The USA... why is your media so scared of sex compared to the UK.

[Pebkio]

Never ever forget our beginnings. We are nation founded by the Quakers. We're certainly not a country of quakers anymore... but no matter how much we dye our hair... our roots are still quaker-colored. Okay, not just quakers, but there were two main factions of people coming here:

Religious Fundamentalists too extreme for Europe.
Criminals.

The problem is how we view problem, not how we deal with the problem. Because we're diverse, as diverse as the rest of the world in fact. We have the perverts and the puritans and the virgins and the psychofecophiliacs. We're all doing whatever we want behind closed doors as normal, it's just how we publically view the whole thing is way uptight so that colors our discussions and such.

 

[Pebkio]

Doesn't the UK literally censor all internet porn? This kinda seems like the pot calling the kettle black. Both countries have an unhealthy taboo of sex and nudity.

I already addressed that issue. Look through the thread.

Even if you didn't cover it, that is such a gross misrepresentation of actual events that I have to question this Rival's opinions on foreign matters. All of them. If he knows so little about our (supposedly) sister country, what could he possibly be thinking about countries that we're not allies with?

Just throwing that out there, because this closed-minded view of the world kinda bugs me.

 

[littlealicewhite]

I honestly don't know. My mom was fairly upfront about the whole sex business but that's in comparison to all the other American parents who might not even tell their children what sex is until they're teenagers, or maybe even never. I think it just started as a religious thing which slowly infected everything else, and now things have been this way for so long that it's crazy to think we could change it.

Seeing sex on TV makes me feel a bit embarrassed. The thought of seeing someone naked or someone seeing me naked, besides my boyfriend, is a slightly scary thought. I couldn't adequately explain why, I was just raised that way.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Hello again and again and again Escapist,
What ever your views on this please let me know and discuss freely. Thank You.

Well, there are a number of reasons.

One is the fact that America was founded by the Puritans. If you recall, that was the Christian movement that was so anti-sex, so insanely conservative, that Europe pretty much kicked them out.

Furthermore, the American South became a bastion of Baptism, which was such an insanely conservative Christian group that Martin Luther (the founder of the Lutheran church, not Mr. King) actually considered murdering them to prevent the movement from spreading. Yeah, that is a thing that happened.

So, America was settled by two insanely conservative Christian groups, one in the North during colonial times, and the other spreading through the South between the Revolution and the Civil War.

That got us started. However, marketing and McCarthyism during the 50s did a lot to re-cement the idea of America being wholesome and that sex or sexual things were evil and to be hated.

Europe, meanwhile, had a very different experience in the 1950s. They were rebuilding after World War 2. They didn't have surplus workforce to get rid of like America did, so they didn't need a new conservative wave.

So, not only did the USA have a major resurgence of sexual conservatism only a few decades ago, but we had sexually conservative roots that were so conservative that Europe literally kicked them out.

Finally, there is the tendency of sexual conservatism to breed fetishism. As England learned during the Victorian era, the more sexually conservative the society, the weirder the fetish porn it produces gets. It happened to England 150 years ago, but it happened to the USA just 60 years ago, and one result was that a lot of the weird sexual fascination from that era was recorded and nostaligized.

Thus, you have modern America. We're slowly getting over the conservatism, but we can't shake it entirely due to all the backwards looking 50s lovers (particularly in politics). Add to that the weird American obsession with sex. As you said, in much of Europe, nudity doesn't really shock or impress anyone. America, meanwhile, kinda gets off on that sexual obsession - we seem to fear sex, but at the same time we seem to revel in it too. Just look at the American concept of Spring Break - a modern, secular version of Beltane.

... Spring Break as a secular Beltane. I think I just came up with a Dissertation topic... for someone else, since that isn't my field of study.

 

[00slash00]

America was founded by puritans so we have always been raised to view sex as something dirty and war as something glorious and heroic. Amerka!

 

[piinyouri]

My guess, ultimately is puritans.

We came from very uptight, insecure people.

 

[lunavixen]

The thing is, you can't wrap kids in cotton wool forever, they're going to find out about sex at some point and I think we should be educating kids properly, having comprehensive sex education classes right throughout high school (I don't give a damn about religion and it shouldn't enter into what we're teaching our kids unless they choose to take religion as a class). The media overexaggerates everything and it doesn't truly represent the attitude of the general populace. Sex is a natural part of humanity and it's nothing to be ashamed of (after all you wouldn't be here if your parents didn't do it).

