The VERY raunchy campaign pushing for more female pleasure on screen
Campaigners set up website to rate which raunchy shows prioritise female pleasure with Bridgerton and BBC’s Industry passing the test – but Normal People is ‘too male focused’
- Growing numbers of TV sex scenes place a focus on women’s pleasure
- Netflix’s Bridgerton and BBC’s Industry both show women receiving oral sex
- Campaigners have devised The Clitoris Test and give shows a ‘pass’ or a ‘fail’Â
Netflix‘s Regency-era romp Bridgerton has become a hit with viewers, at least partly for its raunchy sex scenes. Â
Not only are they notable for their number – there are at least 12 different sexual acts across eight episodes – but a large number focus on female pleasure, a trend that appears to be on the rise across film and TV shows.Â
Commentators have noted an increase in the number of female-centered acts featured in on-screen sex scenes, after years of men’s sexual satisfaction being the primary focus.
And now a group of women have even set up a Clitoris Test website to rate films, TV shows, songs and books based on whether sex scenes include clitoral stimulation, and hand out a ‘pass’ or a ‘fail’ grade based on the outcome.Â
A pass is awarded for anything ‘showing, mentioning or even heavily implying clitoris touching’, oral sex, and women masturbating, with Bridgerton earning a tick but the raunchy series Normal People failing for the sex scenes being too focused on male pleasure.Â
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Banking romp: BBC drama Industry showed women masturbating (pictured) and has ‘raised the bar’ for the way women’s sexual experience is depicted on screen, campaigners say
Heaving corsets: Bridgerton features at least a dozen sex scenes, with many of them putting the focus on female pleasure. Pictured, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page)
‘For too long our sexual script has centred on penetration and male orgasm,’ the campaigners explain.Â
‘The vast majority of women only orgasm through clitoral stimulation. But sex acts that reflect this are rarely depicted or even hinted at on screen, and this reflects women’s experience in the bedroom.’
BBC banking drama Industry and HBO hit series Euphoria are among those that ‘pass’ the test, with both feature female characters masturbating and receiving oral sex.Â
Bridgerton also scores highly thanks to scenes including one fan-favourite moment between Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and the Duke of Hastings (RegĂ©-Jean Page) on the stairs.Â
The Duke of Hastings also performs oral sex on Daphne in the library of a country home during a sex-filled montage in episode six.Â
Teenage drama: HBO’s Euphoria starring Zendaya and Hunter Schafer also passes the testÂ
‘Bridgerton and Industry have really raised the bar,’ Frances Rayner of The Clit Test told the Evening Standard. ‘Bridgerton, is a great example. The female gaze is centre stage.’
Perhaps surprisingly, Normal People, which won praise for its depiction of consensual sex, fails to pass the test. ‘Many sex scenes, and all of them focus on penetration,’ the verdict explains.
Series one of Sex Education passed but series two failed.
It coincides with intimacy coaches growing increasingly important on the set of TV shows and films, particularly in the wake of #MeToo revelations.Â
Fail:Â Perhaps surprisingly, Normal People fails to pass. ‘Many sex scenes, and all of them focus on penetration,’ the verdict explains. Pictured, stars Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal
