What's the Real Issue Here Nick??

I read an opinion piece by Nick Schager in Esquire, titled, "Marvel is Weird About Sex." He takes issue with the way the franchise deals, or rather doesn't deal, with sex. He reviews the movie under this lens. You may find it interesting. I found it annoying.

The author was writing about "Eternals" one of Marvel's latest movies and apparently the first that has ever approached physical intimacy between characters. I can't say I'd missed it. It's a superhero movie. Why would there be any expectation of sex? I always thought Tony and Pepper's tension was sufficient.

I know I'm old fashioned, but that mystery and tension - that's the stuff we keep watching for. Me anyway. Maybe Nicks watching for the skin.

I was impressed by the level of the emotional intimacy between the characters in Eternals. I noticed it. All the characters were more complex as were their relationships. I was moved to see Gilgamesh and Thena, showing the audience what the healing potential of a loyal and understanding partner can do. I think we're moving in the right direction - expanding our perception of the male / female relationship.

I don't think Marvel's weird about sex, I think our culture is. We are obsessed with it. Whose having it with who, how, when, where, and why.

It's ridiculous.

We've become a filtered, swipe right society with people dying of loneliness whether they are having sex or not. Most of us want deeper connections but aren't willing to risk being truly vulnerable. We have found it easier to take our clothes off than our masks.

I know not everyone agrees with me. Sex is just sex for a lot of people. I get that. Orgasms are great, don't get me wrong. I just think there is so much that adds to the journey in getting there. If we're honest, even orgasms get old. Too frequent climaxes cause them to be more difficult to reach and less pleasurable in the end. Give it a rest every now and then. You'll be glad you did.

Anais Nin perfectly describes the limitations we have put on sexuality.

“You do not know what you are missing by your microscopic examination of sexual activity to the exclusion of aspects which are fuel that ignites it.

Intellectual, imaginative, romantic, emotional.

This is what gives sex its surprising textures, its subtle transformations, its aphrodisiac elements.

You are shrinking your world of sensations. You are withering it, starving it, draining it's blood.”

It's possible that what Nick is picking up on is more female directors at the helm in Hollywood. The male lens of sex is all we have seen through on the screen until recent years.

Change is hard guys. We understand.

But, maybe we can learn something that will improve our relationships.

Maybe we can recapture some of the mystique and mystery - making room for imagination.

Maybe we can mature and evolve with our ideas about sex and sexuality.

Maybe.

As long as people don't get all weird about it.

Nick...