WHAT'S UP WITH AMERICANS AND NUDITY? | Feli from Germany

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  • Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
  • Compare news coverage from around the world and across the political spectrum with Ground News: ground.news/feli
    ▸"Florida principal forced to resign after showing students Michelangelo's 'David' statue" or "Parents Complain About 'Pornographic' David Statue" 👈 These types of headlines went around the world a couple months ago and left many people in Italy and other countries utterly confused. What's wrong with the David Statue? How could anyone think this is p*rn? So let's talk about how nudity is handled in everyday situations in the US compared to Germany, and why it seems to be such a big taboo topic in the US!
    Related videos:
    ABSTINENCE-ONLY?! Sex Education USA vs. Germany ▸ • ABSTINENCE-ONLY?! Sex ...
    Sex Ed & Teen Relationships in Germany vs. USA w/ @MyMerryMessyGermanLife ▸ • Sex Ed & Teen Relation...
    @DreamPrague CZECHIA vs. USA (different attitudes towards nudity) ▸ • CZECHIA vs. USA (diff...
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    USA
    -------------------------
    0:00 Recent headlines about the David statue
    1:40 What exactly happened in Florida?
    6:13 Reactions in Italy & other countries
    8:20 Nudity Germany vs. USA: #1 Sauna
    9:22 #2 Nudism/FKK
    11:57 #3 Communal showers
    13:45 #4 Doctor's office
    14:50 #5 Breastfeeding
    17:08 #6 Media
    19:41 Nudity = cultural difference
    20:06 Possible explanations
    24:25 Sex in American pop culture
    -------------------------
    ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 29, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other topics I come across in my everyday life in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 8 тис.

  • @FelifromGermany
    @FelifromGermany  11 місяців тому +269

    *What are your experiences with nudity in the US and other countries?👇*
    ▸Compare news coverage from around the world and across the political spectrum with Ground News: ground.news/feli
    _Correction: At __22:48__ I said that the numbers in Sweden and Norway are even lower than in Germany. That was true for an older study by Gallup from 2010 but it's actually not correct for the study I ended up quoting._

    • @josueveguilla9069
      @josueveguilla9069 11 місяців тому +15

      I don't really mind, to be completely honest.

    • @jerryjohnson9669
      @jerryjohnson9669 11 місяців тому +58

      We've got a bunch of uptight evangelicals who think they know what morality is. (They don't!)

    • @Notimp0rtant523
      @Notimp0rtant523 11 місяців тому +20

      Well, I went on a bike ride along the river in Potsdam on a Sunday, and there were a lot of people of both genders who were largely naked. Not a majority by any stretch, but enough. Just seemed like a day.

    • @garypierce7380
      @garypierce7380 11 місяців тому

      Would you feel differently if David had popped a boner? What if creepy old men were leering at you in a sauna? Let's just keep our shorts on. 😆

    • @davesaunders7080
      @davesaunders7080 11 місяців тому +19

      @@jerryjohnson9669 I wonder if they secretly admire the Taliban and Iranian Imams

  • @fondueeundof3351
    @fondueeundof3351 11 місяців тому +737

    What I don't understand, and which happens in Europe as much as in the US, is why an administration (here the school's) immediately gives in after receiving a complaint from a microscopic minority (here two parents). Like 95% of the parents didn't see a problem with that statue, why does the school care about these two parents? Why not just pay back the tuition and let their kids go to another school? At least from the outside this simply looks like sorry spinelessness.

    • @TheGreatOne-gw7xh
      @TheGreatOne-gw7xh 11 місяців тому +1

      Because America has the first amendment, allowing anyone to complain about whatever they want. The first and second amendments need to go.

    • @SatumangoTheGreat
      @SatumangoTheGreat 11 місяців тому +52

      Fear of lawsuits, I think.

    • @sakuranooka
      @sakuranooka 11 місяців тому +21

      @@SatumangoTheGreat What would be the accusation?

    • @SatumangoTheGreat
      @SatumangoTheGreat 11 місяців тому +40

      @@sakuranooka I'm Dutch, not a U.S. citizen, so please take it with a grain of salt: I don't live there so I don't get all the details. But I would suspect something like religious beliefs, where showing nudity corrupts the children who might want to have sex before marriage, etc.

