What Québec Wants™

Too sexy for kids?

A follow-up on a post from June 2009 about sex in advertising.

It referred to a survey by Léger Marketing that asked Canadians about whether there is too much sex in advertising.

Quebeckers were least likely to say that there is too much sex in advertising.

This brings me to the news that the appropriately named perfume “Heat” by Beyoncé Knowles has sparked several complaints and has been banned from daytime airing in the U.K. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority ruled that “although we considered that the ad was unlikely to be harmful to adults or older children, we considered that Beyoncé's body movements and the camera's prolonged focus on shots of her dress slipping away to partially expose her breasts created a sexually provocative ad that was unsuitable to be seen by young children.”

Quebeckers might be more tolerant of sex in advertising. However, they’re also least tolerant of advertising to children – it’s banned. While the Beyoncé spot isn’t aimed at kids under 13 and doesn’t promote a children product, I wonder how the ASC and broadcasters in Québec would respond to complaints about a dress slipping away to partially expose breasts.

Here’s the spot.(And in case it isn’t obvious, this post is just an excuse to drive traffic to this blog with the word “sexy” in the title).

 

Dinner conversations

What topics are acceptable at a dinner party among friends?

That’s the question Ipsos Reid asked 1,009 Canadian adults last month on behalf of the W Network.

There are no significant differences between provinces for topics such as work, illness or death, politics, money and religion. The only significant difference is in Québec where the topic of sex is acceptable at a dinner party among three in four Quebeckers (74%) compared to 48% in BC, 58% in Alberta and Man/Sask, 54% in Ontario and 66% in the Atlantic Provinces.

It’s no wonder that one of Québec’s most celebrated movies is Deny Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire (1986).  Here’s the synopsis:

Eight intellectual friends - four men and four women from the Department of History at the Université de Montréal - prepare to have dinner together. The ensuing conversations range from their professional lives to politics, but primarily concern their sexual exploits. The group has plans to gather at a secluded house for dinner. While the four men prepare the food and reflect on their promiscuity, the four women discuss their own affairs at a nearby gym. At the dinner table, conflicts soon arise when Dominique reveals that she herself has had affairs with two of the men there, one of whom is married to Louise (also present).

Candle-lit dinners and massage oils over the little blue pill?

Dealing with erectile dysfunction in Québec and in the RoC

Viagra - Strolling - (2009) :15 (Canada)

Seeing this classic Viagra commercial on TV prompted me to look for data on usage of erectile dysfunction drugs among Québec men. Here’s what I found from a study conducted by the UBC Center for Health Services and Policy Research. The findings were reported on this site for generic drugs.

The survey shows interesting differences in the use of erectile dysfunction drugs based on geographic location.

It shows that Canadians spent approximately $20 billion on prescriptions drugs in 2007. The highest per capita spending on prescription drugs was in Québec where people spent $681 millions on these drugs. The lowest per capita spending on prescription drugs was in British Columbia, where people spent $43 millions on prescription drugs.

However, when you consider the category of erectile dysfunction drugs, the tables were changed. Men in British Colombia seemed to obtain or use 16 percent more of ED drugs than the average male in Canada. However, men in Québec seemed to obtain or use 16 percent less erectile dysfunction drugs than the Canadian average.

This difference in the use of erectile dysfunction drugs between Québec and British Columbia is being attributed to lifestyle differences, as well as cultural factors. The mindset of a Québec male may be such that he prefers to bring out a bottle of wine, set up a candle-lit dinner and open bottles of massage oils to set off a romantic mood, than whip out a pack of erectile dysfunction pills. Québec men seem to be more averse to taking erectile dysfunction drugs, even when their partners are encouraging them to take these.

Note that the author writes "the mindset of a Québec male may be such that he prefers to bring out a bottle of wine..." That may help with the mood but too much of it won't help with the dysfunction. Here's a Q&A on this topic from WebMD: It's difficult for you to get an erection when you've been drinking. - Drinking too much alcohol can lead to erectile dysfunction. While a glass of wine may help you and your partner get in the mood, heavy drinking can really hamper your sexual performance.

Talking about sex

Two headlines caught my attention in Friday’s newspapers.

The first in the Globe and Mail: Ontario backs down on new sex-ed program. - More explicit curriculum needs 'serious rethink', Premier says in wake of backlash.

The other in Montréal's Le Devoir: Le sexe à nue - Une exposition au Centre des sciences répond avec rigueur à des questions que se posent les jeunes de 12 a 16 ans. (Sex uncovered - An exhibit at Montreal’s science centre rigorously answers the questions that 12 to 16 year olds asked themselves. The translation is mine.)

In Ontario, the government is reacting to public pressure and is rethinking plans to talk about same sex families to Grade 3 students or anal intercourse to Grade 7 students.

Meanwhile in Québec a new exhibit at Montréal's Centre des Sciences called 'Sexe : l'expo qui dit tout' (Sex : the exhibit that says it all) is referred to as a 'breath of fresh air' by Dr Marc Steben of Quebec's National Institute of Public Health because it talks about sexuality in a way that is open, clear and very positive. And it does so with explicit language and what is described in Le Devoir's article as stunning nude photography by Luc Robitaille.  

If Ontarians aren't ready to have teachers discuss with their kids everything they've ever wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask, how about translating the exhibit for the Ontario Science Center? Its Human Body exhibit already answers questions like “Do girls have better balance than boy?” The Montreal exhibit answers questions like “Does penis size matter?”. Now that’s a Q&A.

Pillow talk before, during or after sex?

Pierre Elliott Trudeau famously said that the state had ‘no business in the bedrooms of the nation’. It seems pollsters do.

Valentines Day is usually a time for so-called ‘publicity polls’ about relationship and romance. Ipsos-Reid just released the findings of such a poll conducted on behalf of Pfizer.

It asked Canadians about the role ‘pillow talk’ plays in their lives.  

While most (82%) Canadians agree that ‘pillow talk is very important when it comes to building and maintaining intimacy in a relationship, in many cases it is not sex or intimacy that is being discussed once the head hits the pillow.

In most cases the topic of conversation is family matters (27%), upcoming events (25%), house stuff (22%), the kids (17%), work (17%) or even “anything and everything” (32%). But some Canadians, particularly those who are currently single, say their pillow talk consists of romantic, sweet nothings (23%), and flirty (16%) or hot and sexy chat (13%). Just 15% of Canadians say they never engage in pillow talk.

Among Canadians who engage in pillow talk, they appear to do it more regularly when sex is not involved.

Among those who engage in pillow talk when sex is involved, just 17% engage in pillow talk after sex on most occasions. Few engage in pillow talk most (4%) or some of the time (14%) during sex, while eight in ten (81%) do not engage in pillow talk during sex.

There are few significant regional differences. However, Quebeckers appear to stand out on two aspects of ‘pillow talking’:

• They are more likely to use pillow talk to discuss upcoming events.
• And they appear least likely to engage in pillow talk during sex.

One thing at a time.