Why $#*! Our TVs Say Is No Longer Taboo

Sex and TV were once seen as a mismatch -- so much so that TV programs couldn't even show a husband and wife sleeping in the same bed. Now the two get along like, well, people having sex.

And TV isn't so shy about meeting up with violence or profanity, either. Despite all the gutter talk, TV networks maintain the issue remains delicate. A court case surrounding the exposure of part of Janet Jackson's breast on national TV during the 2004 Super Bowl continues to wend its way through the courts more than six years later. And yet, argues one broadcast executive who declined to be identified, TV "evolves with the culture," not the other way around. "We reflect culture more than leading it," this executive said. If that's the case, TV networks -- cable and broadcast -- are showing us a world in which the harshest profanities, grisliest scenes and most private sex acts have become as much a part of our daily routine as brushing our teeth or drinking coffee.