Maybe it’s just me, but while sharing this with all of you I still cannot fathom what possessed a major television network to air such a show in the middle of a weekday afternoon.
I was home from work last week nursing a cold, lying on the couch, and working the clicker when I came across a show called The Drs. It was 2:00 PM in the afternoon on Boston’s Channel 7 (WHDH and an NBC – affiliate) and appeared to be about health and well-being so I stopped to watch for a bit. What I saw shocked and angered me because I realized that at this time of day, many children were probably watching the same thing.
This particular episode was called “Your Most Embarrassing Sex Questions” which were to be answered by a panel of five doctors including that day’s guest panelist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. I should have known right then that this was going to be somewhat graphic. The show was filmed in front of a small studio audience and included several people clad in hospital scrubs who would take turns standing up and spinning a wheel to see which doctor would answer a question supposedly emailed from regular viewers.
Though the show did open with the warning… Adult Material… Viewer Discretion Advised… I wondered how many kids left alone in a room to watch television would actually change the channel upon hearing those words? I mean, wouldn’t a growing, curious child keep a look out for mom and stay tuned because of that? I mean, NBC is not one of those cable channels that parents usually blocked, am I right?
Okay getting back to the show, the “hospital attendants” asked the doctors questions on topics such as why sex can be painful, self pleasuring, sex toys and -- I kid you not -- details on how to use a vibrator correctly. Terms like “orgasm”, “vagina”, “ejaculate”, “nipples” and, yes, “clitoris” were also used in their “clinical” explanations, however, I might add, were often said with rather sly smiles and in some cases embarrassing giggles by some doctors. My question is, why does the FCC have strict regulations on what body parts and language is allowed on nighttime television but not this stuff?
Sex education aside, isn’t there is a proper time and place for such discussions? It might be perfectly appropriate for adults to sit in an open forum and be given answers to their sexual questions by professionals, but is anybody else appalled at the timing and availability of such a production to children who may be too young for school or home from school? Parents and teachers clash over sex education and condoms being given out at school all the time. And I can understand the concern and the need for teaching young people how to take care of themselves and be safe. But on afternoon television with no filters?
Does anyone else worry about this stuff -- our poor kids are exposed to enough, don't you think?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment