It has long been believed that the USA is more uptight about sex than the swinging E.U. and many other countries worldwide. That may not be entirely true, and certainly not among some subcultures in the States (yes, we hear you kinksters, and we care), but there is some truth to nearly every cliché, so let’s take a look at the origins of this uptight label.
1 Right From The Start Puritans Founded The Colonies
Without a long boring history lesson, you may recall that when the colonies first started in America, it wasn’t a bunch of wild sex addicts who decided to voyage over to the new continent. Instead, many of the people who made the journey were devotedly religious and ridiculously repressed. Those social norms set in quickly and remain in many communities as remnants of colonial times.
In contrast, look at a place like Australia, which got its starting population at least in part by serving as a penal colony for wayward criminals. Let there be no doubt, criminals and miscreants know a lot more about having adventurous sex than puritans and religious sects.
That’s why people like prudish former Attorney General John Ashcroft spend $8,000 of taxpayer money to cover up the breasts of a statue on public land. And why things like real sex education are often left out of public school curriculums even though they have been proven time and again to reduce unwanted pregnancies and curtail the spread of STIs.
2. We Like Violence More Than Vaginas
That sentiment may sound strange, but the stats seem to suggest it’s true. According to reports, the average American will see 200,000 violent acts and witness 16,000 murders on T.V. by the time they reach the age of 18. Still, if they see one nip-slip during a Superbowl halftime show, puritanical hysteria becomes immediately palpable.
Video games like Grand Theft Auto don’t just allow violent behavior; the entire game rewards it. Yet when the studio releases a new game and wants to reach a wider audience, they are far more cautious about nudity than violence.
3. Public Displays of Affection Are Often Shunned
Non-sexual physical contact has a profound impact on the emotional and physical well-being of every person, according to a mountain of research. Being isolated or unable to enjoy human contact can destroy a person inside and out. Just the simplest things like holding hands, a casual hug, or a kiss on the cheek cause hormonal upticks in all the chemical compounds that cause humans to feel happy – yet Americans often avoid more than just making eye contact.
Especially in the pandemic era, you hardly ever see anyone hug someone else, hello, and handshakes are often discarded in favor of less affectionate displays like a fist bump or a polite wave from across the room.
Meanwhile, Europeans are known for a double-kiss hello on each check and are fond of displaying their affection openly with others. As a result, there is far less stigma about being affectionate in public, and people wouldn’t even think twice about seeing a couple kissing passionately on a park bench.
4. The Mishandling of Abortion Issues
Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, the idea that some common ground must exist seems pretty plain to the rest of the world. Of course, much of the world believes each person should make these kinds of decisions for themselves. Still, even in places where society is interested in steering those decisions one way or another, you aren’t seeing terrorists blowing up health care clinics and displaying massive posters with graphic photos of discarded embryos for their chilling effect.
Only in the United States have we politicized the pregnancy process to the point where most people aren’t even willing to have a civil conversation with others about it. That quiet leads to intellectual stagnation, repression and eventually seeps into all other aspects of a culture. Beyond making the unwanted pregnancy issue impossible to solve, it also has a clear impact on causing our society to be much more uptight sexually. Some would argue that is the result that some want to see the most and that abortion is just a vehicle for them to achieve that more insidious goal.
5. Our preference for circumcision.
Though male circumcision rates have declined in the U.S. over the last decade, voluntary surgery remains common, with more than one and a half million penises being clipped every year. In Europe, circumcision is rare and generally frowned upon for many reasons. Some argue uncircumcised men have more sensation in their genitalia than circumcised men, and many believe the natural look of a penis is simply more pleasurable.
Still, the notion that your genitals require adjustment by a doctor within a week of your birth sets quite a tone for society to carry forward throughout the rest of your life as well.
There Are Some Benefits to Sexual Repression
It wouldn’t be fair to overlook the one shining example of a silver lining when it comes to sexual repression. The mere fact that something is prohibited or frowned upon also makes it sexy in many cases. Things like BDSM, or even Anal sex, have thrived in American culture largely because many considered them taboo. Until recently, gay sex, interracial sex, and trans sex were pushed out of the mainstream, and each found a home in subcultures that turned these closed-minded views into fuel for passionate adventures. If you want proof of that, take a look at how long people have been enjoying sexual freedom on Adult FriendFinder!
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