Why so many people were not bothered by naughty act at Gold Coast lagoon

An act that turned a Gold Coast lagoon more than a little blue has revealed a surprising truth about what people find acceptable.

The story of a couple caught having sex in broad daylight at a popular children’s swimming hole was truly shocking.

Although perhaps not for the reasons you might think.

Society has certainly changed its standards over the decades – just look at what people wear (or don’t) on airplanes – but I assumed we could all agree on where the line of decency should be drawn.

Surely our bottom line should be that sex in public is beyond the pale.

However, reading the comments under the Bulletin’s story, it seems a (vocal) majority believe this is perfectly acceptable.

First, let me refresh your memory on just what went down at Ian Dipple Park … the Gold Coast’s own very, very blue lagoon, apparently.

Stunned witnesses, including families and tourists, at Labrador’s daily 1.30pm pelican feeding near Charis Seafoods saw a pair allegedly engaging in acts, including intercourse, in the adjacent swimming area.

One witness claimed they were later approached by the male who demanded money, saying “they don’t perform for free”.

The male allegedly became verbally abusive, cornering the group as they tried to leave.

A couple were allegedly caught in the act at a Labrador swimming hole. Picture: Facebook

But what was truly outrageous was the comments beneath this story.

Now, to specify, the worst of the comments were those on social media (surprise!) but even some of the comments on our actual website (where I assume that readers have read more than the headline), were questionable.

Said one: “Here’s a phrase in wide use these days. ‘They’re not hurting anyone’.”

Another responded: “Maybe the spectators should have just walked away!”

Of course, there were more measured reactions, such as from, ahem, Ron Jeremy, who said: “Kudos to all involved, however there were two mistakes made; firstly it was a bit rich to ask for a fee and, secondly, it is not cool if there were kids present.”

However, it does have me questioning just where we are in terms of social standards.

Last year’s g-string scandal, where the suggestion was that bum-floss belonged only at the beach, culminated in a ‘free the peach’ protest with women literally turning the other cheek.

Are people really okay with sex in public?

Maybe it’s just the lapsed Catholic within me, but that is something I really do not want to see.

I’m still recovering from my visit to a swingers’ club in 2023 (it was for work, people … and not that kind of work), and I didn’t even see any ‘live’ action.

A couple were allegedly caught in the act at a Labrador swimming hole. Picture: Facebook

Regardless, I’m not a wowser. I think nude beaches are fine (even though I would never visit), I have no issue with g-string bikinis (but not for me or my daughter) and I have no issue with anyone who has an Only Fans account (again, not for me).

It’s all about choice. You can choose to do these things, or you can choose not to. But having sex in public is taking away my choice to not see that.

Further, public sex in Queensland is illegal, resulting in fines or imprisonment, although a Queensland Police Service spokesperson said they had not received any reports.

Now, I’m not saying these people should be punished. In fact, prior to reading the comments, I would have said that sex in public did not need to be illegal. I figured that if anyone was caught, it was purely accidental (the being caught, that is, not the act itself) and that embarrassment would be punishment enough.

But apparently not.

Instead, the most common criticism on social media was against the person who took the footage of the crime. Somehow they were the perverted party in this situation.

Now, I could be wrong (again), but I’m pretty sure this footage was not taken for their personal pleasure, more so as evidence of something seemingly unbelievable.

So I suppose we need to keep this law against sex in public … at least until we have boned up on our sense of public decency.

Originally published as Why so many people were not bothered by naughty act at Gold Coast lagoon