    • @baronmeduse
      @baronmeduse 11 місяців тому

      It doesn't happen in Europe as much as the US. Notably because the schools here in Europe aren't dominated by crackpot 'school boards' comprised of right-wing religious wingnuts. The government mandates what goes on in schools, not village idiots. Also common sense has a higher premium.

  • @fabribertani
    @fabribertani 10 місяців тому +938

    In general, what bothers me the most is the high acceptance of violence over nudity or sex. For example, a movie or a video game can be extremely violent, but the instant a pixel of a nipple appears, the maximum restrictions are applied.

    • @silentlyjudgingyou
      @silentlyjudgingyou 10 місяців тому +60

      Agreed it's a disturbing pattern .

    • @jesseb3307
      @jesseb3307 10 місяців тому +18

      Well, remember Doom 95? What about Grand Theft Auto? It's all in the news for the time of each game era. People wanted to shutdown all violent video games. Mortal Kombat doesn't ring a bell?

    • @user-un8tv1pp8m
      @user-un8tv1pp8m 10 місяців тому

      I think its extremely fitting that the US culture would normalize violence.
      And demonize base human needs like sexuality or even just bodies in general.
      Absolutely the image america has been projecting day for day since the first native person was slaughtered.

    • @robtapp6400
      @robtapp6400 10 місяців тому +85

      I have questioned this for years. If you remember there was a huge uproar over the "Nipple" when Janet Jackson's top was pulled down during the Super Bowl, even though you could not see anything. However, around the same time TV shows had people getting shot, some even in the head with the relevant ejecta, and yet no real complaints about that. But a nipple - "Oh No, won't anyone think about the children?!?!"
      For some reason guns and shootings are perfectly fine, but god forbid a minor might see a nipple, a breastfeeding women, or classical art depicting nudity and some go nuts. Seriously, I do not get how, to these people at least, violence is more natural than nudity. I sure know which I would prefer my kid to see/experience in real life...

    • @silentlyjudgingyou
      @silentlyjudgingyou 10 місяців тому +31

      @@jesseb3307 Remember Janet Jackson's super bowl wardrobe malfunction she was nearly cancelled and it wasn't her fault. The men throwing a fit about 5 seconds of naked blue guy in the Watchmen movie. Also since you mentioned grand theft auto I have two words for you "hot coffee". It's worth pointing out that the games still exist people buy them some people buy them for kids they aren't hidden behind an adult only screen. Movies and comics can have violent bs and still be pg two seconds of naked person existing in a completely nonsexual context with out censoring and its rated r and people are throwing a fit.

  • @cynthiahurst9797
    @cynthiahurst9797 8 місяців тому +45

    I saw Michelangelo's statue of David when I was 7. I still remember it. I did embrace my mother however. Being from America I had never seen anything like that. I said, kind of loudly, "mommy that man doesn't have any clothes on." She appreciated the beauty of Michelangelo's art. So I was able to see all these wonderful works of art without any prudish crap. And was allowed to grow up appreciating Renaissance art.

  • @edfuller6581
    @edfuller6581 8 місяців тому +65

    So crazy! I was exposed (excuse the term) with the rest of my classes to the various works of art featuring nudity. This was in the 1960's, in Virginia, and it was no big deal! We just learned about the different types of art, period.

    • @BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp
      @BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp 16 днів тому +2

      That was before woke lunatics took over. Being "offended" has become a very lucrative business.

  • @ptrinch
    @ptrinch 10 місяців тому +508

    Growing up in the US (mid 80's), my parents had a coffee table in the living room that was two antique bronze statues of cupid (not the diapered version) each holding one side of a glass table. It had been there for my whole life, so I never thought twice about it. Well... one of my friends (ten, or so, years old) described it to their parents and all hell broke loose. I don't remember much of the details, but I know the school was called as well as parents of many other children. Then the police paid us a visit after getting a complaint of child pornography in our house. After seeing the table, they apologized for the inconvenience. It took a few weeks to calm the waters, but the only consequence was that everyone agreed the mother was a lunatic, the kid was no longer allowed to come over, and he was forbitten from talking to me at school. On the bright side, my parents still have the table.

