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Gregg Araki on sex, film and queer resistance: ‘All the terrible shit in the world is because of sexual repression’
Gregg Araki, the veteran queer film-maker, has released his 12th feature, I Want Your Sex, a provocative comedy exploring desire and power that he describes as fundamentally queer despite its heterosexual central relationship. The film marks a milestone for the 66-year-old director, who has spent four decades making anarchic, boundary-pushing cinema, as it opens on 700 US screens, a notably wide release for an independent film and one that suggests Hollywood has finally caught up with his sensibility.
The story follows a young graduate, played by Cooper Hoffman, who becomes sexually and creatively enthralled by a domineering artist, played by Olivia Wilde, with a cast that also includes Charli xcx, Johnny Knoxville and Margaret Cho. Araki explained the project began years earlier as a more conventional tale of a male boss seducing a female intern, but he reworked it after the #MeToo movement made him uneasy with its power dynamics, ultimately flipping the roles so a woman dominates a male submissive. He also drew on a 2022 study suggesting Gen Z are having less sex than previous generations, using the film to champion "queer joy and positivity" amid what he calls a repressive and troubled world.
In short
- Gregg Araki's 12th film, I Want Your Sex, opens on 700 US screens.
- The comedy reworks a #MeToo-era script by reversing its gender power dynamic.
- Araki says sexual repression underlies much of the world's problems today.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Cinema that boldly explores sexuality can serve as vital cultural resistance against repressive norms that have historically harmed queer communities and non-conformists. Araki's willingness to revise his narrative after #MeToo—inverting power dynamics rather than dismissing criticism—demonstrates genuine engagement with legitimate concerns, and his celebration of "queer joy" acknowledges how systemic repression causes real harm. The film's commercial success suggests audiences are authentically ready for frank explorations of desire.
The case against
The claim that "all the terrible shit in the world" results from sexual repression drastically oversimplifies complex realities rooted in economic inequality, violence and discrimination that operate largely independently of sexual attitudes. Whilst inverting a seduction narrative addresses some concerns, critics might legitimately question whether this truly interrogates exploitation or merely aestheticises domination differently. Increased explicitness in mainstream cinema arguably represents commercialisation of transgression rather than genuine liberation, with meaningful social progress requiring structural change rather than symbolic boundary-pushing alone.
Explained simply
Gregg Araki is an American film-maker whose work has often explored queer lives, sex and youth culture. His films are known for challenging conventional ideas about relationships and sexuality, and I Want Your Sex is his 12th feature.
The film stars Cooper Hoffman as a young graduate drawn into a relationship with an artist played by Olivia Wilde. Araki changed the story’s original boss-and-intern dynamic after the #MeToo movement prompted him to reconsider how it portrayed workplace power.
The film’s themes sit within wider debates about consent, sexual expression and changing attitudes to sex among younger people. Araki has said he sees queer joy and openness as important in a repressive world.
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