By: Petra Chase, Arts & Culture Editor, & Jerrica Zabala, SFU Student

Can sex scenes be a vessel for thoughtful plot lines? Or, do they perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women and young people, and leave out marginalized folks? Are these scenes too ubiquitous, graphic, and distracting from the story, or are they just an authentic part of the human experience? 

Jerrica: Sex scenes are so dependent on the context of the film and the message being tied with the plot. Scenes that avoid accurate portrayals of sex contribute to its stigmatization as a taboo act. Movies like 365 Days or the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy pretty much only exist because they’re centred around sex. There’s definitely a huge demand for these explicit types of portrayals, especially when it’s a book-smut adaptation. However, many argue series like these are not the best representation of sex or relationships, and lack discussions of consent. On the other hand, a series like Normal People can stand alone without the explicit sex scenes; it places a big emphasis on how the main characters’ reconceptualize themselves while they grow closer, apart, then back to each other. Here, sex between characters is a vessel where emotions are at their most vulnerable — where feelings of awkwardness, tension, and contempt are portrayed accurately.

Petra: I don’t have a problem with sex scenes being shown on-screen if the representation helps reduce stigma and doesn’t reinforce harmful messages surrounding sex. I’ll echo that contextual factors are so important. Sex scenes don’t necessarily need to be there to drive the narrative forward, and I think they can exist purely for excitement. However, I think the most important thing to consider is what kind of identities are being represented, and how they are being represented. Aspects like framing, casting, how sex fits into the story, and how the scene is being promoted outside of the film have the potential to reinforce harmful stereotypes about certain groups. Of course, portrayals of consent are also extremely important to consider.

Jerrica: I believe the bulk of filmmakers rely on sex scenes for shock value or sell up sex appeals to capture the interest of viewers, which ultimately devalues the film’s plot or creates this disparity between one’s own relationship with sex and what they see on screen. Growing up, I never saw any accurate representation of how sex acts are performed using a person with my build, features, race, or skin colour. When they were represented, women and men were jokingly fetishized and only played the roles of sex workers or even traffickers. I can empathize with communities such as the queer community, where sex isn’t acknowledged or properly represented in the media they consume because films continuously want to follow a heteronormative sex script.

Petra: You make a great point about how proper representation is so important. Growing up, the only queer sex scenes I saw were between two femme-presenting women. They were almost always in service of the male gaze. The majority of the time, they were depicted as straight women “experimenting” with the opposite sex. For instance, in Glee, Quinn hooked up with Santana, an openly queer character, for one night. However, her bisexuality was never explored or discussed again. It’s clear the only purpose of this side-plot was the audience’s enjoyment, not queer representation. Straight women characters in TV frequently reminisce about experimenting with women in their “college days,” and this always piques the interest of male characters. I think there’s also something to be said about an over-reliance on erotic scenes in shows that depict minors in their high school years. 

Moreover, sexual experimentation between men and non-femme presenting queer people is still seen as taboo and rarely represented accurately. This shows that sex in films was — and still is — greatly catered to a straight male gaze. Blue is the Warmest Colour has been criticized for perpetuating cliché ideas about sex, and it flat out fetishizes queer sexuality through a misogynistic lens. Of course, we’ve come a long way, but there is still a fine line between fetishizing queer people and representing them in a way that uplifts the queer community. For instance, Orange is the New Black does a great job of depicting the spectrum of queer identities in their sex scenes.

Jerrica: 100%. Women, gender non-conforming, trans, and queer folks frequently become secondary spectators of entertainment as a result of the male gaze: most popular media caters to the perceived sexual desires of cis, straight, white men. It is difficult to define the relationship between the male gaze and societal concerns because it opens up a can of worms — should filmmakers be held accountable for the societal impact of their works or should personal sexual orientation play a role in shaping the perspectives of filmmakers? Maybe this requires achieving a balance between upholding artistic freedom and taking into account how one’s creation might affect society.

Don’t get me wrong — sex, nudity, and a lack of censorship are all perfectly normal. It’s just god-awful having to witness the same sex scene in every film. The woman engages in sexual activity with the man for a very, very, very short period, resulting in a predictable orgasm caused by penetration. This includes sweating, an open mouth, near perfect hair, bouncing physical attributes, and excessive vocalization in the form of moans. Like what!? These additional porn-resembling sex scenes are not creative.

Petra: I think filmmakers should be held accountable for the impact of the sex scenes they produce. This also includes the ethics of how the scenes are filmed. While every sex scene is going to have a different context, filmmakers need to consider what they’re trying to accomplish and who their audience is. People of varying identities who are represented should also always be involved, consulted, and present in the creation of these scenes. You make a good point that overly-exaggerated sex scenes are not creative and don’t reflect real life. They set up expectations that are unrealistic. It’s not necessarily that being sexually expressive is a bad thing. There are plenty of sex scenes in Orange is the New Black that involve intense facial expressions and moaning, and some of the scenes are somewhat sensationalized. But Orange is the New Black also explores and acknowledges a diverse range of sexual experiences and queer identities, including ones that are underrepresented and don’t always appeal to straight men. Some scenes might still be fetishized by viewers, but sometimes that’s out of a filmmakers control. It’s all about intent.