Professor Brown
English 1B
20 February 2013
Sex is the new Casual
Sex. It’s one of the only few words in the English language that catches the attention of so many readers. In today’s society, sex is practically on its death bed. It has become so watered down that it doesn’t mean what it used to. When I mention the death of sex, I don’t mean that people will stop having it or stop talking about it, but I mean that it is no longer a social taboo in our society to mention it. The generation gap between our parents and us on the subject has become a giant valley that the only one at fault is what we were brought up on. From what we watch on TV and movies to the music we listen to, sex has become a subtle part of our lives. Even children’s shows have little innuendos here and there. As a kid people don’t understand them but when going back to watching them as an adults, people come to realize exactly what they were watching. Kids are no longer getting their information about sex from their parents. The dreaded “talk” that most people talk about is unnecessary. At the ages of 10-12, certain kids are already talking amongst themselves about what sex is and the internet is just a vast ocean of knowledge for them to go through. People are torn apart by the idea because they feel as though society has become smut ridden and dirty. Nothing is pure and innocent anymore in the public eye. Sex use to be a sanctity of marriage and a private matter between couples. Now it’s become a pass time for people running out of things to do. The exposure to sex is so abundant and around us, we have become desensitized on its meaning. The idea of the death of sex isn’t necessarily a
bad thing. What I mean by that is that sex no longer being a taboo could actually be a good thing, but it’s the repercussions that go along with it are what would end up being the problem.
Our generation has received a tremendous overexposure on sex. We have come to believe that it’s a very normal behavior and that it doesn’t really mean anything. Yes, our parents dealt with sex in their generation, but it was nowhere close to what we’ve got. “Sex makes one generation fearful for the next. It has always been so. And in each generation, there are always those who consider the more risqué edges of the entertainment industry to be going too far” (Bakewell). Our parents might have had their forms of sexy behavior in the media, but unfortunately the actions artists in the media are taking now trumps anything from before. Sex is no longer that big of a taboo like it was years ago. Children more than ever are paying attention to their favorite music artists and celebrities and want to be like them. Although most of the kids listening to music are innocent and don’t realize what the lyrics mean, there is the majority that do and in turn become corrupted in a sense. We have songs like Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake” which is just about having spontaneous sex. And as Paglia had mentioned in her article, Lady Gaga’s songs and well as others have these underlying messages about sex. Sex is all around and the way kids and teenagers are seeing it glorified has become the main problem.
The death of sex as a taboo isn’t a problem. The problem lies in how people are interpreting the change and what they take from it. Through music and movies, sex has become this fun act that kids, teenagers, and young adults think they need to experience. Music, as previously mentioned, is a huge part of everyone’s lives and it can influence people. We also have movies like “Friends with Benefits” and “No Strings Attached” where the main premise is the idea of having sex for fun and have no need for a relationship. Although the movies may take a turn for the better and show that the need for a relationship is there, they still bring up the fact that sex can be tried for just fun. The idea of an open relationship is more prominent in our society today than it has ever been before. It may have existed before but it was probably kept secret and was not put up on a pedestal. The sheer fact that we now have movies based on this social faux pas proves that the death of sex is here. With sex becoming so casual, problems come hand in hand. STD’s have become so prominent in today’s society because of all the sleeping around. The risk of contracting one has become a big problem because we aren’t grasping the idea of using contraception. Not only does that help the spread of STD’s but it even has worse repercussions. The worst part of it is that the teenagers of the younger generation are the ones that are making the mistakes. There are 16 year olds that are getting pregnant and they aren’t even with the father anymore. We even have shows like “16 and Pregnant” that once again make it seem ok to make these childish mistakes. These easy outs are what make the death of sex so negative. Other than our society making it ok for this to take place, we now also have the option of abortion. In the past it used to be illegal but now it seems that it just makes for another out. Relationships have become diminished and not as important. Marriage is also no longer special to most people. People don’t wait and make sure what they have is special anymore because they will always have that easy out. The idea of divorce in today’s society has become so accepted that working through a marriage is the hard way out and it would just be easier to get a divorce. In the past if someone got a divorce, the family was seen as a dysfunctional one and in a way shunned. Now it’s a part of life that it’s like joining a club. Even with all the evidence that’s leading up to the end of sex, there’s still those refusing to believe our societies change.
Not all of us are accustomed to change in society, especially those regarding sex. People still try to defend the fact that sex is still a taboo and should not be spoken about but with the way things have gone in our society, there’s only one way to view it. I’m in no way arguing that
the death of sex is here or not because it is. There’s nothing we can do about it. Doesn’t matter how people view the subject. The fact is that the death of sex is now our new social norm. People may say that through parenting and religion we may still be able to keep sex a social taboo. The fact of the matter is that for the younger generation, media is playing a lot bigger of a role than religion and parenting. It’s all around us and through the internet, movies and TV, it spreads faster then anything any of our previous generations have seen before.
The death of sex is here. It would just be easier for everyone to accept it instead of opposing it. The only downside with the death of sex is the negative connotations that come with it. The idea of an open relationship has both weakened our marriage system but also caused damage to the dating world. What needs to be done isn’t the need to go back to the way thing were but to instead improve the way we are headed. Sex is here and a bigger part of our lives than we have ever imagined. The only thing to do is try to take a positive step and help fix the social issues it has brought up like in marriage, teenage pregnancy, and how our kids are reacting to it.
