The Bubble

This poster, which measured about 4 ft. x 6 ft., was displayed throughout Hasselt - as you can see from the dates - March to June of this year.

What was your first thought when you saw that?

This billboard is currently standing along the road in several places around Hasselt. And it will be until the event at the end of October.

What was your first thought when you saw that?

This is a shirt our 17-year-old neighbor wears all the time.

How do you feel about that?

Out of your comfort zone?

This societal openness and comfort level made me curious.

That being said, having an open mind can go a long way. Think for a moment if you hadn't grown up thinking a photo of a naked woman was illicit or that a condom dispenser on the street was taboo or better yet, think for a moment that sexuality isn't a morality issue or uniquely dangerous for young adults.

So, here's what I learned.

Blame it all on the Catholic Church. At least in the beginning.

From their staunch opposition to sex education in 1913 when Chicago public schools began teaching it. For the next few decades educators experimented with various health and morality approaches.

Then in 1964, the Sexuality Information Education Council of the United States was founded. It attempted to teach youth a value-neutral method (birth control, teen pregnancy, STD's, etc.) without moralizing it. Given all the information, young people could reach their own conclusions.

Well, that didn't last long. Beginning in 1968, conservative and religious groups attacked this method and in the 1970's began the divergence of the U.S. approach and the European approach.

I was in high school in the 1970's so I have a little knowledge of what it was like to be a teenager in this decade.

When the HIV/AIDS crisis began in the 1980's, almost every western European nation and the United States adopted programs for education. As conservative opponents of this program realized education was inevitable, they launched their own abstinence programs.

I was in college in the 1980's so I have a little knowledge of what it was like to be a young adult in this decade.

Religious conservatives, in particular, helped add provisions for abstinence programs to the 1996 Welfare Reform Act and tens of millions of dollars went toward abstinence education. So there you have it.

European programs were still under the medical community control with little religious or political challenge and sex education was all about public health.

Public health policy is greatly influenced in the States by political lobbyists and religious organizations. In Europe, they have little influence.

Who determines the sexual morality of the coming generation?

In Belgium and most of Europe, teens are seen as young adults long before age 21. The legal drinking age is 16. Is it possible that poor decision-making skills are due to teens not being seen as young adults?

Did you know that about 80% of young adult Americans are sexually active before age 21? So while abstinence may be the preference for some, it simply is not reality.

So this societal openness and comfort level in Europe seems to have kept the bubble from forming. I'm from that 1970's generation and although the "shock factor" has dissipated (as evidenced by my even posting these photos), I won't say my comfort level hasn't been challenged, but as indicated by the latest data, there is room for change.

This ad below was in the Women's section of our local newspaper. It wasn't on the front page, but I don't think I'll see this on any page in the Ruston Daily Leader any time soon :)

Sometimes there's a little lost in translation, but I think you'll get the message . . .

Men are proud when they think their genitals is greater than that of another. But exactly how big it is, do you turn a simple condom know. It is often difficult to determine the exact size of your penis to learn. And even if size does not really matter, it's still nice to know if your penis in the middle or to the larger class. The condometric helps you a hand in there now. The condom is printed with a ruler that you can read the exact size. For the health freaks: the ruler is printed on the condom with antiallergic ink.

Oh, and welcome to Europe.