    • @kaudsiz
      @kaudsiz 10 місяців тому +43

      That’s hilarious. Thanks for the laugh

    • @frankv.2124
      @frankv.2124 10 місяців тому +52

      Imagine the police coming to your home for a cupid statue.....you can laugh about it, but on the other hand many other parents have turned their backs to your parents...it's pure insanity...i'm from Belgium, never heard such a crazy story down here....🙄

    • @AnonEyeMouse
      @AnonEyeMouse 10 місяців тому +29

      Nakedness essentially is not permissible in the Southern US, with the exception of Walmart aisles at 5am

    • @ptrinch
      @ptrinch 10 місяців тому +24

      @@frankv.2124 The only parents that turned their back to my parents are they parents that we wouldn't want to have in front. They did us a favor.

    • @ptrinch
      @ptrinch 10 місяців тому +19

      @@AnonEyeMouse Sadly, this wasn't in the Southern US, it was in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Although the mother was from Richmond, Virginia, so maybe she brough some baggage up with her.

  • @martijndekok
    @martijndekok 11 місяців тому +818

    One of the "funniest" examples of American prudishness was when someone said that: "Seeing breasts was inappropriate the young children." They're literately made for feeding children. LOL

    • @GreyWolfLeaderTW
      @GreyWolfLeaderTW 11 місяців тому +14

      Pray tell what is wrong (what you really mean by "prudish") about saying it's wrong for strangers to go around topless when children might be present?

    • @Bassalicious
      @Bassalicious 11 місяців тому +160

      @@GreyWolfLeaderTW You did get the irony Martyn outlines right? Anyway I've got a few points regarding your question:
      - you teach children that the human body isn't acceptable and has to be covered up - for some this leads to massive insecurities about their own bodies. A taboo is the opposite of normal
      - the children will see naked people during their life anyway, most likely still as children when they're getting curious. They won't be seeing normal bodies when they look for nudity and get a skewed perspective of what normal looks like.
      - young children have no sense of sexuality anyway
      My question back to you: Why do you feel like you have to "protect" children from seeing other peoples bodies?

    • @thornelderfin
      @thornelderfin 11 місяців тому +1

      ​@@GreyWolfLeaderTW Children will see the way you were born, the most natural state (clothes are artificial). What is shameful or damaging about something that is absolutely natural. On top of that breasts give life and you wouldn't even be alive if not for them in all the countless generations before you. Children don't have hormones, they cannot even possibly view it in a sexual way till puberty (12+). Sexuality is normal and natural part of life that is the only reason you even exist and this entire civilization.

    • @panthera50
      @panthera50 11 місяців тому +4

      👍🤣

    • @solaccursio
      @solaccursio 11 місяців тому +151

      @@GreyWolfLeaderTW children don't care at all. It's dirty minded grown ups who care. Or people who think that nudity is strictly connected to sex (it is not) and that sex is bad (it is not). So I don't see a single reason to teach children that the human body (and the female body in particular) is something bad or to be ashamed of.

  • @IZaubermausI
    @IZaubermausI 8 місяців тому +72

    I can only talk for Germany - but in Kindergärten and schools we have books made for children where are pictures from a lot of very different bodies (with clothes but also naked).
    It‘s important to teach them from early on that every body is okay, that no part is bad and which rights they have!
    Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we don‘t have so much teenage mothers?!

    • @ThatGuySizzleMac
      @ThatGuySizzleMac 5 місяців тому +8

      Back in the 90s things were a lot more open, but after the whole Tea Party (who only represented the Loonies of the Christian Conservatives) thing the rose up during the Bush presidency in the early 2000s became more mainstream cause of Trump becoming president, depending on where you live decide on what is acceptable, and in some cases a few control the most and will cause laws to get stuck in legal hell just because they want things to stay in the 50s (or 1600s in some other areas) for some reason.

    • @paulcarfantan6688
      @paulcarfantan6688 4 місяці тому +2

      @@ThatGuySizzleMac You seem to be forgetting the loonies on the extreme left in your little analysis, possibly because you`re one of them. One extreme is not better than another. Be careful oversimplifying things or you might run the risk of sounding foolish.

    • @ThatGuySizzleMac
      @ThatGuySizzleMac 4 місяці тому +4

      @@paulcarfantan6688 Both extremes are foolish, but considering you are jumping to conclusions also I think I might have struck a nerve my guy. Way to out yourself. I personally don't care about what your politics are, but when you jump to conclusions, it's pretty easy to tell where you line up at.

