Three British couples, including two committed gay men, Matt and John (no surnames provided), have agreed to make love in an opaque, sound-proofed box located in the middle of a television studio and live audience for a Channel 4 program called Sex Box. OK, it’s not a the honeymoon suite at the Ritz Carlton but it’s all in the name of progress, as the goal of the series is to “reclaim sex from pornography.”
Before you get too excited and start searching your channel guide, no actual sex will be shown on screen. Following the not-exactly-romantic sex-in-a-box, the couples (two hetero couples will also participate in the program) will be interviewed by host Mariella Frostrup and a panel of sexperts including Dan Savage (natch!).
Frostup has stated she hopes the program will provoke a “mature, intelligent discussion” about sex in modern Britain.
“I approached it with great trepidation and a degree of skepticism, particularly about why we needed a box, but ultimately I think it was a really really mature – surprisingly for television – look at a subject we’ve allowed to proliferate in its worst manifestations and refuse to confront,” Frostup said.
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Ralph Lee, Channel 4?s head of factual programming, added, “It’s not about the technicalities of sex but more about discussing what it means to them as a couple. There has been a massive explosion of pornography but what there hasn’t been is a conversation about real sex in people’s lives today. This will add context to pornography.”
Sex Box is scheduled to air in the U.K. October 7. There’s no word on when or if it will air in the U.S.
H/t: PinkNews
Ogre Magi
This just sounds stupid
B Damion
Wait…wait..what?
CaptainFabulous
It’ll never air in the US. Forget it.
whatisthis
If this ever did get picked up for the US, the conservatives’ heads would explode brighter than an atom bomb. The news segments and articles on Fox News claiming civilization is falling because of moral decay would NEVER stop. Not that I’m even interested in this show, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up for it ever airing here…
Spike
Happens all the time on cam4, not at all original.
LeNair Xavier
Moronically, the gay community needs something to make them stop using gay porn as their guidebook. For I’ve encountered way too many gay males who lessen their manhood by following porn’s lead. Whether it’s the belittling of bottoms easily seen in sites like Fraternity X and Men.com, reinforced slavery from ThugHunter, FlavaWorks still telling Blacks and Latinos to be ghetto trash to be attractive, predominately White porn companies using a token Black as an overcompensating top, or sites inciting young gays to sexualize their daddy issues. And the list of porn-driven ills goes on. We must undo the damage porn has done to how we sexually relate to each other. And the only ones who would dare to disagree are those whose sexual behavior fits one (or more) of the aforementioned ills.
http://www.tresx-rayvision.com/2013/07/gay-pornstarsour-gay-super-heroes.html
However, with that said, I don’t this show will be any degree of a help. I think this show will be nothing more than a network tv-friendly way to play voyeur. Nothing more.
Fitz
I think if handled correctly, this could be great.
While I love porn, I am glad that it was harder to get when I was
developing. I wouldn’t want to grow up thinking that only
supremely fit people with huge dicks enjoy sex. Lenair: I think I agree
with a lot of what you are saying– but I think porn CAN be ok, even as
over the top fantasy. Just like having a cheeseburger for dinner can be ok,
once in a while… but I think during the more formative years, it sets up
people, and reinforces identification with societal projections.
erikwm
@LeNair Xavier: ….or people can just continue to formulate their own opinions and not have LeNair Xavier telling them how they should think.
Jake357
Stunt broadcast masquerading as something deeper. Going by the comments here, I’d say no one is fooled.
Cam
@LeNair Xavier:
For somebody opposed to porn you certainly seem to have an indepth knowledge of each site and what it’s areas of concentration are.
Funny isn’t it?
Alex
This can only end in absolute disaster. I don’t think any country is ready to see ANYBODY actually making love on live TV.
Swing and a miss.
Jackhoffsky
@erikwm: in a weird as way I actually agree with @LeNair Xavier although not exclusively (considering what I’m downloading at this very moment… lol).
I get how sex is “dirty” because of the simplistic ways porn projects sex. It’s almost a turn-key operation where so little is given to many other aspects of sex in favor of the imagery. I agree with this aspect… and in many cases it’s sad.
However, I don’t think it’s a BAD thing. Presentation off sex, whether it’s implied (as in this… “event” or graphically shown has the same effect on the human mind as violence whether it’s implied… or graphically shown (slasher films).
The best way to learn about sex is through practice. The only thing porn delivers is expectations. It’s like advertising in restaurants… the picture on the menu is never what gets delivered.
But it doesn’t prevent you from ordering it again next time you’re there.
viveutvivas
Trying again because of the ridiculous autocensoring robot:
We have been able watch real couples have sex for years on xt*be. A lot of times this is way hotter than most porn where you don’t know if the actors are really into it (especially in pre-vi*gra porn it used to be obvious that most actors were not into it).
However, good porn can be very s*xy, and can be very educational in teaching people techniques and positions that can enrich their sex lives. @Xavier, people would not watch D/S, th*g, or student/teacher porn if they weren’t already into it. People watch it because they find it appealing, otherwise they would just close the clip and watch a different clip. You also display a remarkable ignorance of consensual k*nk – for example, it is not disrespectful to belittle a bottom if it is consensual and the bottom is into it.
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/gay-couple-will-make-love-on-live-tv-show-to-reclaim-sex-from-pornography-20130924/#ixzz2fwAz6apM
barkomatic
I don’t get it. What do people have against porn? If you don’t want to watch it then no one is forcing you to.
Ogre Magi
@barkomatic: It is all because of Christianity
Dixie Rect
Those are some ugly feet.
mcflyer54
Sorry but it sounds like a SNL sketch to me. Only thing missing is Justin Timberlake.
Wooly
Totally stupid and irrelevant. If they are so worried about porn’s so called corruption, I would question how low tv has dropped their standards just to capture viewers. Personally, whether its 3 hours on a rose peddle covered bed or ten minutes in a sauna, the end result is the same. Sometimes you feel romantic, sometimes you just plain feel lust.
Dxley
@LeNair Xavier: You’re right. As much as I love porn, I don’t want my man to fuck me in that way. It shows no respect for the bottom’s body and porn is a bit unrealistic. I like to have fun in bed, but I wouldn’t describe what happens in porn as my type of fun. I don’t want my boyfriend to spank me my ass red when inside me, and I would NEVER lick off his jizz(he knows I’d kill him if he ever asks me to *yuck*).
We’re both fit and our sex life is very much alive but porn is just too much. I love it, don’t get me wrong but would you use those sex positions in porn to please a man you LOVE? I know I wouldn’t!