National Taboos

Where I live in the US is irrelevant, hey don't shoot the messenger here, the topic is taboo, does that mean hard and fast laws with criminal punishment or just a general societal attitude? And I recall qualifying my post by indicating that although taboo, some things do happen, people are people. I don't take exception to the fact it does happen, I choose not to participate, that is my perrogative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosex...s_of_the_world

I didn't post what I did to be inflammatory, it's not like this isn't something you shouldn't be aware of, how esle would one explain the opposition to gay marriages ? And I do feel an obligation to tell you that it doesn't matter to me whether gays (male or female) can get married or not. Where I live there has been no referendum on a ballot for it that I recall seeing or even having an opportunity to vote my conscience.

Out of curiousity though, why not also address the other taboos in your post, beasteality and inbreeding ? I have a gut feeling this goes on too. May not be as common, I don't have any of the statistical information on it.

interesting thread
i don't think australia really has that many taboos apart from the sex with animals/incest ones

I have to agree with Heather LouAnna that western industrialised society is becoming very homogenised (I want to use the term American Imperialism but I don't want to offend anyone). Pretty much here in Australia we have been raised on a diet of American TV and American popular culture. Although the one thing that still amazes me about American TV is that you can not show a toilet (I read that somewhere when i was doing media studies).

I suppose also from an Australian perspective - we're becoming a rather conservative nation - which has a lot to do with the fact that we've had the same conversative religious looney as our Prime Minister for far too long.

I think the only real taboo I've ever noticed is that there seem to be a lot of people in this country that are very uptight about nudity.

I wouldn't say that there are any regions in the US that it isn't taboo, but that's not to say that there aren't pockets/safe havens where it's commonly an accepted practice. If you really look at how long gay marriages have been discussed in the media under "W's" second administration alone, there really hasn't been too many laws allowing gay marriages. The only two and I may be mistaken here, but California passed pro legislation and the other region was a state up in the New England region. California supports your West coast theory, but as for uptight NE'ers, They came in ahead on the issue before any other region. As for the South being relaxed, well, there are still places that race is an issue.

in some parts of Asia whistling at night is taboo — it summons snakes

at least that's what the children are told

Quote:

Originally Posted by big dirigible Some of you are confusing the concepts of "taboos" and "manifestations of bad taste".

I haven't "slept my way across the US", as one of my schools friends did. I think, however, that I have tasted enough of a reasonable sample of US men, to conclude that they tasted just fine.

I was taught whistling at night summons ghosts.

Never really seen a ghost before, but had felt its presence.

The Chinese are told to abstain from sex 100 days after childbirth. Three whole months! I wonder if it was the prostitutes who started that tale.... vested interests...

Ha ha. You might have something there.

Koreans have traditions regarding the first 100 days, but I didn't hear about abstaining for that long. (Or my wife didn't share that ) Mortality rates used to be quite high so I understood that the mother and child are kept away from public to keep them healthy and for the mother's recovery.

In the U.S., the taboos about sex, or anything else, are: Just don't get caught.

45 years ago, more or less, I remember hearing about getting hairy palms from masturbating, and then being laughed at when I tried to check out my hands when I thought no one was looking.

LOL...here, the funny thing is that when someone says that, every boys look immediatly to their hands. LOL

I also think that nudity it's a tabbo in here. For example, i know lots of people of my age that never saw their parents naked. I think that most of the last generation parents were not very used to educate their children to nudity. So, when a children whatches a topless woman on TV or something like that, they begin to laugh, or they became very embrassed.

Not my casa, happily!

In Italy homosexual relationships are legal, and age of consent is the same of straight relationships, namely 14 y.o. for both males and females (16 if the two are cohabitants or have work/educational relation).

On the other hand, gay marriage is not on the political agenda.

Porn is legal, but hit by heavier taxes compared to other show-businesses. Late TV shows show female nudity and simulated sexual acts, but no male nudity nor real sexual acts.

Masturbation is socially accepted, for both males and females.

Topless is tollerated, so is nudism in selected nudist beaches.

Passionate kissing in public places is nomally tollerated.

Prostitution is not a crime, but it is a crime to organize brothels.