Harry Potter Is Neutering America

Remember the old teen sex comedies, where hormones ruled and no one talked about their feelings? Hollywood doesn't, ST VanAirsdale writes in Esquire. Today's sexless blockbusters—think the Harry Potter flicks and Twilight—reflect how "our PG-13 imperative has scrubbed mass culture of its libido." The new leading men's "heroic priorities must supersede their biological urges." And their leading ladies love them for it.

That creates a mood of sexual tension without the sex. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, hormones hit Hogwarts, but making out is as far things go. And Twilight author Stephenie Meyer wrote the book on "that teasing chastity, dragging teen horror's beloved sex-equals-death paradigm into the true-love-waits era," VanAirsdale writes. Even the Transformers franchise is in on the no-sex game. "At least we'll have the monsters on The Hills to keep it real for us," VanAirsdale concludes.