Sexually explicit material has always challenged censors

and traditional moralists. From the 1960s, liberal values on sex and

sexual relationships became one of the markers of a civilised, modern

society. Over the past decade, however, there’s a gnawing unease that

sexually explicit material has gradually stepped down from the top shelf

and into the mainstream. Whether it was Rihanna’s raunchy display on The X Factor,

Jonathan Ross’ lewd chat shows or Katie Perry simulating oral sex in

pop videos, pornographic imagery has become the wallpaper of

twenty-first-century society. With the rise of the increasingly

ubiquitous ‘celebrity sex tape’, fans of chart-friendly pop stars such

as Tulisa Contostavlos are exposed to increasingly graphic and intimate

depictions of their icons. And then there’s Fifty Shades of Grey.

society, but when former champions of sexual liberalism, such as Joan

Bakewell, start bemoaning the onslaught of naked flesh into the living

room, something appears to have changed. Indeed, it is fortysomething

ex-punk journalists turned parents who have started to wonder aloud why

thong-thrusting pop videos are being shown at lunchtime.

But could it be argued that we’ve been here many times before? From

Elvis Presley and David Bowie to Madonna and Prince, pop stars have

sought to challenge and question society’s taboos around sex. Surely

Rihanna and Perry are simply the latest practitioners of taboo busting

exhibitionism? Or is it the case that sex and relationships have become

devalued, with porn aesthetics the new low-grade currency? A civilised

society should be open about sex, but are we in danger of forgetting

that civilised values also means the separation of the public and

private, the decent and the debased? Is the rush to smash sexual taboos a

sign of healthy libertarianism or of self-loathing by a cultural elite

unwilling and unable to promote higher culture? Are the sexual-taboo

smashers really hammering elite traditionalists and conservatives or is

it a radical way of sneering at ordinary people’s ‘small minded’ values?

Neil Davenport

writer; head of sociology, JFS Sixth Form Centre; contributor, spiked

Dr Jan Macvarish

research

fellow, Centre for Health Services Studies; founding associate, Centre

for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury

Anna Percy

feminist

performance poet; member, Stirred Feminist Poetry collective; organiser

and facilitator, live poetry events and writing workshops

Chair:

Suzy Dean

freelance writer; blogger, Free Society