Was Mary Whitehouse right? Have we gone too far?

I have to admit that even though I was only in my teens and early twenties when Mary Whitehouse was around, just the age when I should have been rolling my eyes at her prudish attitudes, I found myself agreeing with her on several occasions.

I wonder what she would think if she could see just how far we have sunk in terms of what constitutes ‘entertainment’ now?

It’s particularly strange bearing in mind how offended the young ‘woke’ brigade get if someone dares to challenge their fixed views on life yet presumably they are the age group which watches some of the tasteless tv programmes mentioned by others.

People could be pretty sexually explicit in their conversations in the 80's I remember. In an office I worked in I was shocked and embarrassed when the women there (some of them quite a few years older than me) had a conversation re oral sex. One of the young women in the office was asking about what I will describe as "oral sex etiquette" in respect of her relationship with her boyfriend. I didn't consider myself a prude - and still don't - but this was beyond my comfort level.

The Naked Attraction programme is quite revolting in my opinion.

On the other hand, I thought Normal People was a beautifully done series and the sex in that didn't bother me at all.

I do find many of the comedy programmes now to be really coarse but it seems younger people feel differently. I suppose when I was younger, older people were similarly dismayed by some of the content of TV programmes that I didn't find particularly offensive.

The tampax advertisement where a woman acts as though she is a presenter telling the audience in a loud voice how to use one really is beyond unnecessary absolutely crosses the line for me

Yes she was right.
& everything EllanVannin said.

Pornography has never been so easily accessible - so damaging to so many people.
If that’s progress then you can keep it.

I stopped watching Celebrity over a decade ago when Uri Geller bit into a live witchety grub. It was revolting, promoting suffering for entertainment. I complained, Mrs Whitehouse style, but they said it was OK. I don't see it as being amusing, just low. Similarly Jamie Oliver murdering a lamb for entertainment purposes. How low can we go? Seems there's not limit in our race to the bottom.

I openly admit that a lot of the time I live in the past with its old-fashioned values , even to TV programmes when I can find them. I watched The Lady Vanishes the other night just to lose myself in a different era.
I refuse to keep up with the times and see society today as alien to what I've been accustomed to and how I was brought up.

For all this " open " society there's never been as much crime/ rape/ and assaults on babies and children no thanks to TV and the media. If these crimes/ criminals were never given air-time then maybe crime would drop.

I only came across Naked Attraction by accident recently. I was shocked. And that rarely happens. Then, still scrolling, a shot of man performing oral sex appeared, with the girl taking a photo on her mobile phone of the bloke. Not long before I'd been listening on the radio about how to prevent teenagers posting naked phots of themselves on line. Why shouldn't they, when tv makes it seem as if its perfectly normal.

And then there's I'm a Celebrity. Stupid people doing stupid things for a dare? Hurting animals doing it - even if they are snakes. I despair.

There's no respect for this earth let alone for our fellow man.

Showing these things won't stop people from doing it no matter what it is. Why do so many of us have to accept this Stone-Age way of life because that's what we're reverting back to. Neanderthals ! Society is gross.
It was probably a disease like this pandemic who saw off those inhabitants thousands of years ago. Their habits and ways of life.

I and many others have certainly enjoyed the best years of our lives and for that I'm thankful for and so glad that I'm not just starting up.

It's not just TV. When you see/ read of one or two joggers dropping their trousers and openly poo-ing near someone's property in broad daylight, you realise that things are taken a bit far.
This happened in Australia on a regular basis that headlines were calling them the phantom po-oers. If it's okay to see these sort of practices on TV why isn't it okay to accept when nature calls, Alexa ?

Yes, I do think that Mary Whitehouse had a point. At the time she was easy to mock but really I dont think its so much about being offended but about corrupting. Corrupting young and those who are less able to decide for themselves or more susceptible to influence. Letting people who have extreme views on violence or sex spread their views so they become not only accepted but a new normal. Once something is on a screen it is in homes, whether there are parental controls or not. Then of course there's the internet where for some reason anything seems to go. Most 12 year olds have seen porn according to some studies. How is that going to affect their views on relationships or violence or how they should act or treat others?

The other side of that argument, Laura, is that by not showing the consequences of violence, people become 'immunised' and less afraid of it. So if someone is shot, but gets better and is fighting fit by the end of the episode, that is a bad example too.

