WeTV will premiere a new show on Feb. 17. It’s called "Sex Box". During each episode a couple will get some advice from three "sexperts" before having sex in a soundproof box, with no cameras inside. Afterward, they'll share their experiences with those "sexperts," who will then counsel them on how to improve their sexual relationship, or advise them to end it.
The Parents Television Council (PTC) has objected to "Sex Box" as too racy for general cable television subscribers. The network describes it as extreme couples therapy.
As a psychiatrist, I know that millions of Americans never share their sexual disappointments or desires with their husbands or wives — even after decades of marriage. Maybe "Sex Box," in its own peculiar way, will get those folks talking to one another.
Well, this may surprise many of my readers, but I don't think "Sex Box" is likely to do anyone much harm. And if it takes itself seriously enough, it might even help some people.
As a psychiatrist, I know that millions of Americans never share their sexual disappointments or desires with their husbands or wives — even after decades of marriage. Maybe "Sex Box," in its own peculiar way, will get those folks talking to one another.
I know there may be parents who don't supervise their children well, and their children might stumble on "Sex Box" at an inopportune time and hear something they are ill-equipped to understand.
But I just don't think sex in a windowless box, with no sound, is much competition for the rap lyrics they listen to routinely, or for the Victoria's Secret window displays in malls, or for advertisements on television for the upcoming film "Fifty Shades of Grey," about a sadomasochistic sexual relationship (the trailer for which has been viewed over 250 million times).
I don't think "Sex Box" is nearly as destructive to young people as the fake frolicking and empty banter of the Kardashians (not to mention the utter tragedy of an athlete as gifted as Bruce Jenner ending up as a fame-obsessed reality TV star). I don't think couples misguided enough to have sex in a box in a television studio can make young people mimic them the way Facebook makes them deploy a contrived, self-obsessed version of themselves.
What's more, "Sex Box" might actually shine some light on the fact that lots of couples encounter difficulties in their intimate moments, and that those difficulties are by no means always insurmountable. They aren't taboo. They're worth thinking about and getting advice about.
The presence of the "Sex Box" on the set may fuel the imaginations of viewers, but at least the oversized cube leaves something to the imagination. The producers of the show could easily have shot the actual sexual interactions in shadow or shown as much skin as possible in brighter light to keep the show on the air. They could have had audience members vote on the sexual acts the couples would perform.
As a psychiatrist, I know that millions of Americans never share their sexual disappointments or desires with their husbands or wives — even after decades of marriage. Maybe "Sex Box," in its own peculiar way, will get those folks talking to one another. "Hey," I can imagine a wife telling her husband, "I saw the strangest show, with a couple that has sex in a soundproof box, and the woman said she always feels upset when... Well, I never thought I would tell you, but..."
Although "Sex Box" obviously promises its own salacious edge, it has a few interesting messages front and center: Sex is too private to be shown graphically. People sometimes need help to be close sexually. And if you think pretty much everybody is too timid to talk about the limitations he or she faces sexually, you think wrong.
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