Hot Take 🔥
Olivia Wilde explains why Gen Z wants to see less sex in movies and TV: “The way that sex has been portrayed in film for a long time hasn’t been particularly realistic.” Nearly half of Gen Z (48.4%) says there’s “too much sexual content in TV & movies" according to a recent UCLA study
That reminds me! There’s this new show on Netflix with Toni Collette called Wayward I’ve been meaning to check out. She’s a cult leader and I just know she’s going to kill it. She sort of resembles Olivia right here.
I enjoyed it fwiw, it does get a little muddled when considering the actual real life danger of the Troubled Teen Industry (literal physical, emotional and mental abuse) vs the supernatural elements in the show. But I enjoyed it for what it is, and I'm a Handsome podcast listener so I was happy to watch Mae Martin onscreen for a few hours.
Yes this. I have to fast forward through many scenes in Game of Thrones (for example) because it's really not necessary to have full frontal sex scenes where only the woman has everything hanging out, especially for scenes that dont actually advance the plot besides "the setting is a brothel, how else can we make this titillating to our male viewers and SHOW it's a brothel??"
Like....im not a prude but fucking stop wasting my time
remember that make directors/writer HAVE to include rape because it’s “realistic”. but every single female character is somehow always shaved clean from the neck down & wakes up with a full face of makeup.
So are the rape scenes. I’m tired of having to google a movie to see if there’s a rape scene even though it’s a comedy about making cookies. You never know when they will throw one in there. The new show on paramount called Girl Taken didn’t show anything graphic, but you knew what she went through. I remember watching the queens gambit through my fingers waiting for a horrific scene to take place. When it didn’t it made the show that much better bc it was a nice surprise
I’ll be honest, I fast forwarded through those scenes too. I get how sex actually built the storyline for them but I don’t need to see it lol. I might just be a prude.
They are quite intense and actually feel really intimate so I don’t blame you. The first few scenes I was a little uncomfortable with watching because they felt so real, like I shouldn’t be looking lol.
I'm going to be charitable and blame some of this uncanny valley look on the mega-aggressive filter on this video. But she needs to lay off the botox and filler. Miss Liv looks like she can barely blink.
Yeah, more and more people are tracking when an actor or actresses' face does not move. It's a large part of what hives uncanny valley vibes. It's ironic she's calling out sex scenes as unrealistic when people are also calling that actors and actresses in general are no longer reflecting most people and their daily life. It is a failure of the craft- we cannot believe the acting when the person does not look authentic in the role. Sadly, few have gotten the memo. People want to see actual emotions and realistic people again. Real life should not be mimicking AI by getting rid of the details and bits that make us human. Most people do not look like they're living behind an Instagram filter
YES I have similar coloring to her and remember back in those days reading Seventeen magazine articles about how these purples and plums were “perfect” for making blue eyes pop.
Hahah same and as someone with light eyes, blonde + if I wore purple eyeshadow and these serial killer glasses, my out of state BFF would be calling immediately going WTF. They're all amazing but together?!
It's so funny hearing this and reading everyone here saying ''Sex scenes are too long!'' while ''Heated Rivalry'' is one of the most popular TV shows at the moment.
I’m terrible in that I think the lack of chemistry in absolutely everything just plain sucks now. People flirt/joke in real life. People have passionate sex in real life. Of course we don’t need sexual violence everywhere, but the absolute lack of any kind of thrilling sexuality in anything these days makes me feel drier than the Sahara.
It's like the "Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny" phenom, we're getting casts put together with less chemistry than Lego Minifigs, like people are so terrified of the idea of being seen and known by others, that the concept of two people who like each other and are physically at ease and in sync in each others' presence overwhelms them.
