Is Sex The New Selling Point?

Fall season premieres have been airing for the past week, more to be aired in the next few weeks, and a popular theme this fall is sex positivity. Compared to their ancestors, Sex and the City and Will and Grace, this season, shows cover a wide spectrum of relationships, writes Huffington Post's Amy Shiner...

Historically, there have been shows that have made waves and were up-to-date with the family structure. Roseanne, which was one of the first shows to have an openly lesbian character; Full House, child of the '90's here, which show-cased a widowed father; Step-by-Step that showed the realistic family dynamic between two combined families; and most recently Big Love, which represents the very controversial polyamorous lifestyle, are just some.

Sex has always been a key component of marketing. Jewelry, certain fashion merchandise and even shoes use sex appeal to gain a customer base. The past week of watching different premieres, produced by different stations, makes me question which base is this season trying to reach?


The Playboy Club, which can be seen on NBC Mondays 10/9c, is perhaps the most outright example of how the view of sex is changing. The show, which apparently the plot is not historically accurate, provides a look into one of the more controversial jobs in the 1960s. Based in 1963, we are taken into the first club in Chicago. Near the end of the pilot episode we are brought into two different historic scenes that portray the changing sexual politics in the 1960s. The Mattachine Society, formed in the 1950s to protect and improve the rights of homosexuals, illustrated the atmosphere of Chicago in the 1960s. In the next scene we see the new playboy club house mother, played by Jennifer Lewis, speaking to an uncredited actor portraying Hefner, during one of the famous Playboy parties. Both scenes, representing some of the more criticized activities in the sixties, still receive some backlash even now.

Two and a Half Men, airing on CBS Mondays 9/8c, is trying to revive itself after Sheen and brought up the unspoken risks of sex in the first three minutes. Herpes, Chlamydia and genital Warts -- all three of which are very common STIs and not commonly heard on sitcoms -- were brought up by three different former sex partners in the funeral scene marking the character's untimely death in Paris. Later in the episode, Cryer, who portrays Dr. Alan Jerome Harper, is hugged by a naked Kutcher, who replaced sheen and portrays Walden Schmidt.

In the more alternative lifestyle choices New Girl, airing on Fox Tuesdays 9/8c, and stars Zooey Deschanel, makes waves of its own while possible reviving Three's Company for generation y. Set this time with three men and one woman, who happen to find her roommates via Craigslist, we are re-introduced to cohabitating without sex. Near the end of the show, when Deschanel is stood up for a date at a restaurant, her roommates make a heroic move to save her night. Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Damon Wayans Jr. -- Wayans seemed to be only cast for the pilot -- show up at the restaurant and introduces themselves to the waitress as her polyandrous lovers.

Along with New Girl, Free Agents, which airs on NBC Wednesdays 8:30/7:30c, eerily reminds me of some of my past relationships. A show based on two office workers, who are both single and both getting over past relationships, shows the struggles of emotional de-attachment and remembering the rules of Human Resources and inter-office dating. The term "safe word," which is used in BDSM (the acronym for bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadomasochism) also known as kink, was used repeatedly through the pilot episode. "Safe word" is used primarily for checking in with a friend via phone when going on a first date or when participating in a sexual activity. The word "potato" chose by characters Alex and Helen, who are portrayed by Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn, is probably the most realistic portrayal of sex positive practices this fall. The word is simple enough to remember, especially when used in real world situations, and would not be used in usual conversation during sex... if you do talk during sex.

For a more toned down version of sex positive shows Up All Night, a new show this season that airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 10/9c , represents the new trend of stay-at-home fathers and working mothers. Glee, which airs on Fox at its normal Tuesday time slot at 8/7c, is back with its normal relationship entertainment value. In tow Sister Wives, the highly controversial show on TLC that begins airing again this Sunday, October 25th, at 10/9c, will pick up from the end of their mid-season break this past spring. The Browns now find themselves in Vegas and despite the ongoing investigation by Utah, the family is finding themselves in a new culture, new family conflicts, and Robyn Brown, Cody's Brown fourth wife, is now expecting her third child.
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Is The New TV Season Sexist?

