We’re in a really exciting era of television where, thanks to the influx of streaming services, we now have a plethora of content to see and enjoy.
Because of this, I feel like TV show writers and directors are really pushing the boundaries with how far they can go in terms of the spicy scenes that we see on-screen.
Lately there have been multiple occasions where I’ll be watching a scripted drama show and BAM! There ya have it. Dick. On-screen.
It’s quite an unexpected surprise. A very welcome surprise, but an unexpected one nonetheless.
Which made me wonder: why do we have such a visceral reaction to seeing a penis on-screen?
Well, probably because since the beginning of cinema, films have been made solely for the straight male gaze.
When you watch old movies, you often see women scantily dressed, while the men are fully dressed, which is an incredibly degrading trope and does nothing but perpetuate BS gender roles.
‘Cos here’s the thing: the female body is a work of art and deserves to be praised, but I feel like often times the intent has been to entice male viewers with gratuitous nudity. Which is all well and good, but what if you’re not a straight man?
And often times we’re not even getting the full spectrum of body types, we’re only seeing the outdated body stereotypes (AFAB, shapely, full-breasted etc). There’s no size diversity or displays of body types across the gender spectrum.
So by showcasing the male body as well as other bodies, we’re now starting to cater to all viewers, not just straighty-180s.
That being said, body positivity still has a long, long, loooooong way to go!
There are a few recent examples of peen scenes that come to mind, all of which are from popular drama shows that you can catch on streaming services.
There’s Foxtel‘s And Just Like That, which featured a scene where Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) enters her neighbour’s apartment to find a bloke in nothing but a towel.
And Just Like That… there’s peen on-screen. (Credit: Foxtel)
The scene was totally unnecessary, gratuitous, and somewhat jarring, but ya know what? We bloody loved to see it.
In a series that showcases friendship, relationships, and the highs and lows of life, why not throw a dick in there for good measure?
After a long hard day at work, we can use some eye candy on telly! We’ve bloody earned it.
There’s also BINGE series Euphoria, which has showed us lotsa peen and butt action, including one particularly homoerotic episode where we explore Cal’s (Eric Dane) horny relationship with his bestie way back when.
The hot as hell flashback sequence features unfairly gorgeous newcomers Elias Kacavas and Henry Eikenberry and it went absolutely viral, rightfully so.
And last, but by no means least, Disney+’s Pam & Tommy featured a talking, mechanical penis strapped to Sebastian Stan‘s glorious bod that he legit converses with during an ecstasy-fuelled stupor.
Full disclosure: the peen is fake (have a read of our oral history for more on that), but it was great to see some dick action (literally).
We have no choice but to (Sebastian) Stan. (Credit: Disney+)
I just feel like as a society, we’ve moved past the point where we need to censor the human body, especially on our TV screens.
And more importantly: we’re done with consuming content solely aimed at the straight man’s enjoyment.
Enough nonsense. Free the peen!
Matty Galea is the Senior Entertainment Editor at PEDESTRIAN.TV, as well as our resident astrologer who pens our weekly horoscope series, ‘Your Horos Are Here’. He also Tweets about pop culture and astrology and posts spicy content on Instagram.