Shows such as 'Minder' used to be awful for this, but an even more obvious example is in cartoons, where Tom whacks Jerry with a mallet, a massive bump appears on his head and he sees stars, but is running about seconds later grinning as he trips up Tom so he falls down a deep hole.

I don't think that anything has ever been proved about whether these things make a difference, and everyone always talks in terms of 'others' (the young, the predisposed, the vulnerable) being affected, but not them. These days, it is all but impossible to find a reliable control group who has not been exposed to media since birth, so screening out other variables is extremely difficult.

I do wonder if we become immune and therefore need to push further to shock or entertain.
When youngsters watch tv or film or play video games where the person who is shot loses the top of their head and blood is spattered everywhere, do they become hardened or un-shockable so need to go further for kicks?
Not an opinion but a question for discussion.

Personally, I find little on TV offensive and going to the toilet, vomiting and sex are part of life. Most programmes of a certain nature have a voiceover ‘warning’ beforehand and imho it’s up to parents/guardians to check what children are watching. I think the internet is far less governed in content than mainstream TV and I’d like to see more rigorous procedures on access to some sites, specifically to protect children.

I don't consider myself to be a prude (who does, I suppose) but I don't like the way they always focus close up on a kiss. I don't want to see it close up, thank you. It's much more romantic from further away, unless you're personally involved, IMO.

I remember when I saw the first episode of naked attraction I was really shocked lol and I’m far from prudish, I just couldn’t believe that certain people are that shallow more than anything, and you have to measure up ( excuse the pun) to fit in with what they are attracted to, what’s wrong with nice personality or looks dress sense etc , the mind boggles

What was once thought to be cutting edge is now just banal.

I remember the old 'put down' in the sixties if a woman was unfortunate enough to be 'flashed'

'Put it away, dearie. When you've seen one, you've seen 'em all!'

"All tv is censored now to some extent so that's not really an argument. We dont have hard core porn on tv for example." (quoted)

Hard core porn does actually harm others . especially when the porn photos are kids or animals. This is rightly illegal.

Explicitly carnal behaviour such as vomiting or coughing or defecating, even fucking, might disgust. This is not sufficient reason to ban it on TV.

That programme about people choosing which body is most attractive is fairly boring and will not survive as a viable programme. However it has the merit of showing what healthy naked bodies look like, info which is still quite scarce as most people wear clothes.

I think that warning should also apply to the young women who star in some of the shows, am sure it applies to men too but it is young women I have heard talk about it, the stars of geordie shore for example are very distressed as they have grown older that they had sex on live tv. I think we may be complicit in the abuse of these young people.

I don't think I've ever seen a lavatory scene on TV. Maybe a discreet one of men in a urinal stall facing the wall, but never anything that could be seen as offensive.

I'm not bothered about sex scenes, but wouldn't personally want to watch porn. I think the level that seems to have been set now is about right for my sensibilities, for what that's worth. I don't get upset about swearing, although I don't like to hear the 'C word' used as an insult. I an easily scared by horror, but can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy a good thriller, even if it is gruesome. I could go on, butty likes and dislikes are irrelevant to anyone but me, aren't they?

I wouldn't want to see writers constrained, which is what happens if people like Mary Whitehouse get their way - they are imposing their sensibilities onto everyone else.

I think that there should be a screen before programmes are shown - a bit like the certificate screen in the cinema - with a series of icons showing whether there is sex, violence, 'bad' language, horror etc, so that people can make up their own minds and opt in or out. I think we need information, not censorship.

Posted too soon..

.....listen.

A program I took particular dislike to was called Industry on the BBC.
I shan't watch it again

We’ve just watched a series called ‘Normal People’. There were 12 episodes. If there were no or less sex scenes ( pretty graphic as well), there could have been half the episodes. We enjoyed it, but to be honest, found the relentless sex boring. Oh no, I must be older than I thought!?

LauraNorder

*Namananny*, I agree we can choose to watch or not but quite often a good drama can be ruined by an unexpected and unnecessary toilet scene. I'm not a prude but I don't want to see other people on the loo. Even Orlin knows he has to close the toilet door.

I do agree a drama can be ruined, for me as for you with unnecessary graphic images.

I was just pointing out that reason why it was happening.

We will have little impact on changing this trend as we arent the demographic the channel is hoping to attract.

All we can do is show our dislike by altering the viewing figures (by one!) And hope 'they'

All tv is censored now to some extent so that's not really an argument. We dont have hard core porn on tv for example.

Yes, everyone does but we don't necessarily want to watch other people doing it.