'Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss?

Movie"There's no need to make an abortion of it."
Audience Score
60
'Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss?
NR 4 minDrama, ComedyThe Joy of Sex Education PosterPart of The Joy of Sex Education
A production of Oxford Polytechnic for sponsor the Family Planning Association, this is an unreservedly hairy promotion of the prophylactic in avoiding unwanted pregnancies. A wave of period details situate the film in both time and milieu. The culture of its audience, 1970s students, is evoked and displayed via a mattress on the floor, an ethnic rug, the kilim bedpsread, homebrew jars, denim clothes and by hair: long hair, facial hair - beards. The main actors are dead ringers for the infamous cover stars of Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex, published the year before.
StarringPip SpringhailEelco De JongSue Stoodwell
DirectorGraham Jones

Movie Details

Original Language:English
Production Companies:BFI, Oxford Polytechnic
Movie Tags:
educationalhippiesex educationyoung womanyoung coupleyoung mancondompharmacistbeard

The Joy of Sex Education

A survey of sex education through the ages. Many of the early films highlight Britain's horror at the very thought of sex and sexuality. Euphemisms abound and, if you can get away with making your point with the aid of a few birds or rabbits, why not? Even some mildly amorous pollen gets in on the act as a stand-in for something otherwise far too unpleasant to show. At least it saved the teachers' blushes. Despite the often unintentional humour, the films provide a vivid snapshot of the nation's concerns and anxieties across the decades. Not only did they teach us to keep our trousers firmly zipped, but also managed to underline the establishment's attitude towards women. Loose of morals and self-control, women are invariably portrayed as the spreaders of disease and responsible for just about every 'misfortune' that comes their way.