Censorship of Sex Over Violence

I am very intrigued by the fact that sexual content is considered less appropriate for people of a certain age than sexual content, especially since violence is usually illegal while sex is not. This is not the case for all countries, especially European countries. For example, even in countries like Germany with a history of violence there is more censorship of violence then of sex.  Often times in the US, you can find a PG13 movie with a good deal of violence, but once sex is thrown into the mix, that rating often changes to an R. 

I am still not a hundred percent clear on why this is, but after some research it seems that it is largely due to our country’s religious roots and the idea of keeping children “pure”. What interests me more than why it is the case that the US censors sex more than violence is the affects it has. 

I feel that the absence of consensual sex in popular forms of media for children/teenagers/young adults implies that sex is a bad thing or even that it is something that as a male you have to fight for from a female. Meanwhile, images of violence are normalized, perpetuating violence as an accepted part of our culture. 

I read something on an online blog that the key to ending a culture of rape is to demystify some of what sex is. I believe the best way to achieve this is to allow sex and sexuality to be discussed more openly, whether it be in household conversations or through what we see in television and movies. When a child grows up with violent images rather than images of consensual sex, he or she might have a more violent approach to sex. 

The act of having sex or expressing ones sexuality is far less alarming than abuse (both physical and verbal), murder, etc. I feel that many people must agree with this, yet there is a stigma surrounding sex and sexuality that has yet to be broken down. Yes, one could argue that allowing young people to see sex scenes will prompt them to go out and have sex, but what is more alarming is the idea that a young person so fascinated by images of gunfights and shooting will get their hands on a gun and use it on another human being. 

Eliminating sex on the screen has several major consequences, mainly shaming those who engage in sex (even when the sex is consensual) into feeling like they are doing some wrong or dirty or even worse, it replaces images on consensual sex with violence while further mystifying sex in such a way that perpetuates rape culture.