I don’t want to be pedantic but ‘narrative function’ is not the same as ‘forward the narrative’. Adding to a piece’s emotional impact, developing a character’s arc, ‘worldbuilding’, etc, count as having a narrative function.

The sex in Sky Rojo or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (I’m thinking of the original movies) or in Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People (I’ve not seen the adaptation)? Fine. Great, even. I don’t even mind some of it in coming of age or slice of life if it’s done right and doesn’t sexualise children.

The sex in Elite or Seven Deadly Sins? There’s so much of it that there wouldn’t be a story to salvage if you took it out. The orgy scenes in White Lines? Purely gratuitous and lazy way of portraying the decadence of rich people.

I understand the quote thing. You’re still making assumptions, about me and others, I think. I’m not sure if I had it in mind or whether I count it in the same category, but I also don’t appreciate gratitous ‘eye candy’. Sometimes it works. Often it’s crass and feeds into problematic stereotypes, etc.

Don’t you see how attacking the existence of sex in public entertainment and art feeds into the puritanical sex freak spiral and doesn’t help us in any way?

Possibly, but I’m not sure that I am making that attack.