TLC’s ‘Sex in Public’ too much?

Jill Dictrow appears in TLC's "Sex in Public." (Handout)

TLC has a new show, “Sex in Public,” starring therapist Jill Dictrow, who gets unsuspecting people to open up to her about their sex lives. The show prompts people to talk about their sexual and emotional issues, but how far is too far when it comes to talking about sex on TV?

Some believe the series is a bad choice for TLC. Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, sees the show as a desperate move for the channel.

“TLC once stood for The Learning Channel…and now it stands for Totally Ludacris Content,” he told FOX411. “It’s pathetic and it’s desperate. It’s a strategic blunder. You have to have a brand for your programing and a program like ‘Sex in Public’ is going to help nobody. It may be clever in terms of ‘oh they’re going to a food court to talk to about their sexual appetite’ but at the end of the day this is explicit content, it’s on a network that has built a brand on other types of content. I just don’t think it’s going to fit.”

The PTC sent out a press release on Tuesday “urging advertisers to steer clear of ‘Sex in Public’ and other TLC shows that are clearly designed to shock and accelerate.”
 
But Dictrow told us she believes the show is doing a good thing by highlighting a taboo subject.

“[The show is] talking about sex the way I want to talk about it… so we can openly talk about what is going on behind the scenes and closed doors so people are having satisfying sexual relationships. [We’re] not talking about it in a way that is crude and unkind,” Dictrow said.

Nevertheless, she acknowledged that some people can be uncomfortable discussing sex so openly.

“I think sex has a bad connotation for two reasons. On the religious aspect, some people feel that they are not supposed to be giving their virginity away,” she said. “And I think porn unfortunately has given sex a sort of degrading factor…”

Dictrow said, in regards to the backlash the show has received from the PTC, that critics of the series should watch it before they bash it.

“First of all are they basing it on the clips of the show or what the description of the show is? Well, all I can say is watch the show. I’m not defending the show until they see it. I refuse.”

She argued that the show focuses on helping people.

“Not only did I do some therapy in the show, but there was not one person that did not thank me after and say ‘oh my God thank you so much. Thank you for hearing me. Thank you for your input. Thank you for asking me those questions to make me think.’”

She added that all she wants is “to help people understand that having a fulfilling sexual life is something to be open and happy about.”

“I think you have to know everyone comes with baggage and you don’t really know what goes on behind closed doors and what you think you know is nothing compared to what really is the truth,” she said. “Having a sexual fulfilling sex life is a great aspect to have in your relationship.”