[Atlantic Bridge]

Sexual behaviour and values are indeed a interesting cultural difference between America and Europe. Conservative Europeans like me (I am married and father of 3 kids) are usually amazed about the amount of emotions that conservative Americans invest into the issue. I.e. I do not like homesexuals either but I do not care about their way of living as long as they do not affect my own sphere. Although I also do not want my kids to have sex with 14, the efforts in America in challenging teenagers and college students to make a commitment to sexual abstinence (purity pledge, Chastity rings, the so called "second chance pledge" etc.) until marriage are rather funny to me. I would have never ever signed such a notice of intention as a teen, since my classmates probably would have seen me as the most strange and crazy lunatic you can think of. Furthermore I do not want my kids to sign such stuff since I do not understand why the public is interested into such really private decisions. Not the sex between young people is a scandal for me but the voyeuristic lust in public confessions that some people obviously must have. I (and many other Europeans) have the impression that the social pressue that is carried out in this field by some groups is just another form of sick perversion.

Do not get me wrong. I don't want to provoke anybody here, but I feel the widening gap between European and American values and behaviour. Anyway this issue could make a interesting discussion.

[Red Badger]

Do not forget who we are. The descendants of the people who left Europe. You are the descendants of the people who stayed........

[Atlantic Bridge]

Western Europe Ping!

[driftdiver]

"Furthermore I do not want my kids to sign such stuff since I do not understand why the public is interested into such really private decisions."

Why are europeans so intolerant of people who choose not to be ruled by their hormones? Sex is an important part of life but there is more to life. A little mystery adds to the spice rather than the reverse.

"I (and many other Europeans) have the impression that the social pressue that is carried out in this field by some groups is just another form of sick perversion."

Encouraging behavior that lessens the chances of unplanned pregnancy, disease, and emotional stress is a "sick perversion"? Promiscuity is not a positive thing.

[Caesar Soze]

A survey of European teen sex habits has found that only pubescents from Iceland are quicker to jump in the sack. But when it comes to safety, the Dutch are tops.

It is indeed slightly safer to be a top.

[Redbob]

Strike "homosexuals" and insert "child molesters" or "arab terrorists" or even "burglars" in your comment "...I do not care about their way of living as long as they do not affect my own sphere."

Here's the deal: you either make moral choices and judgments in your own life, or you don't.

Europeans have long demonstrated that they don't:
I don't think the unimpeded rise of Nazism and the accompanying anti-Semitism was just some anomalous case.

[RedStateRocker]

"In America, sex is an obsession. In the rest of the world it's a fact"
Marlene Dietrich

[nyconse]

From a health standpoint-morals aside-having multiple sexual partners causes all sorts of disease. What has the sexual revolution given us-teenage pregnancy, herpes and of course aids-not to mention elevated levels of cervical cancer because of a sexually transmitted virus.

Of course there is an emotional side to sex. A 15 year old boy I know just tried to kill himself because of a relationship gone bad. Underage kids are certainly neither emotionally nor physically ready for sexual intimacy. No one of any age benefits from unbridled promiscuity.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I agree with you that Americans can seem to be a bit hypocritical about sex and sexuality---we're interested in it, of course, but we seem to be a bit ashamed of our interest in it at the same time---at least that's the public appearance of things. Europeans seem to think sex and sexuality is something to be celebrated and discussed openly, while Americans seem to think it's something best kept private.

[saganite]

It's OK. When the Muslims take over they will put sexual relations at the top of your agenda. I think Europe has far more to be worried about than sexual promiscuity.

[Ol' Sparky]

Conservative Europeans like me (I am married and father of 3 kids) are usually amazed about the amount of emotions that conservative Americans invest into the issue. I.e. I do not like homesexuals either but I do not care about their way of living as long as they do not affect my own sphere. Although I also do not want my kids to have sex with 14, the efforts in America in challenging teenagers and college students to make a commitment to sexual abstinence (purity pledge, Chastity rings, the so called "second chance pledge" etc.) until marriage are rather funny to me

You sound more like a liberal to me. No wonder Germany is such a mess when all sexual morality has all but been abandoned.

Legalized prostitution has lead to rampant sex trafficking and the spread of STDs in your nation. Is acceptance of consensual pedophilia next? Bestiality?

[gidget7]

Gap indeed, and one I pray remains!! For one thing (only one of MANY) showing pubescent kids sexual images, is a sure way to keep their already preoccupied minds away from all the skills and knowledge they should be absorbing. Is it any wonder kids are getting supposed ADHA at alarming rates? Not to mention STD's running rampant.

[gidget7]

Gap indeed, and one I pray remains!! For one thing (only one of MANY) showing pubescent kids sexual images, is a sure way to keep their already preoccupied minds away from all the skills and knowledge they should be absorbing. Is it any wonder kids are getting supposed ADHA at alarming rates? Not to mention STD's running rampant.

[Antoninus]

What's the age of consent in Germany, anyway? In the states, many of these kids would be considered rape victims.

[CholeraJoe]

The legal age of consent for sex in Iceland is 14. No wonder the teens thare are doing it early - it's LEGAL!

I'm frankly surprised the Icelandic tourism industry hasn't capitalized on this.

[weegee]

The sex positive agenda (google it) seeks to see all moral judgements over sexual pairings end, regardless of sex, age, number, relation, marital status, or species of partner(s).

It also opposes abstinence not because "it doesn't work" but because they feel it is an unhealthy suppression of sexual desires (same stance they take on efforts to encourage people not to act on homosexual desires).

The proponents see sexuality as a birthright and want to see everyone sexually active at every age with no concepts of "age appropriate" activity and this is an institutionalized agenda.

[Centurion2000]

bump

[Antoninus]

Also, it's ironic that Germany is so sex saturated, but the fertility rate is WAY down. That sounds like a nation that has embraced the Culture of Death--as defined by our magnificent German Pope, Benedict XVI.

[beejaa]

Thank you for participating in what I believe is a largely American web cite. I welcome your views.
What people do in the privacy of their own homes does affect the public sphere because people participate in both areas (private and public life). If you decide to experiment with bisexuality, for example, in the privacy of your own home because your school has taught you that this is all right, this may affect your vote on, say, gay marriage years later. If two lesbians have children, they may easily demand that school children be taught that it's entirely acceptable to deny a boy a father. There is no such a thing as an education which is "values neutral". The public sphere is a continuation of the private sphere and the private sphere reflects the public sphere. This is one of the points mentioned in the article.

[kabar]

Europeans may be off the mark quicker when it comes to sex, but their declining aging populations do not bode well for their societies. The young must bear the cost burden of overly generous social welfare systems. The need to import foreign labor is sowing the seeds of present and future discord. Unemployment rates hover around 10% for many countries. Europe is dying, but the sex is great.

[antiRepublicrat]

With all that stimulating material around, it's not surprising that young Germans apparently have sex on the brain.

That is an incorrect way to portray it. Both the kids having sex and the public displays come from the same root cause -- that sex and/or the human body isn't seen as dirty or sinful in Germany.