# I pit the Chinese ethos re sex **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 8, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424 "2005-06-08T07:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/1 "2005-06-08T07:58:14Z")
A couple of nights back, we were watching _When Harry Met Sally_ on the Star Movies channel, which is operated by NOW Broadband, part of the largest telecommunications company here, PCCW. We were of course waiting with baited breath for THAT scene. Well, it came, but Meg Ryan didn’t. She wasn’t given the chance. The idiots at PCCW decided that a film shown between 9 and 10.40pm would pervert the youth (or more worryingly the adults) if it included more than half a dozen grunts from Ms Ryan, cut to the Jewish lady saying “I’ll have what’s she’s having”. Absolutely pathetic. And yet they routinely show people torturing each other and killing each other. And cheating each other, and lying to each other, if you want to get all moral about things. Pathetic. Wankers. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/2 "2005-06-08T09:21:16Z")
After an upfront flush of appreciation I myself spent a day or 2 wandering around thinking, “What to these people do to fuck?” Wonderful in many ways HK and China but not _sexy_. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/3 "2005-06-08T09:33:31Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > …they routinely show people torturing each other and killing each other. And cheating each other, and lying to each other, if you want to get all moral about things. I agree that it’s pathetic, but this argument is an apples to oranges kind of thing. Normal people don’t want to kill or torture, but everybody wants to fuck. Showing violence doesn’t present a temptation like showing sex does. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/4 "2005-06-08T11:16:21Z")
What kind of bait were you using? ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/5 "2005-06-08T11:54:06Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I agree that it’s pathetic, but this argument is an apples to oranges kind of thing. Normal people don’t want to kill or torture, but everybody wants to fuck. Showing violence doesn’t present a temptation like showing sex does. Not the point. Sex is a (relatively) harmless and (mostly) pleasurable activity. What is the harm of providing some titillation, even if it is a temptation. Violence on the other hand is harmful and only pleasurable to some. Most people by your own words don’t want to participate, so why make a big deal out of it. However, the two need not be mutually exclusive of course, in that a film could contain both violence and sex, or neither. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/6 "2005-06-08T12:19:57Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I agree that it’s pathetic, but this argument is an apples to oranges kind of thing. Normal people don’t want to kill or torture, but everybody wants to fuck. Showing violence doesn’t present a temptation like showing sex does. But what does that mean? We can show very gross stuff because no one will ever copy it…we can’t show normal stuff in case people decide to go off and be normal? There is something very sad about a society when then they censor sex before violence…most societies ☹ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/7 "2005-06-08T12:43:27Z")
In _The People vs Larry Flynt_ there is a scene in which Flynt presents a slide show where slides alternate between mutilated bodies from the Viet Nam war and naked women. “Take a picture of a mutilated body”, he says, “and they give you an award. Take a picture of a naked lady, and they put you in jail. I ask you, which is more obscene?” It’s a powerful message about censorship. And yet when this movie plays on TV, which pictures from the slide show are blurred out? The naked women, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/8 "2005-06-08T13:16:05Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > Absolutely pathetic. And yet they routinely show people torturing each other and killing each other. And cheating each other, and lying to each other, if you want to get all moral about things. I know. These crazy Puritanical values have made America into a completely prudish society. We should be more like those Eastern countries that value sexuality. What’s that you say? We’re not talking about the US? Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/9 "2005-06-08T13:18:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > It’s a powerful message about censorship. And yet when this movie plays on TV, which pictures from the slide show are blurred out? The naked women, of course. I wonder if the people ordering the blurring see that beautiful irony. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/10 "2005-06-08T14:12:40Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > But what does that mean? We can show very gross stuff because no one will ever copy it…we can’t show normal stuff in case people decide to go off and be normal? Well, kinda, yeah. It’s similar to the difference between showing a motorcycle jumping the grand canyon, or a kid on a bike jumping a homemade 5-foot ramp over a pit he poured gasoline in and lit. Which do you think would be more “dangerous” for the general public to watch? (I’ve never seen the latter depicted in film, but it was a fun personal pastime in my misspent youth.) I disagree with the prudish attitude about sex adopted by the FCC, and see no harm in depictions of sex, but I do understand _why_ people get uptight about sex moreso than violence. It makes perfect sense to me, despite the fact that I disagree with the underlying premise. (Sex is bad.) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/11 "2005-06-08T14:41:27Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > I know. These crazy Puritanical values have made America into a completely prudish society. We should be more like those Eastern countries that value sexuality. > > What’s that you say? We’re not talking about the US? Huh. Heh. That was going to be my first comment, too. The OP’s description of media priorities sounds very similar to American practices. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/12 "2005-06-08T14:55:41Z")
Oh man… don’t get me started on Korean Porn. I mean god damn. It’s porn for crying out loud!!! But you can’t show genitals??? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/13 "2005-06-08T15:00:10Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Oh man… don’t get me started on Korean Porn. > > I mean god damn. It’s porn for crying out loud!!! But you can’t show genitals??? I thought that was Japanese…oh, wait, I meant to say I’ve never seen any of that and have no comment on the subject. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/14 "2005-06-08T15:04:28Z")
> [@Sevastopol](#): > > “What to these people do to fuck?” I’m kind of curious about that, too. From my short visits to Hong Kong, it appears that almost everyone lives in a tiny flat in a huge block, sharing maybe 10 square meters with a family of 10 or so, including grandparents. Where \*do \* HK’ers go to fuck? Hotels? Perhaps it’s simply necessary to do what they can to keep their libidos down, or they’d go crazy. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/15 "2005-06-08T15:14:43Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I thought that was Japanese…oh, wait, I meant to say I’ve never seen any of that and have no comment on the subject. 🆒 I thought the Japanese just objected to showing pubic hair. Leading thousands of Japanese porn stars to shave their genitals in the name of public decency. And probably contributing to the American fad for the same. Prudery has some interesting consequences dunnit? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/16 "2005-06-08T15:18:18Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > And probably contributing to the American fad for the same. I kinda doubt that. Not just because I’d wager that Japanese porn isn’t all that popular stateside… Personally, I’d put my money on oral sex rather than Japanese culture as an influence. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/17 "2005-06-08T15:50:29Z")
Apples and oranges indeed. There is little correlation between the morality/propriety of an act itself, and that of showing the act in a movie. There are few activities more normal or everyday or morally neutral than taking a dump, but I have yet to see this depicted explicitly in any movie not involving Cartman’s mom—nor do I want to, nor do I expect to. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/18 "2005-06-08T16:04:43Z")
Many years ago Playboy reported a bar in the South had a fake orgasm contest modeled after the movie. The sheriff, having solved all other problems in the county busted them. (Shame, I would have paid big money to have watched the contest.) ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/19 "2005-06-08T16:14:52Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Personally, I’d put my money on oral sex Words to live by, I tell ya! ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424/20 "2005-06-08T16:20:33Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Oh man… don’t get me started on Korean Porn. > > I mean god damn. It’s porn for crying out loud!!! But you can’t show genitals??? Koreans got genitals? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-chinese-ethos-re-sex/307424.md?page=2)