Whose Moral Values Are They Anyway?

By: Virginia Bola, PsyD
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:24:51
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

First there was the sight of Janet Jackson's pastie-adorned breast at the Superbowl, then Nicollet Sheridan's towel-dropping scene on Monday Night Football. A public outcry followed, deploring the obsessively sexual orientation of advertising, entertainment, and the media as a whole.

As the debates rage, a core question must arise: if sex is known to sell anything, who is doing the buying?

Public Relations and marketing gurus give the public what they crave. If they don't, they are out of a job. How many new viewers will Desperate Housewives gain because of the uproar over their ad? Thousands? A million or two? And who enjoyed the gratuitous nudity? Those who "missed it" on Monday Night Football were able to indulge their curiosity as the tape was replayed and replayed ad nauseum. Who in America has not seen it by now? Surely only the sightless and the occasional hermit could have missed it.

So what does that say about the current state of U.S. morality? We are not all depraved, immoral, addicted to pornography, nor necessarily in favor of public sexual displays. We are simply curious people who are still in a reaction phase to a long history of sexual repression. After the strait jacket of the puritan period and the social constraints of the following 300 years, the pendulum is swinging as it always has. It makes a wide arc until slowly returning to the center.

Those who openly seek to legislate morality would do well to recall the disastrous social experiment of prohibition, imposed by a righteous and vocal minority, and its permanent legacy of crime, murder, and corruption.

Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of an interactive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Sexuality category

  • Pelvic Exercises for Men and Women to Create a Better Sex Life - By: Andrei Istrate
    Overall, exercising all of your muscles will increase your enjoyment of your sex life. Exercise increases blood flow which is beneficial to both men and women during sexual activity. Exercise will make you feel better as well as feeling more attractive and sexy.
  • Play the Field - By: Sandra Prior
    Just as it's normal to try on lots of pairs of shoes before deciding on the ones to buy, sometimes it's a good idea to play the field before settling on one man.
  • Lust for Life - By: Sandra Prior
    13 Ways sex supercharges your overall health.
  • How Do I Get My Wife To Initiate Sex? Here's Your Answer... - By: Calle Zorro
    Are you the one who always initiates sex? Have you ever wished your wife would take the lead instead? If so, read this...
  • A Real Gigolo Joe - By: Sandra Prior
    Could artificial intelligence help to create the perfect sexual partner of the future?
  • Virtual Kicks - By: Sandra Prior
    You don't need a bed or a real-life partner to get some love action these days - just type sweet nothings and hit all the right keys. We look at how we might get our virtual kicks right through the night.
  • The Rise and Rise of Sex - By: Sandra Prior
    Cybersex may mean that it's extra safe but could it be better than the real thing?
  • How to Keep that Sex Drive Alive - By: Cristian Stan
    So, how can you possibly renew that desire and keep it flowing for the sake of the relationship? Here's how:
  • When Your Partner is not in the Mood for Sex - By: Cristian Stan
    It happens. You are raring to provide and obtain sexual pleasure one steamy night but your partner seems to be offline. It is really hard to get into the mood for sex when one of you is feeling edgy, worried, anxious, or physically unmotivated.
  • Born to be Wild - By: Sandra Prior
    All you need to turn up the heat - and yourself on - is to press play and get ready for sum uninhibited fun.