There’s a longstanding belief that the United States is more uptight about sex than other countries. That may not be entirely true, especially in some subcultures in the States (we see you, kinksters), but there is some truth to nearly every cliché, so let’s explore where this one got its start.
1 The Puritans Founded The Colonies
We’ll spare you the history lesson, but 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. In fact, many who made the journey were devoutly religious and very repressed. Those social norms set in quickly and remain in many communities as remnants of colonial times.
In contrast, look at 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 could be why we see things like prudish former Attorney General John Ashcroft wasting $8,000 of taxpayer money to cover up the breasts of a statue on public land while things like sex education are often left out of public school curriculums. Never mind the fact that they have been proven time and again to reduce unwanted pregnancies and curtail the spread of STIs from one ignorant student to the next.
2. Do We Like Guns 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. Yet, 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 is based on rewarding it. But when the game gets released and wants to reach a broad audience, they have to be most careful about any depiction of nudity or sexual activity?
3. Public Displays of Affection Are Often Shunned
Non-sexual physical contact has a profound impact on our emotional and physical well-being, 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 where you hardly ever see people greet each other with a hug, and handshakes have been replaced with a less affectionate display 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. Abortion Issues
Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, the idea that some common ground must exist seems pretty plain to the rest of the world. But, 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 leads to intellectual stagnation, repression and eventually seeps into all other aspects of a culture. Beyond making the problem of unwanted pregnancies 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 desired result and that abortion is just a vehicle 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, the 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 Silver Lining 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, just see what’s going on with all the sexually open-minded people on Adult FriendFinder.
Comments are closed