Farewell, Sexless ‘Years’

Ah yes, after 5 1/2 memorable years, “The Wonder Years” is ending (“Reeling in the Bittersweet ‘Wonder Years,’ ” May 12). Or at least trying to, no thanks to the puritanical censors working for the networks. Having had the pleasure of watching television in other countries with a more enlightened attitude about sex, I have to say that I find this moralistic posturing pathetic.

Let me get this straight--it is perfectly acceptable to air programs involving people who blow each other’s brains out, gratuitously, in color, but it is not acceptable to show a teen-age boy touching a girl’s breast? Get real, as it seems the only teen-agers not having sex are the ones on TV’s networks.

The censors rationalize Kevin’s virginity by saying that “it was inappropriate to present Kevin’s sexual awakening because of the setting in the 1960s. . . .” Did they grow up in the same decade as the rest of us, or were they living in some parallel universe?

Since “Years” is watched by parents with their children, this episode could have provided an opportunity for families to communicate on this issue. Now they get the message that, although it is acceptable to use sex in advertising to sell a product, it is not permissible for the issue of sex to be explored in a TV show in an insightful manner.

MARY SHELTON

Riverside