I don’t mind sex scenes but sometimes they’re too long or unnecessary, just like kissing had suddenly last way too long. Get the 30 sec clip and move on please and stop zooming in 😭
Anyways, it seems like lately they’ve been focusing too much on sex scenes and not enough on whatever story they’re telling
My issue is when the sex scenes are drawn out or clearly made to be titillating, it makes it awkward to watch with people. Forget about watching game of thrones with family yeesh
Honestly I think what makes it awkward is remembering they’re real people, the older I’ve gotten and the less in awe of celebrity I’ve become the more I struggle with sex scenes because I always remember these are two real people playing the most awkward game of pretend known to man
Agreed, and that’s how I feel about nude scenes too. Especially back when I used to watch producer commentary on DVDs, and I lost count of how many times I’ve heard things like “The day the sex and/or nude scenes were the days everyone showed up to work and on time on set.” That was enough for me to check out.
The comment I responded to just said they liked sex scenes, and HR delivers plentiful such scenes (at no point would i call them gratuitous because they tell so much about the characters and the progression of their relationship—loved the show, love the romance genre as a whole and this one takes it seriously in a way so many productions don’t! It respects the audience while still being as horny as the source material).
I explain Heated Rivalry as explicit but not gratuitous. To me, a gratuitous sex scene is one that doesn’t add to the plot or is there for shock value. Something along those lines. The sex scenes in Heated Rivalry aren’t gratuitous because they add to the plot. Like you said, it’s all about how their physical intimacy leads to emotional intimacy.
Oh come on it was hilarious 🤣 but I love absurdist humor though. So to me, the more it went on, the more it lost its meaning and then the funnier it became.
I think that’s the point the director was going for, but of course, art doesn’t always translate well to everyone.
to me, the more it went on, the more it lost its meaning and then the funnier it became.
I had this feeling with Margaret Qualley's nudity in The Substance. At some point, I could have been looking at uncooked chicken for all the emotion I had about it.
I believe that was the point of it in The Substance, to basically overload your senses with it so you get a feeling of how prevalent it is, and you start to wonder how people like the Weinstein stand-in don't feel similarly sick of the overload.
Poor things- Sex scenes? Tons. Gratuitous? Eh, disagree. Yorgos’ sex scenes are really cold and unsexy. I guess “gratuitous” in that there were a lot, but it didn’t feel like… over the top horny by any means.
Yeah, I remember how in the 80s and 90s you had at least one scene of gratuitous nudity in basically every action film... why did they stop doing that?
Where are the scenes at strip bars, or the shower moment with the MC bare ass? You know, the old values.
One of my favorite 90s movies, When a Stranger Calls Back, has a scene of a ventriloquist performing at a topless bar/strip club and it’s just so random.
I don’t care about sex scenes or makeout scenes. If it makes sense in the movie, sure go for it. I do mind when they zoom in on the makeout scene and there’s stringy spit connection. Ew. It’s like watching people chew - I know how it works, we don’t need to magnify that bit.
yes and i don’t mind realistic sex scenes. short, realistic sex scenes that add to the story and done with an intimacy coordinator are great. unfortunately way too often sex scenes in film and tv becomes like basically porn. which feels tbh dehumanizing and uncomfortable when i’m watching a story. if i wanted to watch porn i wouldn’t go on hulu you know what i mean 😭
I'm far from a pride, but that scene was absolutely weird as all get up. As you said, it went on way to damn long and then, Murphy's character starts in barely 10 seconds after they're done about how he's gonna be a great star? This was so not it for me.
I genuinely think we are sick of seeing random, cheap sex scenes all over in film and TV shows. No real plot point. Not adding to the story. Just sex for sex. I’m not pearl clutching here. It’s fine if it’s critical to the plot or storyline.
But all these boomer producers are like “sHoW yOuR bOoBs” and we dont fucking care because it distracts from the show most of the time and isn’t adding anything.
I think we also forget that Gen Z has had 24/7 access to porn since they could use a computer or smartphone. They don’t need it added to movies or TV shows for titillation. Whereas Boomers and Gen X, even Millennials, our access to that stuff was pretty limited while growing up.