Is "Jiggle TV" making an unfortunate comeback? asks Salon's Nik Leshi. In the old days of television, when Three's Company and Baywatch dominated the airwaves, the spotlight on many female characters was focused simply on their looks. Even shows like Star Trek, which aimed to show the progressive strides of human beings in the future, arguably displayed some sexist depictions by today's standards. Yet, maybe today's standards haven't really changed much at all, as some might say, judging by the new shows coming our way this season.

September is here and new television programming is on our doorstep, ready to come into our living rooms. TheWrap.com joined some other critics who have been pointing fingers recently at the networks for their new shows that seem to emphasize "T & A" instead of showing their female characters in what they profess should be a more positive and well-rounded light.


ABC has a remake of Charlie's Angels, the poster child (no pun intended for the late, great original angel Farrah Fawcett) of 1970s "Jiggle TV." Is the super-model-looking crimefighting trio actually an example of the empowerment of women, or are they merely serving as nothing more than eye candy for a male audience?

ABC also has a show about 1960s airline stewardesses (before they were called flight attendants) titled Pan Am. NBC, likewise, has a drama set in the '60s with ladies in skimpy bunny outfits -- the highly hyped new series The Playboy Club. Are these just retro chic shows aiming to capitalize on nostalgia and the success of AMC's Mad Men, or is the period setting just an excuse to be sexist and misogynistic with a built-in excuse that they're not actually showing women in a poor light?

In their defense, both Pan Am and The Playboy Club seem to have plots that center on other dramatics beyond the bedroom. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, however, is calling for a boycott of The Playboy Club and some network affiliates across the country are refusing to air it.

Even the first teaser for NBC's remake of the highly acclaimed British series Prime Suspect was mildly gratuitous, showing Mario Bello in her police locker room, strapping on her gun and donning her police uniform. I don't recall a similar closeup butt shot of the original actress Helen Mirren whenever I saw an episode on PBS.

I haven't seen full episodes of any of the shows mentioned above, so it would be unfair of me to take a stand on either side of the debate at this time. Nevertheless, I do hope that the new television season provides some good characters, regardless of gender, and avoids relying too heavily on stereotypes. The human body is a beautiful thing and should be celebrated, but not at the expense of objectifying women for the sake of television ratings.
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Bunnies And Stewardesses

Here's some good news about the upcoming fall TV season: There will be a marked increase in the number of actresses populating new series! Now, the other news: They appear to have packed pretty light when it comes to wardrobe, states Tim Kenneally in The Wrap...

From the tight uniforms sported by the stewardesses on ABC's "Pan Am" and the Alphabet Network's sexy re-commissioned "Charlie's Angels" crime-fighters, to the fluffy-tailed servers of NBC's "The Playboy Club," the fashion trend of the season appears to be flesh, and plenty of it. Call it the resurgence of Jiggle TV, a titillating genre that briefly blossomed in the 1970s with the original "Charlie's Angels," before giving way with the exit of "Baywatch."


Though none of the series have yet to debut, the trend of new shows featuring female leads in little clothing and subservient positions has already been met with criticism. Gloria Steinem, who gained notoriety by going undercover as a bunny at the Playboy Club in New York in 1960s and writing an exposé about the working conditions, has said that she's hoping for a boycott of NBC's "The Playboy Club," claiming, "It normalizes a passive-dominant idea of gender. So, it normalizes prostitution and male dominance."

Christine Baranski, co-star of "The Good Wife," has similarly chimed in, telling New York Magazine, "I'm rather appalled that they're now making television shows about Playboy bunnies and stewardesses ... I think, 'Really? Haven't we gone past that, well past that?'"

Apparently not. But why now, in particular, does there seem to be a resurgence in flesh-centric TV fare? Certainly, AMC's "Mad Men" seems to have loosened the jar lid with its highly successful exercise in flesh-friendly, misogyny-laced nostalgia. And it might be no coincidence that the upcoming series -- like "Mad Men" -- all have retro elements to them. ("The Playboy Club" and "Pan Am" are both set in the 1960s, while "Charlie's Angels" is a revamp of a 1970s Jiggle TV progenitor.)

Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., the executive director for Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, suggests that, particularly in dour financial times, male viewers -- not to mention the overwhelmingly male decision-makers at the networks -- might be looking to retreat into less complicated, more comforting times.

