I begin with a scene: A manly hero has just been wounded. He bleeds openly from a gash on his shoulder? Torso? Forearm? He’s discovered by a woman, a physically attractive female counterpart who will tend to his wound, perhaps even ripping off part of her own shirt to stop the bleeding. With this, the woman assumes a nurturing role, caring for a man who is momentarily vulnerable.
My proposition: The wound-dressing trope in film and television is a natural initiator of sexy times. It’s medical foreplay, a bandaged-precursor to coitus and indicator of mounting sexual tension.
Below I list a collection of examples, just a few among an assortment of many:
- Lost
I only watched the first 3 episodes of Lost, but I do know that in the first episode, a woman named Kate dresses a fella named Jack’s post-plane crash wound. It’s especially sexy since they both have single-syllable names:
JACK D’y’ever use a needle?
KATE …d– what?
JACK Have you ever patched up a pair of jeans?
KATE (beat, about to cry) … I… I made the drapes in my apartment — ?
JACK That’s fantastic — d’you have a second? I need a little help.
In this moment, Kate moves towards Jack, apprehensive.
KATE …Help with what?
And Jack turns, SHOWING HER THE WOUND.
JACK This.
Her eyes just close.
JACK (CONT’D) I’d do it myself — I’m a doctor — but I just can’t reach it.
KATE (eyes closed) You want me to sew that up.
What follows is a classically-titillating scene. Kate kneels next to a shirtless Jack, sewing up his gaping gash. There is some pretty potent chemistry between them, a sexy dynamic created by the magic of first aid. Will they make sweet love in future seasons? Will wound dressing later lead to a scene of un-dressing?
2. Hunger Games 2, Catching Fire
I give you another instance: an example from the 2013 hit Catching Fire. In this scene, Gale has just been thoroughly thrashed by a super mean man wearing a stormtrooper costume. He lies wounded and shirtless, a piece of raw meat, on Katniss’ kitchen table:
GALE Hey Katnip
KATNISS hey
GALE Thought you should be gone by now.
KATNISS I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna stay right here. And cause all kinds of trouble.
GALE Me too.
What kind of trouble do Katniss and Gale plan to cause? I don’t think they intend to stir up controversy with whoopee cushions or playground antics. No, I think they’re alluding to a sexy kind of trouble. In other words, they’ve both caught the fire; the fire of passion.
3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
I next cite a scene from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a scene where Janet, having just observed her fiance Brad smoking a post-coital ciggy with Tim Curry, is feeling desperate and betrayed. She stumbles upon Rocky, a wounded and physically-blessed blonde man.
JANET Oh Brad. How could you? (she sees Rocky’s wounds)
Oh, but you’re hurt. Did they do this to you?
ROCKY (nods.)
JANET Here, lie down. I’ll dress your wounds.
ROCKY (smiles at JANET. A new expression crosses her face.)
Yes, Rocky certainly intends to participate in naked extracurriculars with Janet. As she tears off part of her silky negligee to tie up his wound, the pair, quite predictably, get a bit touchy. Janet continues on to sing the classic hit tune “Touch-a Touch-a Me,” a song about the joys sensual caress. If you watch carefully, you will notice that Rocky does not, in fact, have a bellybutton. This is because it has been obscured by his sinewy tonnage.
Thus, I rest my case, gingerly placing it on the ground next my other assorted baggage. The film and television industries rely on wound-dressing scenes as a means of stirring up sexual tension. A unique power dynamic is created, the woman in a temporarily-hierarchical position in relation to her weakened scene partner. Despite this, she is still providing a service, employing her new-found power for the benefit of a bleeding attractive man.
Wound-dressing scenes are inherently sexy, inspiring generations of on-screen sexual sensual tension. The film industry has capitalized upon years of medically-themed foreplay, dressing up just before dressing down.