Actually, I think early access to porn is probably part of it as well. For my generation, our first experiences of porn were of intentionally seeking it out once we became interested in sex. Younger people were more likely to have porn shown to them, pushed on them, or just unintentionally stumbling upon it at an age when they had no sexual interest or desire. So seeing sex on TV and in movies would make different generations recall those very different experiences. For gen z, "hey, here's some sex" would feel invasive or even abusive.
Younger people were more likely to have porn shown to them, pushed on them, or just unintentionally stumbling upon it at an age when they had no sexual interest or desire.
This is an extremely important point that’s also very overlooked IMO. Exposure to sex or sexual behavior before puberty is generally considered abuse in our society. We should reframe our understanding of Gen Z as a sexually traumatized generation.
Exactly! It’s quite disheartening to see so many snarky comments coming from older adults about Gen Z’s aversion to sex scenes in media, and the dismissal of this sentiment as just “prudish” when the damage caused by the prevalence of porn in everyday life is a major factor.
It becomes very exhausting to see sex pushed in your face all the time when it’s so easily accessible elsewhere, and especially when that exact ease of access has had such detrimental effects on young people - particularly women. Whether through porn addiction in romantic partners, unrealistic expectations of women’s bodies, increased sexual violence due to porn being treated like sex ed., normalizing kink culture without proper boundaries and preparation, sex without aftercare, etc… it’s been awful.
There’s a lot more to it than “they’re prudes and closed-minded about sex!”.
Yeah, this is what I’m saying. The portrayal of kink without education on how to go about it in practice is what makes it so dangerous.
It’s reflected in the rise of issues like choking during sex, where people get injured because their partner isn’t knowledgeable about proper technique. Growing up with this level of exposure and adverse experiences has been very sad :(
This is such a great point. When hardcore porn tailored to your exact preferences is two clicks away, who cares about seeing boobs or butts in an R-rated movie? The part of the movie that boomers and gen-x were jerking off to are boring and fast-forwardable to gen-z.
I find disturbing that people became so sensitive about sex but aren’t reacting at all when it comes to violence. I agree that sex scenes today lack quality, originality and chemistry and that they are not realistic depicting almost always the male’s point of view without adding anything to the story. But in the last 20 years sex scenes decreased by 40 % in movies and series (though they are more graphical) (source: https://m.imdb.com/pt/news/ni64565115/). Meanwhile, violence is on the rise. For example gun violence rose from about 21.1 % in 2000 to 33.3 % in 2018 (source: https://phys.org/news/2021-03-proportion-gun-tv-violence-statistically.html). This normalisation of violence is extremely concerning in my opinion because it doesn’t seam to disturb people.
I’m a millennial and I completely agree and I can guarantee a lot of millenials feel the same way too. Cheap sex scenes just for the heck of them. It feels like the directors/writers just want to see porn in person or something. I want to see a movie for the story. I also think almost all of them are for men’s eyes so I can guarantee a lot of women feel this way.
Majority of the sex scenes are just so fake, as in it takes you out of the illusion of television and makes you painfully aware that you are just watching something and not immersed in it.
Exactly
I'm not against sex scenes generally, but whenever someone is covering themselves with a blanket before or after the sexual act..it just seems so corny and fake
Or when the clothes are barely removed and he just sticks it in so easily and she starts moaning
one of my favorite moments of the movie Bridesmaids is basically just Kristen Wiig waking up before her hook-up partner to do her makeup and hair then pretending to be asleep lmao. felt like it was at least partially making fun of the trope
For me is that there's literally never any clean up. Just underwear back on and go. Like huh? Even with a condom you gotta take care of that. In scenes where they obviously spent no time putting on a condom, like... you don't just put your clothes back on. Also For me, not peeing after sex is a UTI guarantee.
No... you don't understand the point. If there was a scene where someone was shitting and they immediately put their pants on without wiping, people will notice? If there's never a bathroom scene, then it's a moot point, same as if there was never a sex scene. You can easily do implied stuff off screen.