    • @paulcarfantan6688
      @paulcarfantan6688 4 місяці тому +2

      @@ThatGuySizzleMac How am I jumping to conclusions if they are based on your own words in your first comment ? Am I supposed to telepathically learn that you consider both extremes to be foolish ? I`m not telepathic, my bad. Now another problem arises...who do you consider as extremist. If you consider Donald Trump as one then you`ve just outed yourself as not very intelligent. Of course it`s annoying to read comments that are very one-sided. Imagine you read the following comment : "Hitler was a horrible dictator but Stalin was a swell guy". Wouldn`t that strike a nerve in you ? If it doesn`t then It`s pretty easy to tell where you line up at.

    • @ThatGuySizzleMac
      @ThatGuySizzleMac 4 місяці тому

      @@paulcarfantan6688 Cool story bro

  • @skyhawk_4526
    @skyhawk_4526 11 місяців тому +1799

    As a very conservative Christian in the US, I completely believe the "controversy" over the statue of David is absurd and the two parents' complaints are laughable. It's a shame the school caved to a couple crazy parents over this.

    • @spvillano
      @spvillano 11 місяців тому

      Well, today, the US is a minority rule nation, unless that minority has darkish skin, then they're rejected at the voting booth by force.

    • @martinbramah2224
      @martinbramah2224 11 місяців тому

      Maybe if little straight girls and gay boys see a penis it will spur lust in their loins???

    • @TRPrecht
      @TRPrecht 11 місяців тому +57

      Same and agreed.

    • @GespenstDesKommunismus
      @GespenstDesKommunismus 11 місяців тому +212

      That sentence sounds like "As an idiot, I'll laugh at these two slightly bigger idiots."

    • @vojtechspinler6363
      @vojtechspinler6363 11 місяців тому

      @@GespenstDesKommunismus What about not being a dickhead? Your life will improve...

  • @darrengray1849
    @darrengray1849 11 місяців тому +456

    It’s amazing at the record of “The Simpsons” in predicting the future. About 30 years ago, they had an episode where Marge leads a group of parents trying to regulate decency for the children. When the art museum brought David in for an exhibit, the parents got upset over a naked statue on display. But, Marge recognized the work of art it was, and said everyone should see it.

    • @omp199
      @omp199 11 місяців тому +57

      Many of the examples of _The Simpsons_ "predicting the future" are just the programme performing the usual role of satire, which is making fun of things that are happening at the time. When young people see things in modern media and then see them in old episodes of _The Simpsons,_ they start thinking that the programme "predicted the future", when in reality it is just that the same sorts of things happen again and again over time.

    • @jb888888888
      @jb888888888 11 місяців тому +11

      IIRC she was specifically opposed to the violence on Itchy & Scratchy.

    • @darrengray1849
      @darrengray1849 11 місяців тому +5

      @@jb888888888 it did start with that. You are correct.

    • @Acinnn
      @Acinnn 11 місяців тому +5

      ​@@omp199 I saw it in video where it was compared with the claims how bible predicts the future.

    • @williamsaltiel-gracianmph613
      @williamsaltiel-gracianmph613 11 місяців тому

      Michealango was an idiot and his "David" is proof. HE FORGOT TO CIRCUMCISE HIM!

  • @MrMattDat
    @MrMattDat 6 місяців тому +9

    Got to agree with other posts, the "controversy" in Florida is WAY overblown by politicians trying to grab headlines. Absolutely ridiculous.

  • @franktuckwell196
    @franktuckwell196 9 місяців тому +168

    I find it difficult to believe that America, being one of the biggest producers of pornography, could be so prudish in their outlook on nudity in general. Especially when it comes to classical statues.

    • @Mattfromfla
      @Mattfromfla 8 місяців тому +65

      That is actually a causality. Since the US feels has made nudity so taboo it increases the demand for pornography.

    • @jack-of-all-trades1234
      @jack-of-all-trades1234 8 місяців тому

      Do you find it hard to believe that the United States is very divided on many issues? People are fleeing progressive and permissive Democrat cities in large numbers. The untold story. Let's not forget which side was tearing down historical statues. The BLM terrorists.

    • @jack-of-all-trades1234
      @jack-of-all-trades1234 8 місяців тому

      How many of you walk around in public nude if nudity is so beautiful and natural? Are you all prudes? Or is decency kind of a thing?
      😂😂😂

    • @ReinoGoo
      @ReinoGoo 8 місяців тому +57

      To hide all normal nudity is a very efficient way to sexualize nudity.
      And it creates a big market for sexualized nudity and sexualized advertising.