 

[cathou]

i think the USA attitude toward sex is well represented in the latest Facebook decision : showing a video of a mother that is breast feeding her baby, is nudity and for the sake of the moral must be remove from Facebook.


but, showing a video of a real woman getting decapitated, for real, is totally acceptable

as long as she stay clothed i guess...

 

[Thaluikhain]

Spoiler: snip

I must say, our society in the USA may 'look' like they're against sexuality and rage over any nudity involved... but that's not entirely true. Or I should say that the media is bi-polar in both regions. Sometimes they favor sex, boobs, and other categories in that field depending on where it's shown and who's showing it.

All over the country, there are advertisements of women in their undies. Yeah not that bad right? Some take it further and show some of the bras falling off women, barely showing the nipples (still no nipples but the bra strap is falling off) here in California. No riots over that.

Then there's Las Vegas with porn everywhere, you can even buy it at news stands off the streets. No riots, no issues over it.

Now have a commercial shown on TV after the Superbowl takes a break of something sexual with a celebrity and everyone loses it. Why is that?

Because the more well known it is, the more people are exposed and figure that's wrong! The media loves drama no matter what the situation is and takes advantage, especially the photographers and News networks. This attention is worth making a negative approach to for reviews and popular hits so the issue grows more out of control then it would or originally.

Here's a good example: There are a lot of 'sexual' merchandise and magazines in stores throughout the mall. Mainly, there is a shop in the Ontario Mills Mall that is so sexual, that even the display case outside the shop has 'nudity' and 'mature scenes' like the clothing or objects and yet... no one has a fit. But this is pubic! Still no issue and has been there for years now.

Recent video on the internet released about a celebrity being nude and 'making out' with said boyfriend. Everyone goes crazy calling her names, saying she's a bad role model, the celebrity has to apologize, crap hits the fan. Why is this worse? Because it's a much more public thing with someone well known thus the media crams negativity onto the celebrity with hopes for feedback. It's all bullcrap but the hype is overblown in the USA. You can say it's seriously hypocritical and awful. The celebrity I mentioned by the way was Lindsay Lohan.

That's an important point. Sex is simultaneously both taboo and ever present. You get all the fun of doing something rebellious and naughty, while at the same time have the security of being just like everyone else.

 

[Windcaler]

Well thats quite a politically charged first post. If you look at social norms across the world theres usually one big correlation. A country will be open to sex/sexuality and everything it implies while condemning any kind of violence. Alternatively countries (like the USA) will be open to violence and violent/dark art while sex/sexuality is anathema. However to be realistic that doesnt really apply to america as much as that statement might seem, just as the previous statement doesnt apply as much to countries that abhor violence over sex. IMO the USA is in a social state where we desperately want to express ideals of sex and sexuality to the open public but there is still an air of uncomfortableness in talking about sex in a public and/or social manner (there are many exceptions though).

From my perspective (and I am american) there is a time and a place for sex/sexy scenes. The whole Janet Jackson thing wasnt a problem because she got her tits out, it was a problem because it was done in an improper place. If I recall correctly this happened during the super bowl which is an event that thousands of american families gather around the TV to watch the big game every year. People of all ages watch the superbowl and in many families its a tradition to do it together. That said, a lot of kids saw that and whether you agree with them or not many parents felt like their kids shouldnt have and yet there was no warning. If this had happened in a rated R movie or something of the sort then there wouldnt have been any backlash because it would have been appropriate to do it there.

Now I personally see the human body as a beautiful thing and I do not believe in any kind of censorship of the arts. I would stand up against anyone who wanted to censor the statue of david because you can see his penis or any other kind of nudity as applied to artistic expression. However I also believe that sex must be handled responsibly. That said, nudity in itself can be tasteless and/or gratuitous . Look at god of war and all the bare breasted women in the first game. For some of the monsters it makes sense in an artistic sense since the developers wanted them to seem more like wild animals (although the cyclops still lost his penis in the final version), and the nudity in the opening scene IMO also helped establish Kratos as the man he is. However, for me, it got gratuitous when you could see the oracle's bare nipples or could bang the girls in your boat at the opening level. IMO bioware games, david cage games, and even Far cry blood dragon have more meaning behind sex scenes then that nonsense did. Ill criticize the hell out of a game that uses gratuitous nudity or sex scenes but Ill never say that it should be censored.

Now in the original post there was a mention about women that go through abortions are treated as "baby killers" and to an extent that's true. However there are vast groups of people that are for and against abortion for varying political, philosophical, social, and/or religious reasons.

