The Lovers’ guide at 30 Did it make Britain better at sex? – Not sure who remembers ‘The Lovers’ Guide’ but for those of you who are too young to remember, it was a videotape released on 23rd September 1991 at the start of the second sexual revolution. ‘The Lovers’ Guide’ was marketed as an educational videotape, produced by a guy who had previously been making how-to videos about gardening and cooking. His name was Robert Page, a 56-year-old doctor and film producer who had previously been approached by Virgin, who had just started making condoms. They wanted Robert to make a sexual health film for men explaining how to use them.
(More how-to video featuring your favourite babes from Babenation, Xpanded, Studio 66 and Red Light Central in these JOI videos)
Robert saw two problems with that, firstly, no erect penis had ever been shown on screen in Britain. The second was that Robert had zero interest in making a film like ‘Lovers Guide’ which would be about penises and condoms. However, film censor and close friend of Robert, James Ferman, from the British Board of Film Classification from 1975 to 1999 – took care of the first hurdle. Robert harks back to the time he first spoke to James Ferman:
“I was talking to the great James Ferman and he went, ‘There’s only one law, and it’s called obscenity and it’s that which will deprave and corrupt.’ He said, ‘I see nothing depraving or corrupting in a man pulling a condom on in this era. I think it’s downright sensible.’”
(Plenty of depraved and corrupt images for all you Babestation VIP members right here!)
Robert then touched on the second issue:
“I went, ‘You know all these how-to videos? There’s this area of life that we don’t talk about. You wouldn’t let me make one about sex, would you?’ He said, ‘What would you want to show?’ I went, ‘Men and women, with actual intercourse.’”
Robert Page intended to show real-life oral sex with a close up shot of genitals, something that had never been done before. Even films made for XXX sex shops couldn’t show this kind of content, but here’s Robert Page wanting to show them in a film that would get an 18 certificate and be sold as a VHS tape on the high street.
Ferman said that as long as the film was fronted by a doctor it would be all gravy. Once the script was approved and Robert assured the board that there would be no lingering explicit shots, the film was given the go-ahead. It wasn’t sold as porn despite the fact that many people used it for that for years and years.
Robert wanted the author of The Joy of Sex to narrate the film but after he turned the project down, the job went to Andrew Stanway, sexologist and author. Robert invited former patients and friends of his, Tony and Wendy Duffield, to be the stars of the film. The Duffield’s later went on be huge celebs of the sex ed video market.
It’s crazy to look back at ‘The Lovers’ Guide’ now and compare it to Pornhub and Onlyfans. It shows how sex and sexuality has truly progressed over the years.
