Let’s NOT talk about sex… because the onslaught of porn and erotica has demystified it so much that it’s lost its appeal

別隨便談性……因?yàn)樯樽髌贩簽E已經(jīng)使性不再神秘而失去了吸引力


By Charlie Stone, author and journalist who has worked for the BBC, several national newspapers in the UK and international media.

作者查理·斯通,作家兼記者,曾供職于BBC、幾家英國全國性報(bào)紙和國際媒體。

In the mood for love this Valentine’s Day? No? You’re not the only one. While we have never had more opportunity to consume sex-related content, it seems our appetite for getting it on in reality is waning fast.

今年情人節(jié)想要愛愛嗎?沒有?你不是唯一一個(gè)。雖然我們從未有過如此多的機(jī)會(huì)去消費(fèi)與性有關(guān)的內(nèi)容,但似乎我們在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中對(duì)它的興趣正在迅速消退。

“It’s time to talk more about kink, and take the shame away from it” – at least that’s what some dopey writer in the Guardian says... Except, no it bloody well ISN’T! It’s time to SHUT UP!

“是時(shí)候談?wù)勑择焙茫灰贋樗械叫邜u了”——至少《衛(wèi)報(bào)》的一些愚蠢寫手是這么說的……只是,不是的,他媽的不是的!是時(shí)候閉嘴了!
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處



How about people stop babbling on so much about sex and actually have a real-life encounter or two of their own instead? And then, please, just keep the experiences to themselves.

如果人們不再喋喋不休地談?wù)撔?,而是在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中有一兩次真正地邂逅,會(huì)怎么樣?然后呢,拜托,請把這些經(jīng)歷留給他們自己。
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處


I don’t even know what ‘kink’ is, to be honest. And I really don’t care. But I could take a stab at a guess. Here’s the thing, though, I don’t give a toss that Uncle Frank gets off on thigh-length leather boots while also – when he’s in the mood – dressed in his air hostess fetish outfit. It’s powder-blue. It’s Latex. And comes with a little hat. He also has a whip. Say no more.

說實(shí)話,我甚至不知道什么是“性癖好”,我真的不在乎。但我可以試著猜一下,事情是這樣的,雖然我并不在乎弗蘭克大叔穿著長及大腿的皮靴,同時(shí)——當(dāng)他心情好的時(shí)候——穿著他迷戀的空姐制服,是淺藍(lán)色。有乳膠,還有一頂小帽子,他還有一根皮鞭,不再多說了。

Just take a quick glance back at the Ancient Greeks or the Romans or the court of Cleopatra. Extravagant sex was just the way it was for the lucky ones. Catherine the Great was – if history is to be believed – a bit of a goer, too.

只需快速回顧一下古希臘人、羅馬人或埃及艷后的宮廷就知道了,奢侈的性愛只適合那些幸運(yùn)兒。葉卡捷琳娜大帝——如果歷史可以相信的話——也算個(gè)蕩婦。


I would bet that human sexual activity and the associated oddities and proclivities that travel with it have barely changed since we hunted bison and lived in caves. Just swap a leather sandal for a kinky boot.

我敢打賭,自從我們捕獵野牛和住在洞穴里以來,人類的性行為以及與之相關(guān)的獵奇和癖好幾乎沒有改變。只要把皮涼鞋換成長皮靴就行了。
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處


What has changed, though, certainly in recent years, is the absolute overload of pornographic images, ‘erotic’ books, websites and… sales, sales, sales. Even the tame Huffington Post, sometimes, seems to be some kind of online sex toy hypermarket.

不過,近年來發(fā)生變化的是色情圖片、“色情”書籍、網(wǎng)站和……銷售,銷售,銷售。即使是老實(shí)的《赫芬頓郵報(bào)》,有時(shí)看起來也像是某種網(wǎng)上性愛玩具大賣場。

Take, for example, the gadget shop kind of place on my local high street. This is a store that sells pop-mart memorabilia and posters and bits and bobs of jewellery, ‘Best Dad in The World’ and ‘Grumpy Old Man’ coffee mugs and such like. Beside them are sexy maid outfits, fetish handcuffs, lube and vibrators. On a special shelf right beneath the Batman and Stranger Things keyrings. It’s not an ‘a(chǎn)dult’ store; in fact it’s mostly teenagers who shop there.

以我所在的商業(yè)街上的小雜貨店為例。這是一家出售流行紀(jì)念品、海報(bào)、珠寶、“絕世好爸”和“斗氣老頑童”咖啡杯之類的東西的商店,除此之外還有性感的女仆服裝、情趣手銬、潤滑劑和振動(dòng)棒,就擺在《蝙蝠俠》和《怪奇物語》鑰匙圈下面的一個(gè)特殊架子上。這不是一家“成人”商店,事實(shí)上在那里購物的大多是青少年。


But here’s the thing; there have been several studies that suggest youngsters these days are actually having less sex than ever before.

