Actress Rosamund Pike has questioned whether the world is entering an “age of prudery” with less sex due to the impact of “wellness” culture, in comments made during her Criterion Closet interview this weekend.
In the interview, the Gone Girl and Saltburn star, 46, sifts through the iconic film closet owned by The Criterion Collection and selects her top picks. Pike’s first pick is I Am Curious, the 1967 Swedish erotic drama written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman that follows the story of a searching and rebellious young woman’s bold exploration of her sexual identity.
“My first pick is I Am Curious because I am curious,” Pike says. “And I’m also interested in the depiction of sex and sexuality on screen. I think it’s very interesting, the debate, where it’s taking us these days.”
She goes on to ask: “Are we entering an age of prudery? I’m interested in the way that wellness is taking over our lives and yet sex seems to be taking a backseat.”
Pike’s comments follow multiple reports that younger generations are having less sex, with the Los Angeles Times dubbing Gen Z’s lack of sexual urgency a “failure to launch”.
It’s coupled with Gen Zs resistance to alcohol, which has lead many to fear the death of the drunken shag, with less than half of 18-24 year olds reporting having had sex whilst drunk.
The Wheel of Time actress is right to be worried about the depiction of sex on screen, too, considering there’s so much less of it. A study by The Economist found that the level of sexual content in films had fallen by as much as 40 per cent since 2000, and research by The Hollywood Reporter showed a dramatic decline in sex scenes in major theatrical films this century.
Plus, the younger generations don’t even appear to want sex scenes. According to a UCLA report from 2023, almost half of Gen Z want to see less sex on screen, with viewers between the ages of 10 and 24 seeking more shows and films about platonic connections. This is a direct contrast with the popularity of Gen Z-beloved TV shows like Euphoria, which features frequent, graphic sex scenes between fictional high school students.
Pike has starred in some risqué films herself, with the hit 2023 thriller/comedy Saltburn proving plenty divisive due to its sexual content. This includes one scene in which lead character Oliver, played by Barry Keoghan, licks semen from a bathtub drain and another where he has sex with the soil above another character’s grave.
