Are soft-core sex scenes fueling ‘Being Mary Jane’?

BET' Being Mary Jane
BET’s “Being Mary Jane”

“Being Mary Jane” is becoming well known for its graphic sex scenes.  The audience has already been introduced to “the reality of a single black women’s life.” But are the sex scenes bordering on soft-core pornography or should this be  considered normal for today’s TV standard?


In the most recent episode, there is a scene showing Gabrielle Union’s character performing oral sex on Omari Hardwick’s character, and she is interrupted. A viewer was able to freeze frame the scene and it looks like  Gabrielle Union has something large in her hand. Is this going too far or is it just showing a sexually liberated black woman?


“Being Mary Jane” has been a ratings bonanza for BET. The premiere of the show was the top show in its time slot Tuesday night, according to Variety magazine. Will this mean the show will have to keep pushing the envelope in sex scenes and situations? Many people feel that the Union’s character, Mary Jane Paul, is more relatable to the average black woman than “Scandal’s” Olivia Pope. But both characters share commonalities; sexual independence and success in their field. But they also show the same fundamental problem; the inability to find a fulfilling relationship with a man.

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