Sex, the ostentatious git, is like a friend who won’t stop blabbering. In literature, on television and from people’s mouths, sex has somehow merged with the media to show us every single angle it could possibly show us — no dirty pun intended. The trend includes intercourse, and the way writers implement it is too natural, as if it were an integral part of every story.
Understandably, to speak of fornication like breathing is natural, in that both acts are normal bodily functions, but society does not obsess with breathing or other natural processes as they do with fornication. Sex has somehow monopolized our attention and, besides fulfilling biological needs, has been successfully glorified as an emblem of confidence, of strength and of charisma. However, over-abused, sex has become an expected cliche without ever developing any new plot sequences.
The ’90s hit “Let’s Talk About Sex,” by Salt-N-Pepa, included lyrics that directly discussed sex, instead of songs that only implied sex, which modernized how the concept of sex should be displayed in the public — openly. Although there still continues and will continue to be sexual innuendos in music, society has become more blatant; sex is likely to be accepted if plainly spoken of. In a similar fashion, television shows, like “Nip/Tuck” and “Gossip Girl,” display sexual scenes so often that no one even twitches at the sight anymore. This prompts the question of whether or not people are more open to the idea of sex now through being exposed to it, or whether people have become obsessed with sex to the extent that the media has to supply it to satisfy the audience’s need for it.
Also, due to the inevitability of sex being brought up in a conversation, we have become dependent on it as a talking point. Thus, students gossiping about sexual positions and sexual preferences will eventually casually incorporate them into every conversation — a must have, especially if banter is sparse, because sex is thought to be exciting or intriguing, particularly the way the media employs it so frequently. However, the recurrent talks of sex are so robust that it has lost all meaning: to hear the words “vagina” and “penis” is like hearing someone’s nails repeatedly scratching a chalkboard.
Paradoxically, even with continual exposure, sex is still able to retain its position as a taboo. There’s a sense of wrongful unease or a humorous undertone when some teachers elaborate on sex in crude and abstract terms in the classroom. Depending on the teacher, speeches about sex tend to exude a tense awkwardness. Somehow, no matter how much sex is in the background of society, it is still that one action that can make the most outspoken blush, and it continues to do so.
Sex, flashy though it may be, holds no real substance because it’s tired, with its appearances in music, in movies and in publications. Let sex, and possibly hedonism, take a vacation and rest. There is no need for constant bombardment with how passionate sex can be or how sex screwed some relationship over — we get it already: sex is fun.