    • @mako8091
      @mako8091 8 місяців тому +8

      That's what happens when you've got a country with different people. Not everyone agrees with everything.

  • @duanebidoux6087
    @duanebidoux6087 11 місяців тому +382

    One of the things I've always realized was amazingly perverse about the US after having lived in Europe was how tolerant Americans are to violence in media for children but so upset about that children my see a naked body. Just too perverse for words.

    • @darthparallax5207
      @darthparallax5207 11 місяців тому

      Well if thousands of people learn about violence then they'll be desensitized enough to be good for the military.
      Desensitize people's sexual taboos and you get Both more obsession with hereditary empires And more incest.
      If you value democracy you'll be against those things and for some rules.
      Managing a family of 5-10 is different from managing a city of 10,000 to 1 million. What makes sense to protect 1 kid won't successfully protect a whole country.

    • @darthparallax5207
      @darthparallax5207 11 місяців тому

      Hereditary monarchy is my almost favorite system.
      But it's big weakness is incest screws stuff up.
      That's how we learned as a society to really enforce banning having sex the wrong way and enforce ruling what was the appropriate way to let people think about sex and nudity.
      If all humans were pacifist the volcanos and meteors could still kill us so there's no point in not having powerful scientific militaries that are supposed to protect us from human and non human threats with the use of extreme force.

    • @ragnartwrii744
      @ragnartwrii744 11 місяців тому +20

      Completely agree

    • @duanebidoux6087
      @duanebidoux6087 11 місяців тому +34

      @@ragnartwrii744 I remember watching a re-run of an old American show called A-Team on French television when I first arrived and it didn't make sense even though I had seen it. It was on right after school. I finally figured out they had removed the violent parts (which WERE kind of important to help you understand). The night before I had watched a topless Cabaret dance show on 9:00pm broadcast television (there was no cable, this was back in 1983). That was the actual moment I first realized that they blocked violence for kids, but America blocked sex and nudity.

    • @Milesco
      @Milesco 11 місяців тому +20

      Yeah, I totally agree, too. It's beyond ridiculous.

  • @CatalinaLinal7710
    @CatalinaLinal7710 11 місяців тому +439

    As a 23-year old young woman who had alot of issues regarding my own body growing up, I would also like to add to the FKK and nude sauna conversation that it truly helped me feeling better about myself. Seeing all kinds of naked bodies while chilling with these people of all ages in a sauna or related swimming pool place helps putting into perspective how normal my body is.

    • @echt114
      @echt114 11 місяців тому +73

      @CatalinaLinal7710: This is very true. Instead, people are used to seeing media-approved bodies filtered by the entertainment industry, self-selected social media ideals, and of course porn, and worry that they're strange because they differ from that. That said, I don't want to force anyone into nudity if they have personal psychological fears about it.

    • @Jil1807
      @Jil1807 11 місяців тому +31

      True. I don't think nudity has to be a taboo 👍

    • @Fireguy97
      @Fireguy97 11 місяців тому +23

      I have found that most of the people that projected nudity shaming are bullies and people that had their own problems. If they can't accept semi-public or even public nudity, then they wanted to shame others for their own nudity decisions.

    • @thorstenjaspert9394
      @thorstenjaspert9394 11 місяців тому +36

      Only super-trained, photoshop-optimized bodies are shown in the media. The reality is different. Only very few meet this norm 100%. If you notice that other people don't have the ideal body either, you are satisfied with your own. There are some that are much thicker or thinner. If you find yourself in the middle, everything is fine. Women in particular are overly critical of their bodies. It's good to just see that there are a variety of non-ideal body types. Others aren't perfect either.

    • @Candyy248
      @Candyy248 11 місяців тому +4

      I never liked saunas but not becuase of naked bodies v:

  • @StageManRicky
    @StageManRicky 8 місяців тому +7

    Feli, I am so glad to have checked out your video. You're very informative. I look forward to viewing more of your content! Around the world people should accept who they are. The US may be uptight with certain regulations of censorship with statues, steam rooms, beaches, and how a mother is supposed to nurse her new born baby. People should never feel ashamed or embarrassed with their body image. They should never feel judged. If someone likes to feel naturally comfortable then they should feel free.

