Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sex Sells
Sex has become more and more commonplace in our society. It's seen and advertised everywhere in the media, in movies, in television, in magazines, on the news, and anywhere else one can think of. In the beginning of chapter three of Brave New World, Huxley shows us a society where even children as young as seven participate in "erotic" activities. Looking at our society we see people getting involved in such activities at younger and younger ages. Even in our school you can see how such topics are laughable and arent odd or awkward to bring up in disscussions. The question I am posing is how far do you think our society will go towards the one depicted in Huxley's novel? Will we choose pleasure over longstanding morals, or will choose to hold to the ideals taught to us by our parents and religions? As my friends said, will we think with our balls or our brains?
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I think that our society is fairly educated, or at least the people I keep around me are. If the time came where we had to choose a path between pleasure or good morals I know that the educated would probably be wary of it, just because of what our literature such as Brave New World shows us. Neil Postman took note of the "pleasure" T.V. and was wary of it in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death.
ReplyDeleteSadly, usually the pleasures are more subtle and we don't realize what we take for granted until it is too late. It's human nature to go for pleasure and instant gratification. Only a strong and educated mind that isn't ignorant of the world around it can be morally correct.
Well what Melissa first said is right. The people she keeps around herself are more educated and they probably have good morals. Being in AP classes, most of us are surrounded by these people. We are shielded for the most part from sex, drinking, and drugs.
ReplyDeleteMost people, however, are not. They are exposed by drugs and drinking all the time at parties, and sex is common. Sex at the age of seven is not the normal in todays society yet, but many times it is around the age of fourteen or younger.
Tyler asks if we will chose to hold the ideals taught to us by our parents. I don't know if that is even possible anymore. More and more parents allow or do not care if their children are having sex at young ages.
With the way our society is headed right now, people will no longer be thinking with their brains in the near future.
I think it all depends on who teaches you the morals you want to live up to. If you are taught to respect people and do what right no matter who you may lose in the process you will live above the standard of the world. If you don't want to be apart of the world that glorifies sex then you must make a conscious decision within your own heart to steer away from that kind of life. You decision can only be influenced by the morals you we're taught as a child.
ReplyDeleteSex is no longer taboo. It has become a normal part of our lives. More people are having sex without getting the criticism they would have received in the past. For example, years ago sex was not spoken of, and it was unacceptable to have sex before marriage. Now, children of all ages are having sex. In the hospital where my mom currently works she heard of a case where an eleven year old boy got an eighteen year old girl pregnant. Of course, many saw this type of sex immoral and unacceptable. Although many in our society are becoming more involved in sexual activity, I believe that there are still many who have strong morals. I agree with Citlalli and Melissa it depends on the people that surround you. If you are surrounded with people who have been raised with morality, you are less exposed to and are less likely to experiment sex or any other type of mischievous behaviors.
ReplyDeleteTyler, I believe that every new generation is becoming closer to Huxley's society.
Teens in our society are becoming more and more involved in sexual activities. One could say it depends on how you are raised and what your morals are, but then again teens are going to do what they want, and when they want to do it. When our parents tell us that we can't do something, it only makes us even more curious. We are continuously warned about the possible dangers of sex such as STD's or unplanned pregnancy, but we always tell ourselves that it could never happen to us. To answer your question, I truly think that our society is becoming a copy of Huxley's society. As time goes on, the generation of kids is continuously changing for the worse. 50 years from now, children may be having sex at the age of 7. It's all about morals. Your parents can try to guide their kids in the right direction but it's up to us to choose the right path.
ReplyDeleteEventually most if not all people will begin choosing pleasure over good morals. Look at Brave New World, people use that pill soma to make themselves feel good, just like an antidepressent. Whose to say people won't start choosing pleasure over good morals? Look at the U.S economy, people are going bankrupt and losing their jobs. The criminal activity rate has gone up because people are starting to need to rob places in order to survive.That alone proves people's morals are starting to get lower and lower. As for sex, yes teenagers starting to have sex at younger ages because they either want to feel cool, or want the pleasure of sex. It's hard to tell whether people are going to continue to have good morals or would rather take pleasure, tat's just sometin we'l have to look out for when we're adults.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I definitely think our society is heading towards the same fate as the people of Brave New World. That is, if we're there already.
ReplyDeleteIn today's modern world, teenagers having sex is as common as teenagers texting. Many people either doing it, thinking about it, or talking about it with others. Alough certain morals and religious are still respected, it is becomming less common as the ties change.
At the same time, has this become a new trend since we all became teenagers? I don't think so.
I believe every generation has had this pattern of sex at young ages, whether or not it as made known.
I don't think it depends on just the morals that you were taught as a child because it also has to do with who you hang out with and your decisions that you make as a teenager and on your own in life.
ReplyDeleteFor example, what if someone is taught excellent morals as a child, like they were taught manners, responsibilities, good values and morals, etc... That doesn't mean they will become the perfect little golden child and always be a little angel like they were taught. What if they choose to hang out with a certain crowd that might not be very good or get good grades...Then the person who was taught good, after being around the not so good people, might end up acting like them. Or with the help of peer pressure, will do something they will end up regretting in the future just to impress their "friends" at that moment. So it doesn't always depend on the morals you were taught as a kid, it also relies on whp you hang out with, the decisions you make on your own, and whether or not you want to follow the morals that were taught to you...or impress people at school and be "cool".