Shows like Normal People are lauded for their “realistic” sex scenes - slow to start, sometimes nervous, and free from cinematic orgasms.

Sex still sells, of course, but it’s packaged in self-awareness, layered with years of internet discourse about consent and kink and modern intimacy. Think: Axe commercials where women want to have sex with you at the grocery store, buddy comedies about taking a road trip to lose your virginity, Maxim covers teasing a list of the best outdoor gear with the tagline “ Spank Mother Nature!” Women sported low-rise pants and high-rise thongs, and men wore trucker hats that suggested careers in adult film. The sheer horniness of the aughts was unique from other eras in its total lack of subtlety, distinctly raunchy in a way that has fallen out of vogue. Photo-Illustration: by Vulture Photos by Warner Bros, Kevin Kane/WireImage, K Wright/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock, Moviestore/Shutterstock and Summit Entertainmentĭuring the 2000s, pop culture’s depictions of sex tended toward goofy, as if Hollywood had been run by teenage boys with cartoon eyes popping out of their skulls and mile-long tongues hanging out of their mouths.