  • @ryanmartin4602
    @ryanmartin4602 7 місяців тому +17

    I moved to Germany when I was 10 in a southern town in Rhineland-Pfalz. The local kids my age liked to tease me with pictures of naked women because I was a Prüder Amerikaner. They literally thought I was afraid of breasts. As I got older the blase' attitude toward nudity and sex in general there helped me be confident as a teen back in the US in communal showers.

  • @parissinclair6513
    @parissinclair6513 10 місяців тому +299

    I live in the US, and was recently doing some research about nipple reconstruction after mastectomies. The absolute craziest thing to me is I saw a *lot* of photos of women who had single mastectomies where the "real" nipple on one breast was censored, while the reconstructed "aritificial" nipple on the opposite breast was allowed to be shown. It is so frustrating to me that it's completely acceptable to view male nipples and reconstructed female nipples, but an actual female body part is considered indecent.

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 10 місяців тому +42

      Even more infuriating because it's in a medical context. The very context where people look at bodies and touch them for professional reasons.

    • @unionunicorn6776
      @unionunicorn6776 10 місяців тому +19

      It makes ZERO sense

    • @glenncordova4027
      @glenncordova4027 10 місяців тому +28

      I remember in the early 1970s it wasn't considered proper to show mens nipples. If you watch Star Trek the original series, you will notice that William Shatner has his nipples covered by make-up. As I child when I saw this I was creeped out. I couldn't get over if he didn't have nipples or if they were removed. "So creepy!"

    • @parissinclair6513
      @parissinclair6513 10 місяців тому +7

      @@glenncordova4027 Haha that's fascinating!

    • @silentlyjudgingyou
      @silentlyjudgingyou 10 місяців тому +17

      That sounds horrifically frustrating how are you supposed to tell how good a job they did matching the anatomy if you can't see half of it.

  • @darksideofthemoon7332
    @darksideofthemoon7332 Місяць тому +3

    Omg! This video is so awesome! I was a servicemember that served 5 of my 20 years in Germany. I loved Germany so much, that my wife is German! I have legendary memories of SchwabenQuellen in Stuttgart and Boblingen Mineraltherme. I’d hit those two saunas twice a week! Germans live amazing lives and we try and get over there as we now live in The States every few years. Thanks for this video. 99% of Americans will never know what they missed.

  • @allthegoodnamesareinuse
    @allthegoodnamesareinuse 11 місяців тому +327

    No matter where you go, someone is always going to be offended by something, no matter how ridiculous it may be.

    • @Nev1812
      @Nev1812 11 місяців тому +16

      I am offended that you're offended 🙃

    • @flux_inverter4500
      @flux_inverter4500 11 місяців тому +16

      Even Jesus Christ had his critics. You can not please all the people all the time. It is a fools errand to try. Wish society would go back to ignoring idiots instead of putting them in the headlines or in politics.

    • @transmitterguy478
      @transmitterguy478 11 місяців тому +4

      @@Nev1812 He didnt say he was offended.

    • @Wolf-ln1ml
      @Wolf-ln1ml 11 місяців тому +2

      You started a sentence with "No"! How offensively negative! 🤣

    • @Hainero2001
      @Hainero2001 11 місяців тому +2

      Ridiculousness is also subjective. What you consider ridiculous others find reasonable and vice versa.

  • @dangrimes6200
    @dangrimes6200 8 місяців тому

    Tvm for the heads-up re: ground news :) I'll def be checking them out

  • @arellartur
    @arellartur 8 місяців тому +18

    Feli's videos are very dynamic and clear 👌😌
    Love her pragmatism, that by the way, is what allows her to make fun without making fun of the cultural differences 🤭

  • @GreatGunsGreatPeople
    @GreatGunsGreatPeople 11 місяців тому +459

    About 50 years ago when my family was on vacation, we took our clothes to a laundry mat. After we had been there a while a group of young German tourists in their teens and twenties came in. They had a load of laundry with them and when they had finished loading the machine, promptly undressed and added it to the load. The reaction was memorable.

  • @richardginiewski9932
    @richardginiewski9932 11 місяців тому +357

    Very well researched and presented Feli! As an American who's extensively travelled in the US military, I was honestly surprised how prudish American culture truly was upon my return from Europe as a young adult in 1990. Conservative laws for drinking age and nudity seem to fuel drinking and sex culture (perhaps due to making this taboo) while we seem to think driving at 16 is an inalienable right. I'm not sure where this is coming from but Americans don't seem to want to learn anything from other countries and choose to live in a bubble increasingly influenced by religion. I increasingly feel like an alien in my own country.