但問題是,有幾項(xiàng)研究表明現(xiàn)在的年輕人實(shí)際上比以往任何時(shí)候都缺少性愛。

And fertility rates are dropping so significantly around the world, that the populations in 23 countries – including Spain and Japan – are set to half by the year 2100. Sex – well, sex between a man and a woman – is where babies come from. (Maybe some folk need a reminder).

世界各地的生育率正在顯著下降,包括西班牙和日本在內(nèi)的23個(gè)國家的人口到2100年將減少一半。性——嗯,男人和女人之間的性——是嬰兒的來源。(也許有些人需要提醒一下)。
原創(chuàng)翻譯:龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處


My guess is all these things are lixed.

我猜這一切都是有聯(lián)系的。

Maybe it’s partly down to sensory overload. There’s just too much sex everywhere slapping kids across the face. And like everything that you get too much of, it has all become, well, a little bit boring. If you can buy condoms and lube at the supermarket checkout alongside Tic Tacs and chewing gum then, maybe – just maybe – you’re taking away a little bit of the mystery.

也許部分原因是感官過載。到處都有太多的性而且觸手可及。就像你得到太多的東西一樣,一切都變得,嗯,有點(diǎn)無聊了。如果你能在超市收銀臺(tái)嘀嗒糖和口香糖邊上就能買到避孕套和潤滑劑,那么,也許——只是也許——你就失去了一點(diǎn)神秘感。

And what is it with this obsession for confessing everything that goes on behind closed doors, alone or otherwise, anyway?

究竟是什么讓你如此癡迷于承認(rèn)關(guān)起門來發(fā)生的一切,不管是獨(dú)自的還是其他的?


I don’t just blame the internet. It’s also partly the fault of the worst book ever written; ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. I would have said “the worst book I’ve ever read,” except I can’t actually finish the thing. It’s just too badly written. I can’t even skip to the juicy bits. I tried. Don’t bother. They’re actually pretty limp and not even all that juicy. It’s just a dodgy fantasy story about bondage with clunky dialogue and cardboard characters.

我不只是責(zé)怪互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。這在一定程度上也是這本史上最爛的書的錯(cuò):《五十度灰》。我本想說“我讀過的最爛的書”,可惜我根本看不下去,只是寫得太糟糕了,我都不能直接跳到很刺激的部分。我試過了,不用麻煩了,它們其實(shí)很軟,甚至不那么刺激。這只是一個(gè)關(guān)于捆綁的狡猾的幻想故事,有笨拙的對(duì)話和刻板的角色。
(譯者注:《五十度灰》最初發(fā)表在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上,當(dāng)時(shí)叫做《宇宙之王》(Master of the Universe),是一篇受《暮光之城》啟發(fā)創(chuàng)作的SM小說,由于大受歡迎,2011年5月被出版成書?!段迨然摇分v述的只是個(gè)再尋常不過的霸道總裁愛上灰姑娘的老套故事,除了那些荷爾蒙決堤的SM情節(jié),一切都跟中文網(wǎng)上一抓一把的瑪麗蘇小說沒什么兩樣。)

The book will celebrate its 10th anniversary since publication this summer, and has sold something like 150 million copies. The only thing it’s taught anyone is that truly terrible writing can sell by the container load. And spawn a movie that was, arguably, even worse than the book.

這本書今年夏天將迎來出版10周年,迄今已售出約1.5億冊。它教給人們的唯一一件事是,真正糟糕的作品可以以集裝箱的數(shù)量出售。然后拍出一部可以說比原著更糟糕的電影。

There’s clearly a lot of money in that game. And the book did help give birth to an industry, with people confessing to all the dumb stuff they should leave on the other side of their bedroom doors. (Maybe they’re also hoping for a 150-million-copy pay day…)

那場游戲顯然很賺錢,這本書確實(shí)幫助催生了一個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè),人們承認(rèn)了他們應(yīng)該把所有愚蠢的東西放在臥室門的另一邊。(也許他們也希望能有1億5千萬份的收入……)

I don’t know about you, each to their own and all that, but I really have absolutely no interest in what anyone else gets up to in the comfort of their own dungeon, so long as it’s between consenting adults... or at least consenting footwear.

我不知道你們是怎么想的,每個(gè)人都有自己的想法,但我真的對(duì)別人在自己舒適的地牢里做什么完全沒興趣,只要是成年人之間自愿的……或者至少是成年伴侶。

We need to talk about kink? Nah, mate. We don’t. It’s Valentine’s Day. It’s sales and marketing and you’re just trying to flog some crap book.

我們需要談?wù)勑择焙脝?不需要,伙計(jì),我們不需要。今天是情人節(jié),這是銷售和市場營銷,而你只是在推銷一本垃圾書。