey Mouse Club in the afternoons. Never was sex on TV. Heck, Lucy and Ricky, on the I Love Lucy Show, slept in twin beds. So did Dick Van Dyke and his wife. And I don't think I ever saw June and Ward Cleaver under the covers.
Over the past couple of months, on prime time TV, we have seen two or three gay sex scenes. Both women and men. I changed the channel when one guy bent another guy over a dresser, while nuzzling his neck from behind. TOO MUCH INFORMATION. My grandchildren were both sitting right in the room. No warnings of any kind that this was coming. Both of them went "ewwww" and Harley covered her eyes and her ears.
Now don't get me wrong. I am not just opposed to gay sex scenes. Is nothing left to the imagination. Many of the shows on prime time TV take the heterosexual scenes right up to the line. If they showed one more second of a 'sex scene' it would be considered pornography. Whatever happened to leaving a bit to the imagination.
Many of the comedy shows aren't even funny anymore. I'm thinking 2 Broke Girls and Two and a Half Men. For crying out loud, if we removed all the sex and the sexual innuendos would there even be 2 minutes of show left. I don't think so.
I question what is on TV that is suitable to watch with kids in the room. I like TV! I love more adult like shows. But that doesn't mean I want to see SEX all over my screen.
And while I'm at it we might as well talk about commercials. Erectile dysfunction (explain that to an 8 year old), period pads, incontinence pads, Trojan anything products...get my drift. Makes me uncomfortable. Makes my grand kids uncomfortable. I am thinking it makes most of America uncomfortable. I wonder if it is really necessary.
I am not a prude! What do you think? Is it too much or do I just need to quit watching TV?
I agree with you, Paula, its too much. We were watching something the other day and it was a pretty racey sex scene. I asked hubby what channel it was on and it was on a prime TV channel like ABC or NBC, can't remember now, and it was during times when kids would still be awake. I can't imagine how hard it is to monitor shows with parents of kids of any age under the age of 18. I fear it will get worse before it gets better if it even gets better.
ReplyDeletebetty
It makes it difficult if they aren't offering the parental warning to decide what to watch.
DeleteI totally agree with you Paula! We got rid of cable ( although we still somehow get a few channels, not sure why!) and sometimes the commercials are bad enough. I am fed up with it to be honest. So many times when I am watching TV with my youngest, I am telling him to close his eyes and plug his ears, and those are the ads. The shows aren't even funny anymore really. I just signed I Love Lucy out at the library, I will watch that ANY day over the garbage they have on now. I also hate the constant swearing, they don't even bother to bleep out anymore. A word here or there I can accept, but every second word being a swear word is pathetic.
ReplyDeleteNone of these shows that I am talking about are cable shows. They are on ABC, CBS, and NBC!
DeleteI watch mosty cooking shows and hgtv. These are pretty safe but sometimes the language is emabarrassing. That being said I also like Nashville and Parenthood which contain quite a bit of sexual tension but are on later at night when the little ones should be in bed.
ReplyDeleteI used to love HGTV...but it is now mostly house remodeling shows. Not at all what I used to love about HGTV. I liked the gardening shows and the craft type shows. And Nashville and Parenthood here in Kansas are on at 9 p.m. My teens are not yet in bed! This is when they are finally done with homework and showers and want to catch an hour of TV before they head off to bed.
DeleteThe sex is there for a reason $$$$. As they say it sells. I watch a lot of PBS. I particularly like the period pieces like Downton Abby and the Masterpiece mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI object more to the violence. I really hate it and it turns my stomach.
That is so true. It sells to some! I wonder how many of us it doesn't sell to but we just ignore it! I deplore some of the violence but with young teenagers in the house it is the sex that makes me more uncomfotable
DeleteI'm so glad you wrote this, Paula! I'm 64 y/o and still grow uncomfortable when 'certain' commercials air. Heck, I remember getting 'in dutch' for getting caught watching 'Peyton Place' when I was expressly forbidden to watch that 'awful' show.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the sexual innuendo and gay-love portrayed, I can think of a couple popular prime-time dramas I've x'd off my watch list and not looked back. I thought (talented) screenwriters didn't need to stoop to sensationalism to garner ratings.
PS - Unfortunately, I fear we're in the minority. But for what it's worth, I spend a decade working in ad sales for a CBS network affiliate in Florida. Letters to the station usually just get tossed in the trash. But you want to make a difference? Target the advertisers! It's been a LONG time, but I still recall some shows that the ad shops wouldn't touch, because they didn't want their product name associated with the content.
LOL and Peyton Place would now be considered so tame, wouldn't it? Yes, the gay sex does both me much more than the heterosexual sex. Probably because I don't want to try to explain it to a 14 year old girl. Who would? Good idea about targeting the ads. Don't know that it is really something I want to take on or if I just want to gripe. Know what I mean?
DeleteI am very open minded and live that way too, however, I do everything I can to keep kids in my charge away from knowing things they don't need to know yet (i.e., sex). I believe a child's time of life is for them. Soon enough they will know about the birds and the bees and while they are children, they should be just that... children. And yes, TV for some reason is not putting out the "caution" signs they used to.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty open minded myself Katy. But that all changes when you have kids in your house. I would be okay with it if there was some kind of warning of what is to come....
DeleteI think I'm more turned off by constant violence. All the murder and mayhem! Too much violence. But I'm not a fan of too much sex, either, but I think I'm more turned off by violence.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the graphic violence myself. And hinting at sex doesn't bother me in the least. But I don't need to see it to know what is going on!
DeleteTV is so corrupt anymore. Language, sex, drugs... It's all there. I actually heard the F word on TV one day. At least with movies you can check the ratings, but you can't do that with TV shows. You have no warning at all. My 8 year old knows too much already, I don't need help.
ReplyDeleteI totally hear you!
DeleteAnd what really gets me - they leave this crap on tv and take all of the good stuff off! So many of my favorite shows are being cancelled! White Collar for one!
ReplyDeleteLinda in VA
That is true. Someone above said that Sex sells...guess it does.
DeleteI agree. It is hard to know exactly where the pornograghy line starts and ends any more. I am not a prude either, but some of this stuff you see and hear on the pubic airways is totally unnecessary to the plot, just there to keep viewers. It has turned me off of most tv.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a prude either. And I'm sure if I didn't have teens in the house these shows wouldn't bother me that much. But this is just stuff that kids don't need to see at their age. Plenty of time for this when they are full-blown adults
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