As for sex and the whole "protect the children" thing. I believe that the best way to protect our children from the downfalls of sex is to educate them about it. To make them aware and cognoscente of how sex can effect their lives, then if they choose to have sex its their responsibility to confront any issues made by their choice with the support of their friends and family.

I feel like theres a dozen other topics I could cover in this post but I just dont have the energy to do it right now. Maybe another time

 

[Jacco]

People in this thread need to think about what they say.

Sex in the States is not taboo. We have sex all over the place. Even daytime soap operas, the quintessential poster child example of "everyone" American television feature sex scenes.

It's NUDITY that we draw the line at. THere is a difference there and it's an important one.

In addition to that, we don't have laws that disallow production of pornography or require it to be censored (Japan) or laws that attempt to censor pornography from internet usage (UK). The internet porn business makes up nearly 70% of worldwide money spent online each year and nearly 40% of that revenue comes from the US. Hardly what you'd expect from a vehemently anti-sex culture.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

Because we were founded by militant protestants who were kicked out of Europe by the comparatively laid back Catholics.

 

[Feedmeketamine]

I think its something to do with the whole Calvinist christian society, where sex is evil but you can murder in the name of god with a papal blessing

 

[shootthebandit]

Because we were founded by militant protestants who were kicked out of Europe by the comparatively laid back Catholics.

I think that role is reversed now, quite considerably infact

 

[1Life0Continues]

In addition to that, we don't have laws that disallow production of pornography or require it to be censored (Japan)

The Japanese don't have any issue with uncensored sex or nudity. In fact, the censorship was done to appease AMERICAN interests in Japan after the second World War. Before the 19th Century (and WESTERN morality) Nudity and pornographic imagery was a cultural way of life that was simply seen as normal. [Source: Cracked, (2012), 6 WTF Japanese Trends (You Can Blame on White Guys), Item #6, Retrieved from: http://www.cracked.com/article_19098_6-wtf-japanese-trends-you-can-blame-white-guys.html)] Cracked my be a humour site, but its research is legitimate as far as I can ascertain.

American morality changed the way the Japanese do things.

 

[tehroc]

Money. America's porn industry is huge money maker. By keeping sex taboo it guarantees demand to stay high.

 

[runic knight]

First off, it is only public sex or nudity that is considered indecent and thus has rules against. As near as I can tell, most all western nations have rules about that. The difference is the states are more strict about what constitutes indecency. That in turn stemming from religious roots and various resurgences of religious fundamentalism in response to various social movements throughout the history.

I don't really get this though. Europe isn't showing hardcore sex on prime time tv themselves, so obvious the idea of modesty and indecency is not alien, so it is just a matter of what is deemed indecent rather then a fear of it. Given the way sex is used in marketing, I think "fear" is a bit of a stretch.

The questions of media dogpiles and religious fundamentalist lobbying are a bit different from that. Yes they both use the indecency idea, and promote it, but done for reasons beyond just "sex is scary." Media of late especially just love a story so making a villain of anyone sells well. Look at how they cover shootings now, or any disaster. They give not a shit about morality and instead merely use that as a tool for ratings.
The fundamentalist only care about decency because it is their own beliefs and they have the inability to accept anyone else believing or following something besides their rules. Hence why many of the people pushing for no sex education are the same assholes pushing for creationism in schools.

 

[hexFrank202]

Every country has sensitive ninnies, every country has people who aren't. America and the UK are like any other country.

You know in America I'd say the stereotype is roughly reversed; that the UK is more prone to censorship and reflexive disgust.

Did you really want to know why America 'is more scared of sex compared to MY country har har'? Or were you feeling a little down today, and wanted to give yourself an injection of some kind of superiority?
I think if you were actually curious or wanting to learn about other cultures, you'd have asked something more like 'IS America more scared of sex compared to the UK?'

How exactly do you get your perspective of what America does and doesn't accept? Do you read like one or two news articles about America a year, and you've made your conclusion based on those?

Hey, what about singers like Lady Gaga? She's always had tons of detractors, but she's always had ten times as many supporters and fans.

Conversely, mostly family friendly acts like Justin Beiber (well, he was a year and a half ago, anyway) gets just as much hatred as love precisely because of his squeaky-clean-ness.

Twilight gets a lot of flack for being about Vampires and having sex, but gets fifty times as much flack for being insulting to women and self reliance.


"Oh now hold on a second here, don't think you are getting away with this easily UK, my homeland..."

...wait what? Okay, so what's up with the title then? You make an equal, pretty much even case against both countries, completely and totally proving my point. What drove you to make this about which country is more stuck up?