Filed Under: Pro Eto. "The Sexual Lives of the Disabled"

Pro Eto. "The Sexual Lives of the Disabled"

Billed as “The First Talk Show in Russia about Sex and Love,” Pro eto or “About That” aired on NTV from 1997 to 2000, tackling topics like “radio sex,” pornography, HIV/AIDS, and, in the episode featured in this artifact, the sexual lives of disabled Russians. The show was a runaway success for NTV and its producer, Leonid Parfenov, but it also became a target for the Duma’s attack on public discussions of sex.

Pro eto was the subject of legislative debate around the 1998 law “On State protection of the moral health of citizens and the strengthening of control over the use of products of a sexual character,” which included limitations on where pornography could be sold or shown and, indeed, what counted as “pornography” at all. Yet not only was the show not pulled from the air, attention from the government likely boosted viewership. “Every show was a kind of provocation,” remembers assistant producer Andzhela Boskis. “We received an enormous response, at first mostly negative. Then our guests started telling us how their grandmothers watch Pro eto and learn a lot. Older people would even call in and ask, for instance, ‘What is sadomasochism?’” Although Pro eto was certainly meant to be provocative, it became so popular because it was ultimately about “real human feelings.”

The show owed much of its success to the charisma and sensitivity of its host, Yelena Khanga. Combining a worldliness stemming from her experience as a journalist in the U.S. with a youthful openness and curiosity, Khanga disarmed guests and showed viewers how to speak about sex without leering or prudishness. The show was the first on federal television to openly discuss homosexuality, to debate the morality of monogamy, to encourage safe sex, and much more, but of all the episodes she recorded, Khanga is especially fond of the one dealing with the sexual lives of disabled Russians. Khanga recalls that the story of the first guest, Lena, had both host and audience “in tears.” Lena, who uses a wheelchair, tells the story of meeting her husband, the love of her life—then admits that her parents won’t allow them to live together on the pretext that their apartment is not big enough for two wheelchairs. They meet only once a year and even then, have difficulty finding privacy. Khanga asks Lena what sex means to her, and she says, “It’s everything. It’s life. My dream. My fantasy. […] When I’m close to him, I just feel good. Without him, it’s cold in bed.” This episode does what Pro eto does best: it demystifies sex by humanizing its guests. At the same time, it forges sympathy across diverse social groups by showing the universal human need for intimacy.