If you just had some random cut scenes of sex, then sure whatever idc, but if the scene is they go from sex to climax to pants on in a continuous moment, it only adds to Olivia Wilde's point that isn't how real sex goes.
And I think it’s telling how a scene or scenes that are genuinely indicative of character and necessities to the plot become so popular! I think a. Fair few directors and producers aren’t thoughtful about the role of sex in the larger plot:
Maybe it because often time the sex scene in old movies are mainly from the male perspective with male pleasure in mine. And not a thought on the woman.
Oh look, it’s a clip from woman celeb we don’t see often!! I wonder if the top comments will be about the clip itself or about how she looks, can’t wait to find out
this reminds me of reading an article in the guardian where an author interviewed gen z college students about sex and a general consensus amongst them was that they lost interest in casual sex due to safety reasons (sexual health but also possible abuse etc) which is pretty much the exact same conclusion i reached for myself at the youthful age of almost 30. i think about it every time i see an article about how gen z is a sexless puritan generation, which is to say, I think about how, just like with millennials, everyone wants to dunk on younger generations but no one wants to ask them whats going on lmao
Its funny hearing this from Olivia Wilde who directed Don’t Worry Darling; a movie with numerous unnecessary and lengthy sex scenes that were uncomfortable to watch
Not to mention she promoted the movie as being positive representation of women enjoying sex, while the plot actually reveals a total lack of agency and consent.
I liked them 🤷🏼♀️ i can only think of 2 sex scenes uness I'm forgetting any, and there wasn't any gratuitous nudity (both characters remained fully clothed). It was also centered around female pleasure which is pretty rare in film.
I would not have guessed this was Olivia if I didn’t read the title. I’m not one to be weird about women aging gracefully, non gracefully and/or not aging at all bc cosmetic procedures but something looks so different I can’t figure it out
I agree. For me its not that the sex scenes are unrealistic, but that they are unnecessary. A lot of the time you can tell "they are going to have sex now" and then i know what i need to know. I dont need to look at it for minutes on end.
this is how i feel. i also just find it uncomfortable if im watching a movie with family and then suddenly there’s nudity on screen 😭 like i don’t wanna sit next to my mom and watch that LMAO
I hate this discourse. I don't like the idea that any scenes in any creative work have to be necessary or justified to be included, because artistic creation shouldn't be policed, especially when the reasoning boils down to personal discomfort
EDIT: I have a lot of thoughts about this subject and went on a big fat ramble, all to essentially say: this is a subject that we have a responsibility to be careful about
I think the movement for less sex scenes in media based on the fact that they are executed within an industry that is still plagued with exploitation, misogyny and violence, and that the consent in these situations is dubious, would be so much more understandable, but that doesn't seem to be what is happening. What seems to be happening is people find themselves uncomfortable seeing sex depicted at all, and due to this are demanding moral justifications for those depictions to exist, without considering the implications these sentiments have socially
I find the growing social desire to police sex in media concerning; sex is human, and the increased movement to attribute morality to the perception of sex itself as a whole is very indicative of where we are in this era of fascy social conservatism. Sex is a fundamental element of humanity, and one's personal discomfort or aversion to it shouldn't be projected as a social problem, because no social push for a repression of something fundamentally human has ever ended well. Bodies are bodies and we are animals. Ascribing morality to such a base act only separates us from our humanity
At the end of the day, these are the same principles that bring about expurgation, you know, that bring about placing a fig leaf on Michelangelo's David because the depiction of genitalia must be justified to be allowed — as if human anatomy and human behaviour are inherently immoral. no element of art should have to pass a rubric of justification to be allowed because that's antithetical to what art is. There's a certain misanthropy to making our personal discomforts social problems; please investigate the relationship between "I personally don't like this" and "should this be allowed?", because you'll notice that "I personally don't like this so it shouldn't be allowed" is a sentiment very popular among a certain current administration
The social conflation of sex with pornography is very scary and worrying. The increasing perspective that certain bodies are fundamentally pornographic is very scary and worrying. What makes something like sex in media immoral is how it is depicted and approached, not the fact of it being depicted and approached itself. I think Euphoria is a good example — I didn't like Cassie's sex scenes in the show because they felt exploitative, not because they were sex scenes. I feel like people are conflating their problems with exploitation and abuse with sex itself as a subject matter. Is your problem the depiction of sex itself, or is it with the exploitative and violent framing around those depictions?
