Why are female masturbation scenes still taboo in soap operas?

Why is masturbation, touted by experts as one of the main methods for healthier sexuality, often left off the list? Universa asked the question to experts on the subject.

"Wow, that's a tricky question. I think there were insinuations, yes. Off the top of my head, I can't remember," responds a scriptwriter who has written soap operas for networks such as Rede Globo and Record TV. He was on vacation and didn't give an interview. So the report continued to follow this issue.

Face and feet

It was 1980, during the military dictatorship. At the time, Globo was broadcasting the soap opera "Coração Alado", written by Janete Clair and directed by Roberto Talma. In the plot, the character Catucha (Débora Duarte) has a love-hate relationship with Juca Pitanga (Tarcísio Meira). In one episode, Catucha misses her lover and masturbates. The camera focuses only on the actress's facial expressions and feet. The original audio of the recording, with the director guiding the actress to climax, was leaked years later. Despite defying censorship, the network received hundreds of letters of complaint.

Another soap opera that addressed the issue was "Top Model" (1989-1990), with the character Ringo (Henrique Farias), a teenager who often appears with magazines and enters and leaves bathrooms in suggestive situations. The platonic passion for an older woman intensifies the signs of masturbatory behavior.

More recently, in 2021, "Um Lugar ao Sol" aired one of the rare explicit scenes of female masturbation in prime time. The character Rebeca (Andrea Beltrão), a former model, deals with aging and emotional frustrations by seeking pleasure alone. The scene was considered daring and opened discussions about the place of female desire in television plots.