"In times of economic and social upheaval and difficulty, nostalgia and a longing for an era when life seemed simpler tend to bloom," Lauzen said. That could be especially true in an era when men -- at least the ones not on TV, anyway -- find themselves losing economic and social ground to the fairer sex. "As women continue to gain economic, social and political power, there is always some sort of backlash, a desire to put women 'back in their place,'" Lauzen adds.
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The Tackiest Place On Earth

She may have sported the Bunny ears herself, but Gloria Steinem is no fan of NBC's "The Playboy Club." In the 1960s, the feminist icon rose to public attention after posing as a Bunny in the New York Playboy Club for an investigative piece that ran in Show magazine. It did not leave her with a warm feeling about the joint. The veteran women's rights campaigner said on Friday she hoped TV viewers would boycott the upcoming show, calling the 1960s nightclubs tacky and far from the glamorous places depicted in the show. "Clearly 'The Playboy Club' is not going to be accurate. It was the tackiest place on earth. It was not glamorous at all," Steinem told Reuters in an interview.


Steinem, one of America's leading crusaders for women's rights for 40 years, went undercover to work as a Bunny at the New York City Playboy Club in 1963 and wrote a ground-breaking expose about the onerous conditions for women who worked there. "When I was working there and writing the expose, one of the things they had to change because of my expose was that they required all the Bunnies, who were just waitresses, to have an internal exam and a test for venereal disease," she said.

Steinem said she regards the Emmy Award-winning drama "Mad Men", which is also set in the 1960s as "a net plus, because it shows the world of the early 1960s with some realism." But she added; "I expect that 'The Playboy Club' will be a net minus and I hope people boycott it. It's just not telling the truth about the era."

"The Playboy Club", set in the first Playboy Club in Chicago, debuts in September as one of the centerpieces of NBC's new fall television season. Speaking to TV reporters last week in Los Angeles, network executives, producers and the show's cast all rejected opinions by critics who feel the series will glamorize the porn industry and is demeaning to modern women.

NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt called the show a "really fun soap opera", while executive producer Chad Hodge told TV reporters that the program was "all about empowering these women to be whatever they want to be." One NBC affiliate, in Salt Lake City, has already said it will not broadcast the show but NBC says it does not expect others to follow.

Steinem, 77, may have an unlikely ally in the Parents Television Council. The parents' watchdog group and opponent of all things salacious has been busy pressuring affiliates to refuse to broadcast the nightclub drama. Steinem said on Friday that it was important to reject the TV series, despite the fact that it is set 40 years ago. "It normalizes a passive dominant idea of gender. So it normalizes prostitution and male dominance...I just know that over the years, women have called me and told me horror stories of what they experienced at the Playboy Club and at the Playboy Mansion," she said.
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Bare Bunnies

These Playboy Bunnies could be showing off more than their cottontails. The stars of NBC's upcoming series, The Playboy Club, have contractually committed to baring all -- if necessary.

This stipulation is unheard-of for a network show -- where nudity is verboten -- but it's believed that the clause, reported by Variety, is intended for the show's release on DVD and in domestic and foreign cable syndication.

"Nudity as defined above and/or simulated sex acts may be required in connection with player's services in the pilot and/or series," reads the clause signed by stars Amber Heard, Eddie Cibrian, Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Leah Renee.

The actors, however, can't be forced to shoot nude scenes. If it came to pass that nudity was included, the particular scene in the script must be given to the actor(s), allowing them the opportunity to consent or decline, according to the report.


Insiders tell Variety that no nudity was included in the pilot episode, and that there are no plans to include nudity if the pilot is picked up for a (likely) series run by NBC.

There are also no plans to shoot two different versions of the show a la HBO's "The Sopranos" -- which scrubbed the nudity and profanity -- with an eye toward the show's syndicated run.

The Playboy Club is based on the "Swinging '60s"-era nightclubs spun off from Hugh Hefner's Chicago-based Playboy magazine.

(The pilot is set in 1963 at the original Playboy Club in Chicago.)

The clubs featured scantily clad waitresses in bunny outfits (complete with cottontail).

Heard is headlining the series as Maureen, a new Playboy Club hire with "an untethered, unconscious sexuality," according to Variety.

She recently posted a photo of herself, in her Playboy Bunny outfit, on her Facebook page.

Heard is best-known for her role in the short-lived CW series "Hidden Palms" and has also co-starred on the big screen in "Pineapple Express," "Never Back Down" and "Zombieland" -- opposite "The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg.
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