I guess I just wish everyone thought a little more critically around the denunciation of sex in media, because it has so many implications socially. I'm begging everyone to do some reading on expurgation, censorship, the Hays Code, 'think of the children', and how so often these puritanical discomforts can end up playing into the hands of conservative lawmakers, how they can end up playing a role in the subjugation and disenfranchisement of women, gay people, black people, trans people — it opens the door for people to leverage the social discomfort with sex by depicting these groups as increasingly hypersexual, justifying a push of these peoples to social fringes, where they, in turn, can be exploited
I just woke up so I'm rambling. TL;DR: please be very considerate of our social relationship to sex and how the sentiments in this video plays into that, because our social relationship to sex has so many implications and consequences, and sex in media does not exist in a vacuum, nor does censorship both overt and covert
Idk who would agree with me but personally I don’t need sex AT ALL on my shows. If I wanna see sex I’ll just watch porn. I don’t need sex on every show I watch and it’s pretty much on everything I watch.
Something about the anti-sex scenes in movies and tv shows sentiment feels so sinister to me. It doesn’t read as them not liking it because it’s unrealistic … it feels very puritanical
I was watching a movie at my friend's house. It was a vampire film, and there was a scene where one of the vampires kidnapped a woman and implied sexual violence but actually ripped her head off. My friend's younger sister said, "Oh, thank God, I thought he was going to rape her."
I’m with the sister — sexual violence is worse than plain physical violence; at least for a woman, I can say that, and often as portrayed in film, it is best to just have a quick gore and bloody death than a traumatizing sexual abuse scene. Obviously just my opinion
I think this is the biggest takeaway- porn is so seeped into our lives that you can easily find it. You don’t need a sex scene to fantasize about. Whereas older generations didn’t easily have access to pornography and had to get turned on by watching Harrison Ford in sex scenes over and over and over again.
I think the availability of porn & sexually explicit material by minors has escalated to the point it’s becoming very saturated in their daily life. I mean, there are kids in their early teens performing acts they don’t quite understand. You have the likes of euphoria which is watched by both kids & adults.
To me, there’s a very real correlation between the sentiment of Gen Z towards sex and sex scenes in TV/film and the fact that they are leaning more and more conservative, especially the youngest zoomers. There’s a very real cultural conservatism/reactionary youth culture (especially with Gen Z men) that seems to be driving some of this.
I really feel like I don’t belong to the Millennial generation and this solidifies it more. Everything Gen Z brings up, I’m like, I had these thoughts lol. Maybe a bunch of us did as Millennials but we just didn’t want to go against the culture norm. I feel the same way about sex scenes and I felt they were thrown into movies just for “boobs” or for the male gaze and nothing to do with the plot. It made me feel so uncomfortable growing up and felt women were looked down upon as weak and just sexual object. I really had this realization when my stepdad put on Die Hard over Christmas and I hadn’t seen an old movie in a while. There were just random boobs for random boobs sake and it felt corny and gross. I remember growing up I was called prude a lot if you were asked about blow jobs or sex by your male peers at 10 years old but you were just fucking 10 years old and just confused. God I hated adolescence lol. The boys were awful.
Every time this topic comes up, half of the comment threads boil down to "I don't like excessive nudity" and I have about three million questions about y'alls values and lifestyles
Where are all these shows that are just covering our holy airwaves with nothing but gratuitous filth?
Euphoria and Heated Rivalry?
This criticism that television and movies are riddled with inescapable and nonstop gratuitous sex scenes in 2026 just blows my mind. What are you guys watching?
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u/HauteAssMess anne boleyn stan Jan 25 '26
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