Seeing Sex Scandals

Since when did people scandalize sex, should a scandal always hint about sex? Are we supposed to see or understand sex scandals in the first place?

The recent sex video of a respected Filipino journalist and an unidentified woman resurrected a dormant desire in people to rumor, to explore and to moralize. Gossiping is a past time not only of those who are deemed sedentary but also of those who are extremely busy as a form of tension release or even as a means to ponder on their respective chaotic lives.

Exploring space and time as well as exploring people and ideas intersects the dichotomies of the young and the old, the smart and the stupid, and the prosperous and the poor. Moralizing is a habit of the religious, non-religious, righteous, non-righteous and self-righteous.

These lifeless tendencies of people take a robust rebirth especially when something shocking, unacceptable and intolerable happens that fascinates them — the anatomy of a scandal.

Scandals could be true or false, but more often than not, they are a fusion of both. Confirmed or denied, scandals can damage people’s reputation or boost their desirability and marketability.

In 2011, France’s Dominique Strauss-Khan and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi committed political suicide or had themselves perfectly politically assassinated when they exposed their sexual stupidity and psychoemotional immaturity. On the other hand, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian seemingly obtained Aphrodite’s love and protection because when their sex tapes leaked, their popularity rose exponentially to highest altitudes.

For both women, the controversy increased their fame that they were able to make a good fortune out of it later on.

In the Philippines, however, sex scandals are not as noteworthy as their political (governmental) counterparts unless a politician is involved in a sex scandal. Sex and politics together make the best brew for public clamor and debate in this highly sexualized and politicized society, but even if Filipinos have short-term or selective memory, they can still remember stellar actresses Charito Solis and Vilma Santos being involved in sex scandals and never had their showbiz careers jeopardized a bit.

In 2009, the series of sex videos involving Dr. Hayden Kho and at least 3 women even reached the Senate floor for investigation and had Dr. Kho’s medical license revoked, but it only ended in a comedy because few years later, the famous/infamous beauty doctor was welcomed back to his profession and in the loving arms of his fellow beauty doctor and life partner. The women involved in the so-called ‘Hayden Camera’ scandal moved on in their personal and professional lives effectively: the one started her own family, and the other one has a growing film, TV and commercial ad mileage.

Of late, Paolo Bediones was hardly sanctioned in the TV network and news agency where he belongs; in fact, a statement of support was issued for him long before he can actually make a statement himself. As for the unidentified ‘pretty’ woman, a career in showbiz might just be around the corner waiting for her to draw near. Just a few days after that small bang of sex video overwhelmed the Internet, the lives of the parties involved just progressed, without a drop of sweat and tear.

Remember, Bill Clinton has now become one of the best motivational speakers in the world, and Monica Lewinsky, who has a clout of her own, thrives in the media world. Now, who says sex scandals are totally awful?

In this world of sex, scandals and sex scandals, we experience a wide range of emotions such as distress, distrust, anger, shame, and even denial but only to have acceptance in the end. Many argue that morality is about our conscience and our conventional behaviors, but we are now starting to realize that morality is truly a matter of space and time, that we may actually study it perfectly, but we cannot be perfect about it.

In the end, sex scandals, although tiny tips of the gigantic societal iceberg, are moral experiences of people that mirror their society and age. Scandals are not necessarily good and not necessarily evil. Passing judgment about them will only mean trouble because they are here to stay until humanity ceases to think, say and do.

The questions above only elicit more questions than answers. To see (watch or understand) more sex scandals in the future is definitely an answer if we are to maintain our humanity and our sanity.