Sex on TV: Where do we stop?

More sex, please! That’s exactly what the Bengali television channels seem to be asking for — in their programming at least.
With two shows that claim to address sex related problems (read discusses sex gossip), and a more recent addition making an effort to actually educate the people about ways to healthy sex, it’s loads of sleaze talk on the Bangla telly.
However, whether it’s Kamasutra entering the house through television or a chance to hear one’s neighbour sharing his sexual inability over telephone, the bottomline remains that for a large section of the audience it is more embarrassment than education happening out there.
“I was seeing one such show on a Bengali channel last night and some caller was saying how long he takes to get an erection, that didn’t sound nice and I don’t think personal problems like these ought to be beamed on television,� said Sujata Maitra, a bank professional.
In fact, many agree that it’s the manner of presentation that makes the whole thing cheap and titillating. “How can one sit through a show which discusses how someone aroused his next door neighbour when everyone was away and what they did thereafter, the doctor adding a comment at the end of a five minute long story hardly brings seriousness to the show,� said Kanak Ghosh, a student of Jadavpur University. “I agree to the audience reaction,� said Amit Ganguly, who’s conceptualized a show which depicts the Kamasutra through Indian dance, adding, “In our show we don’t have stray callers, we have doctors lecturing on ways to healthy sex.�
“Shows like this do more harm than help,� said psychiatrist Shiladitya Ray, explaining, “Not only does the audience get confused with regard to the aim of the show, but the half baked information given out in most cases leave even those with a genuine problem without much of a solution.�
himika.chaudhuri@timesgroup.com