What's the deal with Americans and nudity? [WORK-SAFE AGANE HURRAH]

That's exactly my point: why is it eeewww? I know I'm talking at a very stereotypical level, but that doesn't change the fact there seems to be a general difference, and I was wondering why is it so?

Also, said sex would create ice cream sundaes for post-coital noshing. There would also be cheerleaders during the act.

I mean, what are the roots of such an attitude? Does it have to do with Christianity? Puritanism? Does anyone know?

Who are you, Charlie Sheen?

You wanna come up for some coffee, Dan?

Dude! sons & mums? eurgh!

in fact, what act WOULDN'T be improved with the addition of chocolate sauce, cherries, and sprinkled nutz?

You tease.

The middle ground i.e Penthouse/Playboy has withered as tastes have become polarised. Quite what that says about America I'm not too sure, though donut bitch (and Momus) will have something to add.

How is this not a good reason?

unless they pay you, of course, or you're really, really drunk.

But why do you feel this way? Such an attitude doesn't come from nowhere. I've seen my mom and dad naked several times, and I've never thought "it's my DAD" or "it's my MUM for chrissakes". So it has probably everything to do with religion and morality. It's a very Christian thought that nudity equals with sexuality. Even you calling your dad's penis a cock reveals something.

Yeah, but you're only adding fuel to Tuomas's query there. you don't have to LIKE it! just that it is true... Americans (and probably people of many other countries) are very squeamish about the idea of seeing other family members naked.

As I said, the division is not that simple, I'm making generalisations here, but some sort of difference clearly exists. I'd say that in Europe nudity isn't necessarily titillating or dirty, but it can be that too.

Everbody and everybody is beautiful. No they're not. Some people need to get up off the couch and ride a bike or take a walk and stop eating so much frozen lasagne. It's possible to look better and if you try, you'll oddly feel better about yourself. [okay, okay, okay, up to a point....]

As much I agree with you about (severe) obesity being unhealthy, I disagree with beauty and healthiness/slimness being the same thing. You can say to an obese person that he should lose some weight to avoid cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis etc., but it is a different thing to say that he should lose weight because he's not beautiful. Health and aesthetics are not the same. Of course you could argue that the guilt of not corresponding to the beauty standards will cause the person to lose weight, but because today's standards are so absurdly strict, I don't think it's the best way to deal wíth obesity. Mild obesity is not even a particularly big health risk (in fact according to some studies it may even benefit health, especially with women), but we've been lead to believe it's not beautiful, which is wrong. I'd rather live in a world where it's okay to be chubby than in a world where everyone wants to be slim because it's "beautiful".

(I sometimes feel like a hypocrite saying these things, when I myself am a 65-kilo weakling, but at least I'm not slim because of a concious choice, or because I'd feel uncomfortable if I were heavier. It's just hard for me to gain weight.)

that said, it's true that in France, for instance, we have nudity here, there and everywhere... and somehow, we're not blasés !

xpost

we should start a newsgroup...
alt.fan.thewayne

and we should add a photoshoped Wayne into every thread... a godlike presence...

xpost: either that or kenC's mspaint wayne. in a sense, wayne IS every ilxor.

it's our molten calf !

As for my obnoxiousness on this thread, I mean that back in the day I tended to emphasize a bit too much both my and my country's presumed liberality in contrast to, say, the US. The difference noticeable are interesting, but I don't want to give the picture that everything's so much better in here.

i think one of the best things you'd ever posted was some statement about how you lived in a commune with a bunch of liberated women, but then a couple posts later something like "but that's what we here in finland just call a shared apartment". that was awesome.

Hmm, what's so awesome about that? If I remember correctly several other ILXors live or have lived in a shared flat with members of the other gender.

again, im not sure what obnoxiousness you're reffering to.

you're not real.

-- AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 7 February 2006 14:07 (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

I though that joke had gone passe ages ago.

/firends naked

I keep reading this as fire ends, like an ass on fire.

This is still the thing that is most strange to me about American family life. I've lived here for 9 years, do all the ritual holidays, enjoy the food, mostly, can live, laugh, and drive like am American. Then you get to the fact that many Americans have never, when living at home, seen their adult family members naked. WTF? Family vacations in swimsuits are fine, but you wear clothes into the bathroom and a towel out every time? There's an *ew* (as if you're judging it's aesthetic or sexual appeal) if you see a family member's penis or boob? Are you really judging its aesthetic or sexual appeal? Cos if so, oddest.

oddesty blaise

I've seen all my siblings naked (shared baths when we were kids, etc.)

Why do you want to see your relatives naked?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100707030600AAjqcly

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/us/san-francisco-nudity-restrictions-provoke-the-nakedly-ambitious.html?_r=1

Some of the nudists at the rally seemed to already be adhering to the sought-after decorum by sitting on newspapers. In fact, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, one of the city’s weeklies, explicitly advertised its usefulness for just that purpose, printing a special clip-out page in last week’s issue. The page pointed out that newsprint was a 100 percent recyclable seat guard, and in bold type it said: “If you go bare, put ’er there.”

I don't want it burned into my memory. But it's not a big deal if it happens accidentally. Siblings of the opposite sex, though - that's weird and gross.

Do you ever think about what if your workplace got robbed, and the bad guys made all the employees take off all their clothes for some plot reason?

europeans shocked and bewildered abt americans 'attitudes toward nudity and/or sex' is one of the phenomena reliably highest in poorly disguised self regard

one might ask 'why are europeans so weird abt americans being so weird abt nudity'

what is the deal with airplane food

Unfortunately the nudity on display here is usually performed by the people you'd least want to see nude. Also, mostly tourists/suburbanites.

Re: robbers making people take their clothes off. Thankfully that sounds like some crazy shit from the seventies. Those sick fucks would have to have their eyeballs ripped out. That's all I have to say. I don't take losing well.

its like ive had a number of germans for whatever reason over the years lecture me abt americans being sexually repressed and im all yeah well every country has their version of that i guess *rolls eyes*

like for instance in Europe they have violent Islamophobia

Younger Americans are not conservative enough - skirts too high, pants too low! Kids go to school with their butt cheeks and underwear hanging out! In front of the elderly!

mount wieners

― ☂ (max)

It would be my guess that the taboo against seeing family members naked in the USA (and Canada?) is probably connected withe the incest taboo - not that the two acts have any real similarity or remotely similar consequences - but that sexuality, and nakedness beyond the age of (roughly) toddlers are inextricably bound together in the US psyche.

is there not an incest taboo in europe?

i mean i know in central europe like 45% of fathers keep their daughters locked up as sex slaves for 33 years but

Taboos manifest themselves differently in different societies. The prudishness of Americans has always far exceeded the general norms in Europe.

Never discount the impact of bullying, kids can be so mean and they condition each other to disrespect your parents. You know, yer mama is fat and ugly and all of that.

what is the deal with airplane food

― yung huma (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 27 September 2011 07:14 (2 hours ago) Bookmark

lol

A+ thread from top to bottom (see what I did dere)