Sizzlin Saturday - Let's Talk About Sex

I said I would get my blog back on track, and that is just what I am going to do! For the moment I will continue with my previously suggested update schedule...but a new format may be in the works. :-)

Sex. Its a crazy thing. We all think about it, and we all want to talk about it...so why don't we? Why is it that a society that is so keen on shoving sex in our face on a daily basis tells us that the subject is taboo? I mean...think about it. Magazines, movies, TV, the internet -- all forms of media are filled with sexy ads to catch our eyes, and skimpily clad characters to draw us in. We are always being bombarded by a beauty and fashion industry that tells us we must be constantly appealing to the opposite sex. But if we sit down in a room with our peers and start talking about the things we think when we see those hot models wearing next to nothing...we are met with looks of shock and horror. As if nobody else there was thinking exactly what we were. As if everything in this world is supposed to be to look at, and not to think about.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not advocating sexual promiscuity. In no way am I suggesting that everyone should go out and get their dirty on. All I am saying is that we all have feelings that we can't help. Its natural. While we may be expected to control what we do with those feelings, why is it that we aren't allowed to talk about them? If society is going to place sex so bluntly in our faces on a day to day basis, why are we supposed to act like we don't see it?

I am currently enrolled in a philosophy class called contemporary moral issues. It is a modern take on an ethics class, and the discussions my professor has initiated so far have been extremely interesting. One thing I have noticed though, is that no matter what the topic is that we are discussing, somebody always manages to make an example involving sex. And since the professor does not seem to be afraid of discussing the subject, every time it is breached more and more students voice their opinions. We actually had one discussion that continued for an entire class meeting, over the moral issues surrounding not telling your partner you had an STD! The main thing that interests me, though, is the way that the professor seems to encourage the students to talk about an issue that they are normally expected to leave alone. The liveliness of the students is definitely increased when they are allowed to talk about sex. I believe that this is because so many of us have so many things to say, and so many opinions to voice, and are not generally given the opportunity to do so.

I think what we need in this society is someone to lead us in "taboo" discussions. As my professor has done for my philosophy class, we need somebody to create an open and encouraging environment, and then to breach topics that we have previously been afraid to put before a public audience. Not necessarily just sex, either. I honestly do believe in bringing sex out into the world of public domain, instead of cramming it into lectures in middle school classrooms, never to be discussed again. But maybe the world could take this approach with other topics, such as religion and war. Not to equate these things with sex, but they are examples of the many other subjects surrounding us daily that we chose to only speak about quietly, and within the comfort of our small circles. Let's stand up. Make people uncomfortable. Talk about the things on everybody's minds, that they are too afraid or ashamed to talk about themselves. Because once one person starts talking, it opens the doors for others.