nudity, sex, politics- rated R

Well, this weekend took an interesting turn while out on the town in Mulhouse. The drive to Mulhouse is about 45 minutes. We take this trip almost every weekend because the cuisine is a lot more diverse. We love Thai food and we have become somewhat of regulars at Pum Thai. It definitely doesn't compete with our favorite Thai restaurants in NYC or the delicious Thai food we ate in Amsterdam, but we'll take what we can get. 


After dinner we ended up at a salsa bar that was recommended to us. We were minding our own business and chatting when randomly a male stripper came out... a bachelorette party, we assumed. He was wrapped in an American flag (and totally disrespecting it if I might add). That was enough to get my attention. Well, that and the fact that he was right in the center of the bar for all to see. Everyone formed a circle and had their cameras flashing. His innocent grinding (okay not so innocent for a woman about to be married) turned into him being fully naked, kissing, and on the ground... uum dare I say body slamming this woman. Now, I have heard of lap dances but this was on a whole different level. 


I thought I'd share a picture... (P.S. Men in thongs = totally wrong)

This is just another example of how the world is somewhat obsessed with the culture and life in the United States. What made this stripper use an American flag as his theme? Or umm... as his clothing. 


I remember once reading this quote about nudity: "I always thought, because America is supposed to be the land of the free, nudity would be part of the norm over there, but it isn't. It's surprising." -Mark Roberts


Television, Media, etc. in the United States have always been censored. This has, perhaps, been one of the biggest WOAH things for me here. You can find nakedness almost everywhere in Europe. There are prostitutes on the streets of my small town. Additionally, I can think of at least three sex shops I've seen in a three block radius. I remember a sign I saw in Switzerland when vacationing with my family in 2005, "Last sex shop before the Jungfrau." Better stock up on your sex toys before you get to the summit of the mountain! You can easily turn on the television and see a commercial about sex. Movies are rated totally differently and there is so much sex for the youngsters to see. And, well, lastly and perhaps the most serious issue regarding sex is sex and politics.


Sex and politics have gone hand in hand here for... well, for as far back as... always (Napolean Bonaparte famously took a mistress after rumors surfaced that his wife Josephine had taken a lover), but stories about the private lives of politicians historically have mostly been kept secret unlike in the USA (JFK, Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards). When Bill Clinton "didn't have sexual relations with that woman" it was a HUGE scandal but here politicians all admittedly have mistresses. Sex is open, power is sexy, and just seen as normal behavior. 


I don't think of myself as a prude. I don't close my eyes during sex scenes in a movie, but, when is it too much? What kind of influence does this have on the people here? I think if I could vote in France I wouldn't vote for someone like DSK just because he is a man-whore. However, a majority of the people I have spoken to are not phased by this because he is so good at his job. I cannot believe that someone has the time to spend on his job when he is so easily sidetracked by women and that he could respect his business affairs when he is so disrespectful to his own wife. 

President François Mitterrand knowingly had a love child. It was kept secret throughout his whole presidency but disclosed not long before his death. He was essentially leading a double life. Don't you agree? In this article, France's most prominent psychologist said: Jacques Chirac recently admitted in a book: "There have been women I have loved a lot, as discreetly as possible". Her article is about husband's affairs being "good for marriage." Uuum, what??

This isn't to say that cheating isn't a two way street. I met a colleague here in France. While out with her (trying to make a friend), she admitted to me that she could "never be faithful" and that she wouldn't mind her boyfriend of five years (and the one she calls "the one") cheating on her so long as she never knew about it. I'd like to think I have an open mind but this instantly made me dismiss her as anything more than a colleague. If someone can lie to someone they love, what kind of friend would that make them?

I could go on and on about this topic, but quite frankly, I have said enough. The taste in my mouth is full of bile and I am in need of another chocolate chip pancake ;) 

I will never understand that kind of life, and I can't see how a strong, powerful woman like Anne Sinclair (think: France's Oprah) could say (to L'Express in 2006) regarding her husband's extramarital affairs and nickname "the great seducer" that she's “rather proud of it.”

There are cultural differences here that I can accept and will soon adapt to but there are other cultural norms that I will never be able to tolerate. I am a passionate person, a hopeless romantic, and a lover of love. If someone can't make a commitment, then don't. The definition of commitment is dedication; a promise and a synonym is obligation. And, well, if someone can't commit to one person, how can they possibly commit to 65 million people?