Is America a sexually repressed society? I can say that we are in some ways, but compared with the countries that we are going to war with these days, I can’t say that with a straight face. There has always been a struggle in America between the right and the left to define what is right and wrong sexually. In the past fifty years, we have seen sex viewed as something that is to be feared, and as something that we just naturally do.
When I ask myself if America is sexually repressed, I need only to look at my computer. There are so many ways to see nudity, sex, or anything of an erotic nature. When I go to my Facebook account, I can’t believe how many pictures I see of girls that I doubt they would want to show to their moms. Or maybe they put these pictures up because their parents don’t really care in the first place? I would assume that they care, but it brings me to my next point.
As much as we try to ban pornography, and deem it this evil of society, wasn’t it the past generations that advocated for it? Wasn’t it the hippies of the 60’s who went to Woodstock naked, and probably made a few babies along the way? Wasn’t it then that the phrase “Sex, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll” was coined? It seems to me that at least back in the 60’s, and in the 70’s too that people were alright with having sex, and lots of it.
It seems lately that there is a push to not have sex. Kids are being taught abstinence despite not being proven as the most effective way to prevent kids from having sex. The church has always advocated that people not have sex, and that we should only do so when married. It could just be me as well, but it seems like the whole attitude of just having sex with anyone is gone, and for good reason. STD’s are a major problem, and definitely have people thinking twice before sex.
Our lives have changed drastically as well. We work such long hours that it is difficult to find time to sleep, let alone have sex. Who is going to have sex with you in an airplane, or on a business trip when you haven’t showered in a day? Would you really risk your promotion, or the presentation just to have a quickie? I don’t think so, and our hectic lifestyles just leave us no time, or at least if you are serious about your work.
As a whole, I don’t think we are sexually repressed though. We have access to so many forms of pornography, and we have pretty relaxed attitudes about having sex in general. Nobody is going to crucify you for having a one-night stand, or for not calling her the next day. People are able to have sex with no strings attached if they want too, but we just like to keep it on the down low. Sexually repressed? Hardly, even if it can be hard to get sometimes.