    • @philipmcniel4908
      @philipmcniel4908 11 місяців тому +14

      I wouldn't say our bubble is increasingly influenced by religion; I'd say other countries' bubbles is decreasingly influenced by it. A few years ago, I was chatting with a professor who teaches at the university in Leipzig, and he said that when he asks a large class of students how many of them think that some sort of church or religious practice played an important role in their grandparents' lives, only 2-3 hands will go up. In the context of our conversation, he was using this fact as an example of German young people's widespread lack of understanding of their grandparents' values (perhaps now their great-grandparents' values, since this conversation happened several years ago). He said that if they had known the truth, about 75% of the hands would've gone up.
      When it comes to our drinking-age laws, though, I do think that our issues with alcoholism in the US probably predate them by quite a long time. In fact, I think the pervasiveness of drunkenness to the point of either alcoholism, becoming angry and abusive, or just interfering with a person's ability to hold down a job and take care of himself (in the US compared to places like Germany with certain cultural limits around alcohol consumption) probably led to both Prohibition and today's drinking age of 21. I still remember hearing some say, "Remember kids, you'll never become an alcoholic if you never take your first sip..."
      p.s. It was kind of interesting being homeschooled by parents from a Lutheran background, since the Christian homeschooling curricula of the time were largely written from a Baptist perspective (in which many people consider all alcohol consumption to be a sin, though there are some exceptions like the Reformed Baptists). It gave them some good opportunities to teach about different perspectives on the issue and how their perspective differed from the perspective of a certain book's author, and to discuss reading critically and deciding whether you agree with what a book says, or disagree with it, or maybe partially agree with it.

    • @ditnooitweer
      @ditnooitweer 11 місяців тому +2

      Very well summarized!

    • @sailor-rick
      @sailor-rick 11 місяців тому +27

      ​@@philipmcniel4908 Critical reading skills, the ability to recognize and understand the deeper meanings of texts (or any medium of ideas) is such a vital set of skills that they should be mandatory at every middle and secondary school. I would guess, based on my own observation as a teacher, researcher, and armchair anthropologist, that fewer than 5% of our population know how to truly understand what they read; know anything about allegories or parables; would recognize a metaphor if it bit them on the ACT test. Why is there so little emphasis placed on these critical reading and thinking skills? A few more subjects that are conspicuously omitted from public education are: economics and logic. I wonder why?

    • @philipmcniel4908
      @philipmcniel4908 11 місяців тому +7

      @@sailor-rick I think there's been a push to improve public schools in the US, and to improve their ranking among world education systems...but some people's ideas of how to do that (or at least how to _measure_ it) sound good in theory but in fact lead to "teaching to the test" because of their reliance on standardized testing and/or work samples.

    • @sailor-rick
      @sailor-rick 11 місяців тому

      @@philipmcniel4908 Big Push? I've been hearing that for 50 years. There have been many names for the various Federal educational "improvement" attempts: "Goals 2000," "Outcome Based Education," "No Child Left Behind," "Race to the Top," "Common Core," etc.. That's 50 years of experimentation on our youngest kids without any positive results. It's almost as if.... no, that is too cynical. In fact, in grade school, back in the 70's, my wife's school experimented with teaching an alternate alphabet to the kindergarten and 1st grade students... not in addition to, but INSTEAD of. This was in rural Michigan. It failed, of course, and the whole class had to take the grade over... 92 kids held back because of another failed experiment. Every program tried for a more hands-off approach to education by utilizing more standardization and automation so that class sizes could increase and become more efficient, lucrative and convenient for the schools, the teachers, and the auditors.

  • @EcstaticSelf
    @EcstaticSelf Місяць тому +1

    Great video and what a delightful channel! So glad I came across you today :)

  • @jeffreylang2633
    @jeffreylang2633 16 днів тому +1

    I've been a random viewer. I enjoy your channel. Your recommendation for Ground News is exceptional. Thank you.

  • @brianblack8631
    @brianblack8631 11 місяців тому +74

    I lived in Germany as a military dependent in 5th grade. We went on a field trip to a castle and ended the day at a public pool. They had changing rooms for those who wanted to use them but our German teacher changed clothes right on the lawn in full view. We all giggled about it but no one there seemed to be bothered by it. I think the majority of Americans are too uptight about nudity because of religion. And it’s been embedded in our society because of it.

