I’m Japanese and currently studying abroad in the US. Recently I was telling some classmates about onsens and how my family are enthusiasts and they were so weirded out by the concept especially when I told them that my father & brother go together the most (people are fully naked in onsens if you’re unaware). Non-sexual nudity was never a big deal to me and in Japan where bathtubs are the norm instead of showers it’s not even unusual for same-sex family members to bathe together (one at each end). Where does this prudishness come from? Especially in a country that’s known worldwide for its hyper sexuality (Hollywood, celebs, porn industry, etc.)?

  • NABDad@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    22 days ago

    In the years before the US existed, when the land was colonized by European powers, Europe had a lot of really annoying, prudish types who were a major downer.

    Someone had the bright idea to encourage them to move to the colonies where they could live their prudish existence free from the naked bodies of Europe.

    We ended up with all of Europe’s biggest prudes. Europe’s prudes have been trying to reestablish themselves, but they are at a serious disadvantage. Meanwhile, we in America have to deal with an overwhelming population of prudes that we’ve struggled for centuries to extinguish​.

    While we’re on the subject, Europe also found it convenient to dump their criminals here. So we end up with a culture in which full frontal nudity is unacceptable, but gun violence is just fun entertainment.

    I say that as someone who loves some good violence. Nothing quite so enjoyable as living vicariously through some bad ass beating the snot out of the bad guys in a movie.

    I never would have thought of myself as a prude, but recently stopped watching the series Banshee because the amount of gratuitous sex in the show was exceeding the amount of gratuitous violence to such a degree that I began to feel uncomfortable.