Growing up in my household, every topic except sex was okay to talk about, watch, and hear.
My dad was much more reserved than my mom on the matter. Once, I remember watching “Melrose Place,” when something about sex came on. It happened in front of my mom, and she just turned around and told me it was bad to do before marriage. My dad, on the other hand, would just ignore the topic as a whole.
Maybe it’s an African thing, but I don’t know any of my African friends who had “the talk” with their parents. How do they think we find out? I recently asked my Italian American friend about this, and she replied that it’s not so much a cultural thing as it is a religious thing. Well, I understand that… but my father hates church! So what gives?
Are people just too conservative in the African countries and in the United Sates? In Europe, people seem to be so open about sex: It doesn't seem to matter. In Germany, there are sex shops out in the open, unlike in the US, where sex shops are located in discreet places. In Spain, prostitutes parade out in the open, and almost everywhere in Europe people seem to be quite gay friendly…
I've noticed that my sexual outlook on things is a bit varied. I consider sex sacred but I'm also open-minded enough to consider myself a sexual person. However, when people I don’t know talk about sex casually, it makes me uncomfortable. But I do think it’s important to talk about sex with significant others and close friends.
Overall, I think it’s important to establish proper dialogue about sex, so that the important issues are discussed, and people can have healthy sex lives and relationships.
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