Whether it be Virgin Island or Open House: The Great Sex Experiment, Channel 4 is clearly unafraid of showcasing graphic nudity.
Where Virgin Island largely stopped just short of graphic sex however, showing naked bodies and limited physical intimacy, Open House is unafraid of going the whole way.
Channel 4’s reality show sees couples go into a house full of sexually liberated polyamorous people in a bid to try and work on turning their monogamous relationship into an open one.
This can have shocking effects on the couples involved, with one man, Tom, vomiting after being told he should engage in a couple swap, letting his wife sleep with another man.
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He is eventually convinced by his wife Lauren and the pair end up swapping with another couple, something that is shown in graphic detail.
To say it is not something you’d want to watch with your parents is an understatement, with essentially everything shown but explicit penetration.
This will lead many viewers to one key question: How can Channel 4 get away with showcasing such graphic sex on TV?
There are multiple reasons that Channel 4 are able to show what they do. The first is that the editing of the show is incredibly careful.
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Any scenes of physical intimacy are put through a black and white filter, making it just the tiniest bit harder to make out exactly what’s going on.
The other is that the show takes place after watershed – a nationally agreed time of 9pm until 5.30am where broadcasters can show content that is not friendly for children.
Channel 4 does not just throw the show on at 9pm either, airing new episodes of the show at 10pm – guaranteeing no one can accidentally go from Peppa Pig to a man testing out an open relationship by having a six-woman orgy.
Further, Channel 4 occupy a unique position as a publicly owned company that do not rely on any public funds.
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This means that they have more freedom than other broadcasters to show what they like, as long as it gets people watching.
Ofcom’s recent research into changing views on violence and sexual content on TV add a further extra insight into why Channel 4 can show couples, for lack of a better phrase, going at it.
They noted that, while people feel broadcasters are pushing barriers with regards to depictions of sex, ‘there was also a belief that televisions depiction of sex and sexual relationships had improved and modernised’.
Open House is specifically named in Ofcom’s research, however an emphasis is placed on ‘appropriate postwatershed scheduling’.
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Love Island came under fire for pushing the boundaries before watershed, leaving Open House fairly uncriticised due it being shown well after watershed.
A relationship expert who speaks on the show, Effy Blue, spoke about the need for more real sex to be displayed on TV, saying in an exclusive chat with Reach Plc's Screen Time team: “It's very real and I think it's so important that it's real because we don't really see real sex anywhere.
“We see Hollywood which is sheets and feet and we see impossible angles and impossible sights, but none of that is real. The show is all real, they are real cameras and real people.”
Add to this content warnings shown at the start of the show and the fact that Channel 4 makes it quite clear what you’re about to watch, and the only people likely to be offended are those watching the show by accident.
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Open House: The Great Sex Experiment is available to watch on Channel 4 now.
Topics: Channel 4, TV and Film, TV, Sex and Relationships
Michael Slavin