# Porn on the TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268 "2012-01-31T03:46:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/41 "2012-01-31T18:08:53Z")
> [@Baboonanza](#): > > I’ve noticed that with almost all HBO shows there is T&A in the first couple of episodes even if it then disappears for the rest of the season. It’s clearly a tactic to try and get viewers into the shows. I have always believed that as the actresses’ get more power and prestige as the show grows in rankings and following, they push back on the nudity and sex scenes. They then bring in new young characters to fill the nudity quotient but they aren’t lead characters and as such there just isn’t as much nudity. That is certainly the best explanation for me with a large number of the series. So I don’t see it as a early season/late season dichotomy but rather as a 1st season/later seasons kind of thing. The L Word is a perfect example where the nudity of main characters plummets but new characters can only keep their clothes on for a single scene before changing into their birthday suits. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/42 "2012-01-31T19:22:57Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > And for the record, why is watching porn unclassy? It’s not \*watching \*it that’s unclassy, _per se._ It’s that the classy way to watch porn is in private, and in deep shame. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/43 "2012-01-31T19:42:03Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I don’t know if it’s a “problem” per se; I’m not against sex on TV, I’m just against watching porn in public … Your living room is “in public” now? > [@Eonwe](#): > > Based on aural stimuli it sounds like porn. The fact that if I happen to watch I don’t see a penis or vagina almost feels irrelevant. I … I don’t quite know what to do with this statement. No penis + no vagina + moaning and kissing = porn? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/44 "2012-01-31T20:04:38Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Your living room is “in public” now? I’m not sure why everyone is feeling the need to be pedantic about vocabulary. It is “in public” inasmuch as it is not “in private.” Multiple people, none of whom are family, share access to the living room. It’s not public like the town square, but it’s not private. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I … I don’t quite know what to do with this statement. No penis + no vagina + moaning and kissing = porn? Yes. In my opinion. An audio recording could be pornographic. As could video without shots of a penis. If it’s so baffling, you could at least explain what you think porn is, instead of just being dumbfounded at how ridiculous you seem to think I am. And again, it’s getting into pedantry about the finer points of the definition of words, which is a little beside the original feeling I was trying to express, which was: > [@Eonwe](#): > > it feels like they’re watching porn in the other room. It feels . . . unclassy, I guess. > \ > . . . the amount of sex going on in these shows passes beyond being a tool for storytelling or mood and is just titillation. In my opinion, of course. But, if you want to talk about what makes something porn, I’ll just say that what I saw in episodes of both of those shows qualifies as porn according to [Merriam Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pornography), and, a bit more debatably, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pornography). ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/45 "2012-01-31T20:17:26Z")
> [@bup](#): > > It’s not \*watching \*it that’s unclassy, _per se._ > > It’s that the classy way to watch porn is in private, and in deep shame. Look, I’m trying to be lighthearted about this mainly unimportant topic, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t insult me by putting words in my mouth. There is nothing shameful or wrong with porn. In my opinion. Other people, with whom I am not intimate, watching porn in front of me makes me feel uncomfortable. If I were watching porn, I wouldn’t want other people watching me; certainly I would not just put it on in the ‘public’ living room and not think twice. It’s kind of rude. And, _to me_, these feel like porn. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/46 "2012-01-31T20:21:01Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > But, if you want to talk about what makes something porn, I’ll just say that what I saw in episodes of both of those shows qualifies as porn according to [Merriam Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pornography), and, a bit more debatably, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pornography). As was stated above, I doubt that these scenes were included in the programming “with the intent of causing sexual excitement,” meaning actual sexual arousal. Maybe it’s different for you, but I don’t think most people who watch this material get physically aroused by this kind of material in drama or comedy. Yes, maybe sexual content draws interest from the audience, but material _intended_ to cause arousal is much more explicit in showing the mechanics of sexual behavior, not just the miming of a sex scene in the context of a fictional work. There is such thing as “soft core porn,” by the way, which was a little more coy about showing erect penises and open vaginas, which I don’t see as much any more, probably because hard core porn is so readily available. I wouldn’t say that anything in _Rome_ constitutes even soft core porn. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/47 "2012-01-31T21:38:28Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > And, was often taken out of the story by gratuitous and explicit sex and violence. Gratuitous and explicit sex and violence _was_ the story: [He respected neither his own chastity nor that of anyone else. He is said to have had unnatural relations with Marcus Lepidus, the pantomimic actor Mnester, and certain hostages. Valerius Catullus, a young man of a consular family, publicly proclaimed that he had violated the emperor and worn himself out in commerce with him. To say nothing of his incest with his sisters and his notorious passion for the concubine Pyrallis, there was scarcely any woman of rank whom he did not approach.](http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/48 "2012-01-31T21:55:21Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I’m not sure why everyone is feeling the need to be pedantic about vocabulary. It is “in public” inasmuch as it is not “in private.” Multiple people, none of whom are family, share access to the living room. It’s not public like the town square, but it’s not private. > > Yes. In my opinion. An audio recording could be pornographic. As could video without shots of a penis. If it’s so baffling, you could at least explain what you think porn is, instead of just being dumbfounded at how ridiculous you seem to think I am. > > And again, it’s getting into pedantry about the finer points of the definition of words, which is a little beside the original feeling I was trying to express, which was: > But, if you want to talk about what makes something porn, I’ll just say that what I saw in episodes of both of those shows qualifies as porn according to [Merriam Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pornography), and, a bit more debatably, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pornography). Alright, alright - I was just saying that what you’re talking about sounds more like “erotica” than “porn.” Tomayto, tomahto, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/49 "2012-01-31T22:08:45Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > It is “in public” inasmuch as it is not “in private.” Multiple people, none of whom are family, share access to the living room. So the proper way to watch porn is with your family? