Is perversion "sexier" than regular sex?

This headline got me thinking. A lot of our crime shows now feature plots involving erotic asphixiation, necrophilia, incest, pedophilia, bondage and sado-masochism, sex clubs, group sex, rape and just about any kind of squirrely way people can come up with to achieve climax as plot devices intended to shock and rivet our attention. I guess people like being shocked, but I get the impression sometimes that the big cities have turned into big brothels where anything goes. It's the escalating effect of drugs, pornography and gambling. We develop tolerance for one dose and go looking for a bigger hit.

But is violence really sexier? Or does thinking make it so? This whole dynamic strikes me as immature and quite unhealthy for society. It occurred to me during the discussion of the Mark Foley scandal that teenagers like those who serve as pages in the House of Representatives are much more knowledgeable about sex than previous generations and more difficult to shock. They've been exposed to so much about various perversions and kinkiness, I wonder about their ability to appreciate a stable, warm, loving relationship.