书香满园
A country's culture shapes students' views about sex. See page 6B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan Sex on the Hill
Wednesday
November 10, 1999
Section:
B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
(USPS 650-640)
Sex in movies often reflects issues, morals of pop culture
By Derek Prater
Kansan staff writer
Sex on the silver screen is more than just skin and scandal. It's popular culture, morals and awakenings.
"Film and television — the popular media — reflect issues and accelerate interest in those issues," said Chuck Berg, professor of theater and film at the University of Kansas.
Films such as this year's much-talked about sexual eye-opener, *Romance*, force audiences to reevaluate their own sexual mores and identities.
Romance, a French import by writer/director Catherine Breillat, is an exploration of sex from a feminine perspective. Complex relationships and emotions swirl in a sexual milieu that rivals pornography in its frank sexual depictions. The film even features legendary porn star Rocco Siffredi.
Gratuitous sex scenes may raise eyebrows and stir up controversy, but the most important films in terms of sex and society are much more subtle, said Berg and colleague John Tibbetts, assistant professor of theater and film.
Tibbetts said that sex — or at least the implication of sex — has stirred up cinema controversy since the dawn of film.
He cited films from director Ernst Lubitsch in the 1920s.
- rums like The Marriage Circle dealt with issues like infidelity and flirtation
"Films like The Marriage Circle dealt with issues like infidelity and flirtation in a sophistocated way. At the time, it was controver sial."
John Tibbetts Assistant professor of theater and film
Lubitsch's films weren't heavyhanded or moralistic which was a departure from the standard method of dealing with sexual behavior, he said.
in a sophisticated and comic way," Tibbets said. "At the time, it was controversial."
ty or scandalous screen."
Tibbetts said that films of the '20s mixed moral lessons with sexual innuendo.
"It's called buttering both sides of the bread," he said. "It was the only way, really, that you could get a lot of sex, nudibehavior on the
Lubitsch dealt with sex as a more normal, natural part of human interaction. Sex could be funny and fun.
Tibbetts said that in the mid-1930s, the film industry began rigid self-censorship and there was a lack of sex-oriented feature films until the 1950s.
A combination of trends led to more sexual experimentation in films beginning in the 1950s. Berg said that the introduction of television began to draw audiences away from movie theaters. Filmmakers decided that one way to differentiate movies from television would be to deal more openly with sex.
Influences from Europe also contributed to a sexual revolution on film in the United States, Tibbetts said.
See CHANGING on page 2B
Index
Horoscopes . . . .2B
Married Students . .2B
Masturbation . .3B
Date Rape . .4B
Sex problems .5B
Abstinence .6B
Public affection .7B
Cybersex .8B
the University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
Managing residence hall relationships
Putting a sock on the door is one way students try to warn their roommates to keep out. The confined space of a residence hall room can lead to awkward situations when one or both of the roommates is sexually active. Photo illustration by Chad Cumminas/KANSAN
Some roommates lack sexual privacy
By Becky Lake Special to the Kansan
While the other residents of Hashinger Hall had to contend with roommates who were a bit sloppy, kept unusual hours, or had annoying friends, Laura McCray's roommate her freshman year, had a different, more unsetting habit.
"My first roommate in the dorms had sex on the floor next to my bed," said McCray, Westwood senior. "I started hearing noises and looked over... it was disgusting."
McCray said that her presence on the lower bunk, directly next to the couple, apparently was not an impediment to her roommate and her male friend.
"She had to have known," McCray said. "They weren't too concerned, especially since they were making noises."
McCray's experience is not unusual. Roommates' libidos can lead to embarrassing interruptions or the use of deadbolts in dorms.
"One night I was just laying there in my bed," she said. "My roommate comes in with this guy, and they just hop into bed. For at least an hour they were messing around, and they ended up having sex. I was just sitting there thinking, 'Do I get up and run out of the room, or do I got to sleep?' Finally, I fell asleep."
Kristin Murray, Iola sophomore, had a similar experience her freshman year in Ellsworth Hall.
Penny Laden, a former resident assistant at Ellsworth and Hashinger halls, said roommates having sex was a consistent source of conflict in residence halls.
"On almost every floor there's always at least two rooms where there is a girl with a boyfriend and they're going at it the time," said Laden, Overland Park senior. "Most of the time it causes a huge problem between roommates, even if they don't talk about it, because it's still a really big deal. As an RA, you always hear about it."
Bailey Kivett, Halistead sophomore and RA at McColum Hall, said that although sex is a problem among roommates, all residents are given a roommate contract at the beginning of the year to help prevent
problems and establish rules.
"Most just decide it's okay as long as there's prior notice," Kivett said. "Usually that takes care of most of it."
But Jackson Wells, also a McColum RA, said that he did not think the contracts were effective concerning the sex issue.
"I don't think very many people go through with their contracts," said Wells, Pittsburg junior.
Some roommates don't need contracts to establish a code of conduct about sexual privacy. Jennifer Gray, Overland Park freshman and Hashinger Hall resident, said it wasn't that big a deal to ask her roommate to leave or to leave the room herself. Gray said that both she and her roommate exercised daily caution.
"I know that I need to knock on the door first," Gray said. "My roommate uses the same precaution."
But Brian Mead, Garden City sophmore, did not have similar luck in dropping the hint to his old roommate in McCollum Hall.
"I'd say, 'Hey man, you wanna leave?' and he wouldn't' "Mead said. "Or, he would leave, but he'd come back a half hour later. It's the unspoken law — you walk in, and your roommate is sexually involved, and you leave. I don't think you should have to say anything. Even the guy who delivered Chinese ffood knew better."
Mead said his roommate talked to their RA about the issue instead of confronting him.
Neither McCray nor Murray broached the topic to their roommates about their sexual behavior, either.
Laden said that lack of communication makes the situation even worse.
"I'm not very good with confrontations, so I never said anything." Murray said.
“It’s really important when you’re living with someone in that close of a vicinity to talk about it. If you feel like there’s something that’s invading your right to live there, then that’s not fair to you,” she said. “But if you don’t say anything and get mad about it, then that’s not fair to them.”
In general, the rule best followed is to be neither a spectator nor a spectacle. Mead said he doesn't think it's difficult to master such a concept.
"If you walk in on something like that, get what you need, and go hang out with friends," he said.
—Edited bv Chris Hutchison
Married with children
For some students, married life offers an alternative to premarital sex worries and problems experienced by most other college students. However, juggling families, kids and classes presents a different set of problems.
See page 2B
Many students who choose to have sex also choose to protect themselves with contraceptives including condoms and birth control pills.
Practicing safer sex protecting yourself
See page 4B
...
Several area stores offer toys to help jazz up life in the bedroom.
Making things interesting
See page 3B
Cybersex on the Internet gives Web surfers a place to act out their sexual fantasies and meet partners without leaving the safety of their homes.
19
See page 8B