I am incensed because, in my opinion, the BBC has sunk to new moral lows. The program I Kissed a Girl does not just contain immoral moments; by design, it is built to be structurally immoral, and the gatekeepers at the BBC have either not noticed or don’t care. I see lawsuits coming down the road. Why? Because this program is not about navigating genuine romantic interest, rather, it exploits the desire for intimacy and sexualises people in a vulnerable context, making it public. It is structured to reward emotional instability and presents relational experimentation as fun. I disagree that this is in any way an educational program or even one that facilitates sexual liberation.
I Kissed a Girl is a BBC Three and BBC iPlayer dating reality format hosted by Dannii Minogue. It features Women who are attracted to women and, upon meeting, are introduced to each other with a kiss. Where is the careful curation of what humanity has learned about treating intimacy as a fruit of committed relationships and tested character? Where is the parental wisdom of taking time to get to know an individual before rushing in and hurting one another? Where is the BBC’s responsibility to the nation? – Rather, the BBC uses intimacy as the opening salvo of the show, bringing people together with a kiss and then asking them to explore romantic chemistry with multiple possible attractions -to face public rejection and humiliation, jealousy and emotional uncertainty. This is not reality TV; this is cruelty TV.
It hides behind the representation of minorities, but that is not what this is. It is not debating a contested lifestyle, but rather it is exploiting them. It is taking human longing for connection and a need to be loved and exploiting it for profit.
Now you would expect me as a conservative Christian to not be happy with this, but I suggest we should all be incensed, Christian or not. Yes, I hold to Jesus ‘ traditional proclamation on marriage in Matthew 19:4–6. as rooted in Genesis. But, whatever our view is on marriage, for Jesus, marriage is covenantal, and sexual relationships should be part of a clear moral commitment to love each other and to be exclusive, faithful, and morally serious about how we treat our fellow human beings.
For those who don’t know Jesus’ stance on sexual ethics, let me explain. Jesus makes clear in Matthew 5:27–28 that looking lustfully at a member of the opposite sex is harmful to the human condition, not just the engagement in the physical act. Why? To encourage us to face what is unhealthy internally so we can live authentically. That matters here because I Kissed a Girl is built precisely around stirred-up desire on the basest of attraction, erotic curiosity and the constant testing of that in the program.
Hebrews 13:4 says that marriage should be honoured and the marriage bed kept undefiled. 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 points out that to be clean spiritually, one should abstain from sex outside of marriage and that people need to control their own bodies and reject lust. For those of you who care about the erosion of British culture, this is a cause worth marching about.
Lust is not harmless entertainment. Most decent people, regardless of whether they are religious or not, have a strong moral instinct that the need for love and the expression of it, through sexual intimacy, should not be casually manipulated for entertainment.
Lust, as promoted by the BBC, is training the nation to admire, pursue, and normalise sexual exploitation. In this, the BBC should be exemplary as custodians of the nation’s public broadcasting mandate to protect the vulnerable and hold the nation’s moral compass, not undermine it. What the BBC is doing cannot be psychologically or emotionally healthy. The BBC must know this. Human beings are not raw material for entertainment. Who knows why individuals would put themselves through such a program? We, however, know that when someone is desperate for love and affection, or when they long for visibility or affirmation, they might be inclined to engage in behaviours not in their best interest, even when such are things they will later regret. What the BBC is doing by promoting such a program is morally reprehensible.
Note this program does not simply allow poor choices to happen; it bakes it into the format. First-meet kissing, chemistry tests, multiple romantic options, partner-swapping. These “Kiss-Offs” are not unfortunate accidents in the format. They are the format.
So what do we conclude?
First, the programme detaches erotic action from healthy covenantal context. A kiss is not part of a growing loving encounter; it’s the starting point of a game.
Second, Participants are not simply invited to know one another as whole persons.
Third, the programme cultivates lust as entertainment. commodifying attraction.
Fourth, the programme puts itself forward as moral instruction. Its publicity has presented it as a space for queer identity, visibility, and education. I am not sure queer people would really want to be presented in this way if they had a choice. Is this really what is meant by “queer joy”? The projection of public romantic instability? The BBC may call it education I call it exploitation. What exactly is it teaching anyone?
Fifth, because the BBC is a national broadcaster, this is not merely a private concern but a public moral issue that affects us all. We should all be concerned about how they are using our money.
This is where I would say it is “nationally corrosive” Who knows what awful effect this is having on young, impressionable minds? There is plenty of evidence that sexualised media can shape attitudes and behaviours, especially among young people. This is where reality TV takes a dark turn; it presents not as fiction but as “real life.”
Why does all this matter? It matters because public morality is not shaped only by laws, schools, or churches and families. National broadcasters repeatedly air programs that affect our morality. It should not surprise us if viewers begin to absorb those patterns as normal.
Finally, we know from research that family instability is associated with poorer outcomes for children and the communities in which families are unstable. A programme that trains viewers to think of intimacy as a game, to consume one another for pleasure, drama, and applause, is morally bankrupt. and works against the national interest.
On that test the BBC’s, I Kissed a Girl passes the morally bankrupt test with high marks
0 Comments