Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: The Righteous Gemstones, The White Lotus

The White Lotus & The Righteous Gemstones: HBO's "Dirk Diggler" Phase

The White Lotus and The Righteous Gemstones dropping male members on viewers (so to speak) says a lot about the shift in full-frontal nudity.

It's becoming obligatory on The White Lotus – at least once every week, a male character in the show is going to go full frontal so the audience can get a glimpse at their John Thomas. You know what we're talking about. PENIS! Penis! Penis! Penis! Does this make you embarrassed or uncomfortable? If so, you can stop reading right now and go check out previews of this week's Absolute Batman or X-Men comics. If you have a glggly fit and wish to read on? You're certainly welcome.

The White Lotus Certainly Kicked it Up in Season 3

It's true; practically every episode of the third season of The White Lotus has featured one moment of male full frontal as if it's either a contractual or HBO obligation. It seems to be HBO's way of declaring it's a network known for adult, edgy shows that are edgy in the Sex department on top of edgy political and social topics. The White Lotus seems to be a hit because audiences can indulge in the fantasy of an expensive overseas resort vacation to observe horrible, privileged rich people reveal they really have bigger problems than many of us and, now, get to see a penis once a week. What really hit home this week was that right after The White Lotus aired, The Righteous Gemstones featured a scene where Walton Goggins' character, completely different from the one he plays on The White Lotus, took down his trousers to proudly display his generously proportioned todger. It's a veritable Penis Double Feature on HBO!

Before we continue, let's get back to reality for a little bit first. When actors on an HBO series go full frontal, they are often wearing a prosthetic member. It's not too big and not too small, so the actor gets to maintain their dignity. It also gives them a level of emotional and psychological protection so they don't have to be embarrassed or humiliated by the press or the public. It's not just on The White Lotus or The Righteous Gemstones. The same is true for shows on other streamers that feature male full frontal, including The Boys on Prime Video and any other recent show you can think of if you want to think of how many recently showed it. But HBO has been the Number One streamer to feature male full frontal for at least a decade now. And the frequency of female nudity on HBO shows has been steadily decreasing to the point where it's almost gone now.

HBO's Obsession With Male Full Frontal Indicates a TV Cultural Shift

The White Lotus and the coincidence (is it, though?) of The Righteous Gemstones, both featuring male full-frontal nudity on the same night, might be about more than just clickbait and "shocking" media outlets to write about it. It might be an indication of the shift in gender representation in Hollywood. From the 1970s, 1980s to the early 2000s, female nudity had been commonplace in movies and cable TV, usually gratuitously for the leering male gaze. Could the increasing amount of male full frontal on television indicate a corrective towards a female gaze or a gay male gaze? Only Taylor Sheridan's shows on Paramount+ feature female nudity now, but usually shot to make sure they're not leering or gratuitous or titillating and have a narrative purpose (though you could still question how much of it is really necessary). That American and British media go into a tizzy and article frenzy seems to indicate how puritanical and repressed the US and UK are about depictions of sexuality. Even Jason Isaacs had to call out the media for their obsession, but it's the bottom line is it's really about the US media's squeamishness about nudity and sex while they're so clearly titillated. The European media don't bat an eyelash about nudity and are usually indifferent about it. So yes, it's kind of funny how it's not HBO if it doesn't show a penis, but that's a sign of where our culture is at: a move from boobs to dicks.

The White Lotus is streaming on MAX if you want to see a penis.

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