Forum: Poser - OFFICIAL


Subject: US sex hysteria and art

pjbear opened this issue on Feb 26, 2006 ยท 53 posts


Jimdoria posted Mon, 27 February 2006 at 2:13 PM

My own nutshell explanation of America's "hysteria" -

  1. The IDEA of a Puritan founding. Historically, the Puritains weren't quite the prudes they were made out to be, but American's have made them out to be so for a reason. It's part of the mythology by which we define ourselves.

  2. Victorian Prudery. England and America have this in common, but to a different extent. "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree", or if you prefer, "Give me the boy until he is seven and I will show you the man." America saw its greatest expansion and the biggest formation of its national identity during the Victorian era, notorious for restrictive and vindictive attitudes towards the body in general and sex specifically. These attitudes still exert a powerful influence more than a hundred years later, especially when combined with the mythology of our "puritan founding".

  3. America has ALWAYS been a Christian nation, since its birth, and Christianity, whatever else it may be about, has a strong bias against sexuality. From First Corinthians 7, 1-7: "...it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband... But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. (i.e. celibate.)"

  4. America has no history of animism, druidism, Roman orgies, pagan fertility rites, harems, etc. etc. as part of our national character that might counter the anti-sexual attitudes of Victorianism and Christianity. Nor have we ever had, at the highest levels of our society, the kinds of sexual debauchery and excess perfected by the European nobility.

  5. Libido can be easily sublimated into consumer spending. Our country is awash in hyper-sexualized imagery, yet this is really more about making people feel inadequate and therefore in need of something - something which is right in this store and on sale if you act right now! Interestingly, even the puppets who feed this mania - the supermodels, the Hollywood actresses, the pop singers - often feel totally inadequate about their appearance and sex appeal. We're taught to pursue sex relentlessly and expect it to be this mind-bending experience, but we are also expected to feel guilty about paying too much attention to it and to be disappointed with the actual partners and experiences we do attain. Did somebody say "irrational and hysterical"? ;-) Being caught up in this merciless machine makes people feel angry, and anger has to go somewhere. Which leads to...

  6. Many people deal with their own demons by projecting them onto others. In a country that is swamped with sexualized imagery and innuendo, but treats even normal sexuality as shameful and simple nudity as taboo, there are plenty of folks wrestling with demons. Much easier to put them onto someone else and lash out than to look inside and really face them.

  7. Politicians like to get their names in the paper. Politically, this issue is always a win, because the public at large is NEVER going to rally to the support of the rights of artists, and NOBODY is going to go on record as being "in favor of p-nography" especially where children are involved. So the politicos get to look like they're dealing with an important issue without the slightest political risk or, in most cases, effort. And the newspapers sell more copies, too! Everybody wins!

Message edited on: 02/27/2006 14:15