There’s been a heated debate in the last few months about the place that sex scenes occupy and should occupy in movies, TV shows, and entertainment in general—whether they should be there or not at all, what could be considered male gaze or female gaze, when it’s a matter of fetishization, and the way the actors’ voices and boundaries should be listened to.
It’s an intricate issue that speaks to the evolution of media as a reflection of the evolution of society and morality and one that it would be fascinating to delve into with a lot of time and suggested reading on our hands.
And keeping with that same topic, but on a little less serious note, I think we can all agree that a scene—be it in a television show or in a movie—does not necessarily need a more-or-less explicit sex element to be considered sexy. I would argue that some of the best sexy scenes fall within this very same category, and the Internet seems to agree.
You can see it in the replies to the Tweet by writer Michael Starrbury, who asked this very question by tweeting, “What is the sexiest non-sex scene in the history of motion pictures?” In a little more than a week, the Tweet had amassed more than eighty million views—and some true gems of the history of cinema have popped up in response to it. So, let’s get a look, even though you could get lost for hours scrolling through all the quote replies.
Let’s start off strong with the defining moment from 2005’s Pride and Prejudice and arguably the reason we all were and still are deranged over it:
The almost-kiss during the first proposal also kind of lives permanently in my head:
And here’s one of the best moments in young adult media ever. Peeta Mellark, you truly were unparalleled:
Forever and always an Anakin Skywalker girlie, this person is so so right:
Besides, we can all agree that very few things are sexier than lightsaber skills:
And while we’re in the galaxy far, far away, how not to mention everyone’s favorite beskar-clad Mandalorian?
Skills with the three-dimensional manoeuvre gear from Shingeki no Kyojin are also pretty great:
Of course, you can’t forget some other contributions from the anime world:
Someone had to mention Aemond Targaryen. The Internet has never been the same ever since he, his eyepatch and his murderous tendencies appeared in House of the Dragon:
And how could K-Pop be missing?
And finally, my favorite. Truly the sexiest scene in the history of cinema ever:
(image: New Line Cinema)
