Romance romp isn't sexual - for a change

Although casual sex continues to permeate movies and television shows to a ridiculous degree, the pendulum may be swinging the other way.

Well, a little bit, anyway.

Last week, after watching "Hitch," the new romantic comedy that focuses on two couples — Will Smith and Eva Mendes, and Kevin James and Amber Valletta — it dawned on me that neither couple was shown in a sexual situation.

Oh, there are other sexual romps alluded to, and another couple is briefly shown in bed. But it's significant that none of the top four stars, whose characters are involved in serious romantic relationships, has a sexual encounter.

And that none of the film's laughs are derived from sex jokes.

There's also a subplot about the dangers of one-night stands, so you could argue that, however subtley, the film is an argument against casual sex.

In fact, in this film, the first kiss is treated as a big deal, all by itself.

Boy, you know it's gotten bad when you notice that a film isn't drenched in sex.

Meanwhile, on "Everybody Loves Raymond" two weeks ago, the story revolved around Raymond's father using an, er, enhancement drug, which caused him to lose his sense of taste. The question became, should he continue to use the drug, or would he rather be able to enjoy his wife's great cooking?

The episode had plenty of jokes that alluded to sex, albeit in double-entendre ways, but the show's conclusion was that even without sex, life can still be full.

Yikes! Now there's a revolutionary idea for the 21st century.

And none too soon.

A story in the February issue of Reader's Digest by Michael Crowley (senior editor at The New Republic) refers to a Rand Corp. and University of California study that found that "for children ages 12 to 17, those who watched a lot of racy TV were twice as likely to start having sexual intercourse as those who watched very little."

Twelve to 17!

Crowley also cites further evidence that indicates young people are far too influenced by everything from racy magazine stories to advertising in general — especially young girls, who don't seem to be getting the message from the other side that early sex, casual sex, promiscuity, etc., can be quite hazardous.