Where Do You Draw the Line?

Plays, television, movies, books, even music…. All these are different forms of entertainment. Do you find yourself able to accept words, motives, actions or events in one form of media, and not another? Are you a no-holds-barred type of person across the board? Have you ever given this any thought?

For me, my acceptance level is different for each type of media. For example, I love to read horror stories, but I’m not a huge fan of horror movies. I can read graphic details of a violent act, but to see it played out on the movie screen, I’ll more often turn my head than watch full-on.

Another parallel deals with words of hate. Not a good thing to ingest, anyway you look at it, but an artist has his or her reasons to portray something hateful through lyrics or characters. I can watch a play with characters that may be distasteful, but to listen to a song where blatant hate comes across in the lyrics is difficult for me. I will usually turn the song off.

Last, a favorite topic for many, deals with the more intimate issue of sex. Reading, seeing, or listening? Which do you prefer? Does it matter? To many, yes, it does matter. It depends on what you want to get out of the experience. Do you want the sex as a quick means to get yourself off? Do you need to see the sex to fantasize over that “if only,” aspect we all feel from time to time? Or do you read/see/listen for the sex as a way to understand the characters and their interactions more? Finally, how comfortable are you with the sex aspect at all?

Being a reader and writer of erotic romance, the topic of sex is pretty much an every day event for me. Am I jaded by this? Perhaps, a little. I have a difficult time reading or watching a movie where the characters allude to sex, but omit this important factor. No, I don’t have to see the full-on graphic nature of the act (although that can be exciting, I won’t lie), but yes, having the sex there is important.

Why? Let me put a question to you: If you are involved with someone, is your sex life important to you? Do you get intimate only to “get your rocks off,” or do you want the physical touch of someone else because it makes you human? Being intimate, having sex, making love, screwing, f**king, call it what you will, is an act of sharing something private about yourself with someone else. It is an honest, vulnerable act that leaves you exposed in so many ways to your partner(s). 

Now why do I want this in what I read/see/listen to? First, it has to be, seem or feel real. I do not like plastic sex. I don't care for stories where the goal is to show how many times and ways Tab A can fit into Slot B, C, or D. If this were the case, I'd simply watch porn all day and trash everything I write. And I shudder at this thought. How hollow would this be? 

Overall, it is my hope, whether you take in the voyeur aspect or not, to share the fact that the sex act, is more than an act. It is a way for two (or more) people to make a connection: deeper, farther, and more intense than they could be without.