THOUGHTS ON SEX TAPE SCANDALS

Paris Hilton has one. Pamela Anderson and Colin Farrell have one and so apparently does Lindsay Lohan. Kim Kardashian, I believe, purposefully leaked hers to the media. Yes they all have had their sex tape scandals. Even Charlie Sheen has been rumoured to have taken photos of his wiener. It seems you’re not quite famous until your sex-escapades are immortalised on film and end up on the internet. A couple filming themselves while having sex seems to have become a new trend among the plethora of erotic fetishes.

Making your own home pornographic movie for your secret erotic pleasure is one thing, but once it ends up on the internet or in malevolent hands you can be in for a nasty and embarrassing surprise. This led me to wonder; why do people like filming themselves engaging in sexual acts? Is there a hidden exhibitionist in us or is it the thrill factor of having done something naughty captured on film?

Let’s be honest; at one point in our lives we have all considered taking a few sexy pictures of ourselves and/or of our partners. With the emergence of new technologies like mobile phones with cameras it has been made so much easier. But, if you have actually done the deed, I certainly hope it will remain your secret.

A friend of mine recently had his mobile phone stolen. This in itself is traumatic but what made this crime worse is the fact that he had used it to take raunchy pictures and videos of himself engaging in unmentionable acts with his former boyfriend. All these pictures and videos were stored on his phone memory. Imagine the thief’s surprise when scrolling down to the media files on the stolen phone and discovering in graphic detail exactly what “gay sex” entails.

Following this unfortunate discovery a couple of things may happen: The phone could be discarded in utter disgust or the entrepreneur in the thief could whisper, “Blackmail the former owner or sell the pictures and videos to a porn site”. In any event, my friend has justifiably been having sleepless nights. (I don’t know which is worse, being caught masturbating by your mother or having a strange thief glare at pornographic pictures of you.)

In high school a friend showed me what he had come across whilst rummaging through his parents’ closet. In a well-hidden unassuming shoe box he discovered Polaroid photos of his mother in sexy lingerie in various erotic poses as well as photos of his dad in “special” undergarments. No child wants to imagine their parents having sex and I, for one, would not want to see sexy pictures of my parents nor would I show them to a friend.

When I was shown the photos I was quite disturbed at both what I saw and the mere fact that they were being presented to me. Suffice to say, that friendship died a quiet death. I can imagine the embarrassment his parents would suffer had they known that their kinky erotic photo montage was being exhibited by their own child to other pubescent teens.

“In retrospect, I am very grateful I didn’t make my porn debut…”

As if private kinky photos and homemade sex videos aren’t enough there are people who willingly expose themselves on the internet. There are special websites where you can upload explicit videos and photos of yourself for the world to see. You can create a profile and have voyeurs subscribe to your daily sexual exploits. Whether these individuals are trying to break into the porn industry or do it purely as an exhibitionistic outlet is a mystery to me. They may be better advised to audition at a porn studio and actually earn an income from it.

I was once approached to act in a porn movie (not that the word “acting” accurately describes what was to be expected of me). I was 18 years of age and probably looked very naive. A dodgy looking man pitched the idea to me in a gay club. His main selling points were that it would pay well, would only take one day and I would “get it on” with other sexy young guys like me (the flattery angle is always a good marketing tool). If I recall correctly, the movie was to be called African Adventure or Out in Africa.

Naturally, being a broke student at the time, I briefly entertained the idea and walked around with the guy’s business card in my bag for a couple of days. Luckily, I made the wise decision not to take him up on his offer. In retrospect, I am very grateful I didn’t make my porn debut; imagine how different my life could have turned out if I had.

Many of my friends have taken sexy pictures of themselves and their partners as a way of spicing up their sex lives in an erotic and new form of foreplay. It’s my view that if it contributes to improving the health of your sex life and keeps the passion in your relationship alive, then click away! Just make sure your erotic mementos are safely locked away and out of reach of children, thieves and internet bloggers.

Whether people make sex videos to spice up their sex lives, to satisfy some exhibitionistic need or simply to push themselves beyond the boundaries of their own sexual inhibitions, there are repercussions to consider. Luckily, I do not foresee any sex tape drama in my near future. If there had to be one I can at least find solace in the fact that I’m not a celebrity and the fall out would be minimal. Then again, a sex video scandal might just be the trick to actually become famous…