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/50 "2012-01-31T22:11:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > As was stated above, I doubt that these scenes were included in the programming “with the intent of causing sexual excitement,” meaning actual sexual arousal. Maybe it’s different for you, but I don’t think most people who watch this material get physically aroused by this kind of material in drama or comedy. > > Yes, maybe sexual content draws interest from the audience, but material _intended_ to cause arousal is much more explicit in showing the mechanics of sexual behavior, not just the miming of a sex scene in the context of a fictional work. What are they there for, then? Is there some expectation that unless a man or woman is watching a penis and vagina, that something can’t be designed to arouse? [Someone’s compilation of ‘hot’ True Blood scenes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52otsqov9PM) One or two of these scenes are silly, most of them are straight up erotic. To quote comments on this video: > [@](#): > > O…M…G… I think I need a cold shower. I swear, true blood is the closest thing to girl geared porn that we’re ever gonna get. Talk about lady wood, whew!!! > > never watched true blood. might start watching it. _wipes sweat_ > > Oops. I just soaked my panties. > > omg that turned me on…I seriously dont know why my bf doesnt like this show! it’s full of hot hot sex! Of course those are in there to turn people on. You could easily be much less explicit than they are while still keeping the relationships/story the same. ‘Draw interest.’ Yes, I am interested in erotic sex scenes with naked actors. Not aroused. Just interested. You know, for my research. > [@Acsenray](#): > > There is such thing as “soft core porn,” by the way, which was a little more coy about showing erect penises and open vaginas, which I don’t see as much any more, probably because hard core porn is so readily available. I wouldn’t say that anything in _Rome_ constitutes even soft core porn. I am aware of soft core porn, having grown up in the era before the internet killed it. I think the sex takes up less time per hour taped than soft core porn, and the writing/production is much better, but the depictions of sex are of equal eroticness to soft core porn of yore. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/51 "2012-01-31T22:16:16Z")
> [@bup](#): > > So the proper way to watch porn is with your family? Yes. Of course. Are you trying to be obtuse? If I were living only with a wife or girlfriend, it would be reasonable for her to think of the living room as private, despite sharing it with me. It is not reasonable for me to think of the living room as private while living with acquaintances. Can I clarify any more for you? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/52 "2012-01-31T22:19:13Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > IIRC it is only the pilot episode that had nudity. And it was full frontal female nudity. It is still available on DVD (the version in my “ten seasons plus films” boxset has it, but there is a re-edited version available on DVD now as well). Thanks for the correction / clarification. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/53 "2012-01-31T22:25:09Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Yes. Of course. Are you trying to be obtuse? > > If I were living only with a wife or girlfriend, it would be reasonable for her to think of the living room as private, despite sharing it with me. > > It is not reasonable for me to think of the living room as private while living with acquaintances. > > Can I clarify any more for you? Well, maybe the part about your girlfriend being related to you. You might want to date outside your family. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/54 "2012-01-31T22:55:09Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Well, maybe the part about your girlfriend being related to you. You might want to date outside your family. I consider my girlfriend part of my family. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/55 "2012-01-31T23:02:03Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Well, maybe the part about your girlfriend being related to you. You might want to date outside your family. This may have been intended as a joke, but it’s offensive. Dial it back, please, **bup**. If you have a problem with **Eonwe** , take it to the Pit. Thanks, **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268/56 "2012-02-03T00:24:25Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Well, depending on your definition of TV these shows may or may not be “on TV”. > Both shows you listed are series on HBO which runs a bit more risqué than your typical TV series and aren’t regulated by the FCC. Basic cable is no more regulated by the FCC than premium channels like HBO. In any event, I wouldn’t call any of these shows like True Blood porn by any means, but HBO does show softcore movies in late night slots. Often they are shunted over to the HBOzone channel, but they crop up on regular HBO sometimes as well. That’s not even getting into how much Showtime and Skinemax show. They even once aired a documentary on Deep Throat that included hardcore footage of the title act, completely uncensored. So yes, there is porn on TV, but what the topic creator is speaking of ain’t it. Sure, there’s nudity a’plenty but True Blood is a show about vampires, and sometimes vampires have sex, but even though it’s a part of the show it’s a fairly small percentage. Compare to the actual softcore porns they show where it’s all just a bunch of bad (like really bad) acting used as an excuse to string together a bunch of naked people grinding up on each other (without penetration) those are probably at least a good two thirds to 75 percent sex scenes. Often the actors in these also do hardcore films, unlike say, Anna Paquin who also does real big budget movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-on-the-tv/611268.md?page=2)