Backward Values


Why does America have a twisted obsession with watching violence, yet fears nudity and sex?

It seems backwards to censor nudity and not violence. One is far more natural than the other. The innocent infant is born naked, is comfortable being so, and is devoid of violent impulses. Unless taught otherwise, body acceptance is natural. The warping of this morality has to be taught, and is more unique to America than the rest of the world. We even occasionally try to take it to an extreme. I am reminded of the story from a few years ago of the woman who was arrested for taking pictures of her naked daughter in the bathtub. That SHOULD be more absurd than being arrested for making a violent movie. Yet it isn't for our society.

Why are these two tendencies mentioned together by so many? Are they related? Well, there is some evidence that one is the cause of the other. The claim in the article Why Are American Boys So Aggressive is that limited affection in childhood directly leads to a tendency of violence in a society. I will go one step further and make the claim that our society's fear of nudity, sex, and comfort with our bodies directly leads to less affection towards our children and fear of public displays of affection as adults.

I'll leave any final conclusion to the reader.

Posted: Sat - November 1, 2003 at 05:46 PM        

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