By José Gonçalves
Sexual content on TV did not simply grow out of the sudden; rather, it happened progressively over the 2nd half of the last century.
In the 1950s, sex on TV was nonexistent. Married couples on series used twin beds, and they couldn't even use the word “pregnant”. During the 1960s, married couples were allowed to share the same bed but were limited to talking and so, could not do anything else. Even worse, female characters could not even show their belly button. In summary, TV used to be more blue-penciled; that is to say, “censored”.
In those days the children were outside the world of adults and could be kept secret information, but now with the facility to access multiple screens they soon discover that there is another reality.
For example, in Spain one or two diamonds would sit on a top corner of the screen so that parents knew how "strong" the movie or series was shown so as to not let children watch it since they were intended for an adult audience. The movie did not have to show much in order to earn those diamonds. A cleavage, a pair of female legs, the slightest violence or any “bad words” were enough for them. The function of these diamonds was, allegedly, to protect the children from the content that was being projected, because that content could negatively influence them due to their violent and/or sexual nature.
TV has changed a lot; sex-scenes were once restricted to the late hours of the night, but now they are everywhere, even during the time where many children are watching. A survey has found that the number of sex scenes on TV has become twice larger from 1998 to 2005 and that more than 75 percent of prime-time programs contain sexual content. This means that teens will be much more exposed to sexual content on TV than before and will be more inclined to risky behaviors when it comes to sex.
Summing up, TV is not the same as it was some decades ago. It became less censored and in turn it affected the younger generations whereas in the past it used to be more controlled and did not influence people as much when it came to sexuality.
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