Not to state the obvious but we all know today's society and media is saturated with sex. Not referring to the infamous known objectification of the female body, but on how our exposure to porn and immediate access to it from the moment we open a browser have altered the way we perceive and create art.  

It’s valid to recognise the long struggle we have overcome in deconstructing taboos when it comes to sex, and we should be proud of that. Something as accessible as a TV series, like Masters of Sex, show how undeniably clueless society was about this topic only 50 years ago and how shame was like an invisible and oppressive blanket coating an entire population – including those who were described as 'intellectuals'. The award-nominated show highlights how those in the higher tiers of education considered the topic of sex candidly discussed only by the likes of misfits and whores.

We are a society of extremism, we either get it all or not at all, we see the naked body portrayed in art galleries, displayed in films, and glorified in editorial ads - it’s nothing new. But look into new publications, cult magazines and avant-garde photographers; they are not just showcasing the female body as it is but going that bit further where O-faces and hardcore fetishes are seemingly on every other page. Which brings up the question, when did 'edgy' or avant-garde turn into a direct synonym of erotic?

It’s ironic how this presents itself; while pioneer magazines like Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar - both designed for the female audience - struggle with censorship because designers decide to show ‘edgyness’ by featuring a significantly young looking model in a provocative pose, others like Tissue, Baron or even i-D go the exact opposite route and experiment to the fullest with the boundaries of sex in an artistic or fashionable concept, calling it 'modern' - whilst maintaining  an audience of equally women and men. Renowned photographers that were once considered pornographic like Nobuyoshi Araki paint the way for the new aesthetic in magazines or Helmut Newton that worked for both Playboy and Vogue because erotically suggestive it’s a grey area now. Then there is Britain and it’s constant contradictions, this nation specifically has encountered an intersection where censorship is not sure what it stands for. Millennial feminism keeps getting in its -rightful- way, showcasing the female body as unaltered, non-sexualised and equal to that of men - thanks to the likes of international artists and models like Petra Collins or Arvida Bystrom. Europe's liberal attitude confuses it, taking a simple example such as their difference when it comes to film rating, the popular film Fifty Shades of Grey which is thought to have somewhat of a sexual content got an 18 age rating in the UK cinema whilst Europe gave it a 12. All this, whilst conservative morals try to hold on but lose the battle to new creators who don’t care about rules in the post-sexually liberated Britain. It seems as if the country is trying to turn back time, attempting to overly censor, with the banning of nudity in Newspapers (The Sun), the prohibition of specific sexual acts in porn, the over regulation of fashion ads in printed magazines and banners - most recently: Cara Delevingne for Tom Form, Dakota Fanning for Oh! Lola, several American Apparel Ads, and Rihanna’s Oh Rogue. But the content will keep generating itself now more than ever, so it’s a lost battle already. Censoring established brands whilst new ones take full on liberal approaches is the right way to waste your time.

 Art at its most magnificent of forms can wake up emotions and shape itself depending on the eye of the observer. But is sexual-arousal the main emotion we want to feel nowadays? Books, films, and shows seem to have a stronger hype if they’re significantly lascivious which is a step forward for our once repressed selves but a one-way lane for the way we consume and feel art. Fashion is like its academic brother because with fashion also comes functionality, the line of differentiation between the two is a blurry one, and fashion publications demonstrate it when their editorials consist of high-class models in postures resembling their far-flung sex-for-sale sisters in order to make you look and instantly make you buy. Fashion has always used sensuality but the way we see sensuality might be changing as well as our catalyst for interest, the latest Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show unofficially won over Chanel's Métiers d'Art, since they both took place the same day at the same time but how could Chanel compete against supermodels in shiny bustiers dancing to thigh-high boot wearing Ariana Grande? And who can blame them?      

 It’s not about questioning the growing liberation of sex in fashion or pop culture it’s about not letting it take over and overshadow other ways of expression. Sexual censorship has always been an impediment for the creative minds and for that it’s not one to stand for or defend, It causes shame and ignorance. However, to focus on only one theme to shape our popular culture would also be shameful and ignorant. As consumerism invades all the sides of art and its industry and the new generation wants to be captivated in two seconds or our attention is lost, porn seems like the easiest of answers. Sex is a part of life but consumers and creators have to make sure it’s not the only topic on the table. Instead of accepting it and embracing it as a liberal society we are exploiting it.     

 Words by Mariana Cardenas