Shonda Rhimes Gives Network TV a Lesson in Sex Ed

Published
ETONLINE

Much has been said about the apparent trend of risqué material on television, and ET dove into the work of the woman that's leading the movement -- Shonda Rhimes.

If you don't like the sex that's happening on Shonda's shows, you're just going to have to turn the channel, because the brains behind Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and the executive producer of How to Get Away With Murder isn't going to censor herself for you.

NEWS: A Timeline of Sex on Shonda Rhimes' Shows

"Shonda's doing a public service by putting this kind of content on television, because it's creating a dialogue and a discussion, and people are invested in finding out more," said Buzzfeed senior editor Jarett Wieselman. "She's depicting sex in a very organic way. What we're seeing on Shonda's shows is simply a representation of what sex is really like and it's sad, but that's what's actually groundbreaking about it. Her desire to normalize homosexuality is something that should have happened long ago, and it's just something she feels strongly about."

But not everyone sees the salacious trend as a healthy one.

"What you're seeing now on broadcast television would be unimaginable seven to ten years ago," said President of Parents Television Council Tim Winter. "When you trivialize and normalize certain conduct on primetime broadcast television, it has consequences across real life. When you look at the scientific research, the amount of sexual content that a teen consumes actually predicts teen pregnancy. The concerning thing for me is that all of this is rated by the network as appropriate for age 14, and as a parent of a 17-year-old that's simply wrong."

Watch the video for more.