  • @louismartin1926
    @louismartin1926 11 місяців тому +238

    A topic very well covered. Americans have a puritan heritage and most can’t dissociate nudity from sex. In Northern Europe especially , nudity is not automatically associated with sexuality. Once you go beyond that, nudity is no big deal anymore. Same as going to beaches in south of France. You’ll see so many topless women that after a while , you’ll find it normal and won’t even bother to look.

    • @erikstorm8935
      @erikstorm8935 11 місяців тому +34

      Based on what I've seen, toplessness is becoming less common even in western Europe. You're more likely to see people over 50 do it than young adults (18-40). I don't know why this is. Perhaps too many people try to flirt with them, as opposed to topless people in the past. Or maybe the mentality towards toplessness has simply changed. Also, while you're correct about Northern Europe, it's not universally agreed upon there. Many from immigrant backgrounds don't share these views.

    • @asjaosaline5987
      @asjaosaline5987 11 місяців тому

      Thats actually weird, couse America has so much slut culture, one night stands . On that Europe is more conservative. Nudity is something natural and nothing to do with sex or sexuality. Even Christianity is diminishing in Europe. Most Nudity art is created in christian era by christian people. I have noticed how Liberals try to smear nudity by Creating "art" where genitals are zoomed in giving them to much attention. I live in Europe small nation and i have seen over 100 nude sculptures and statues. One on biggest is out of Birthing hsopital where figure of mom poses nnaked with 1 naked children. And no one think it weird or inproper. Same thing is public breastfeeding.

    • @Milesco
      @Milesco 11 місяців тому +13

      @@erikstorm8935 I'm saddened to hear that! 😢

    • @rogersmith7396
      @rogersmith7396 11 місяців тому

      And the vast majority of humans look really bad naked. Naked beaches are full of hairy wide loaders. Gag me with a spoon.

    • @Sara-fd3dd
      @Sara-fd3dd 11 місяців тому +15

      I would say it's the same in Italy, although a bit less on public (because we don't have like a sauna culture and most of the people who go naked to the beach are aged women topless) but a lot, and I say, A LOT on TV, art, movies, medias etc...
      In every Italian movie from the 70's there was at least one naked woman and an uncensored sex scene, lol. I really don't think we ever censored a naked scene anywhere in a movie, book, or media.

  • @lostpiglet15
    @lostpiglet15 8 місяців тому +23

    I remember being in Germany in the 80’s at my Godmothers house, age about 11. There was a woman’s magazine on the coffee table, that looked fairly normal but had a nudist spread about some random couple in it. And a naked photo of Ronaldo in the shower! I was quite surprised, certainly wouldn’t get that in the U.K. I got the impression then that nudity was just pretty normal. Just how it should be!

  • @Dysert91
    @Dysert91 6 місяців тому +77

    Nudity is so taboo in the US. I have never understood it. I am American and grew up here, but never understood why nudity is such a big deal. Especially after I traveled to Europe a few times. Being nude is one of the most natural things we do. Besides....swimming nude feels great!

    • @rogerr.7228
      @rogerr.7228 5 місяців тому +6

      I'm American as well and never understood why it is this way either. It's so messed up. Graphic violence is the most life-scarring thing existing in this world, if you ask me. No matter real or fake, I cannot stand realistic scenes of people getting fatally shot/stabbed/decapitated with pools of blood splashed out everywhere you look. Those scenes are too damn blinding and obscene for my taste🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣

    • @DenverStarkey
      @DenverStarkey 4 місяці тому

      not just nudity , but male nudity in particular is more taboo than female nudity. if a woman runs through town streaking past a school of kids , or into a family park .. at most she'll get hit with a public indency charge. If a male does the same , he'll get that charge along with more severe charges that bassically force him to register as a sex offender.
      then there';s pride parades the LGBTWQIAYXZNMB ++++++++++ crowd seem to get away with every thing these days.

    • @Jerome-yu4ms
      @Jerome-yu4ms 4 місяці тому

      ​@@rogerr.7228i

    • @user-xw1iq3fw4p
      @user-xw1iq3fw4p 4 місяці тому

      it's taboo because it causes problems, dumbasses.

    • @masterlee9822
      @masterlee9822 3 місяці тому

      You are just making excuses for being a pervert.

  • @ricklawrence2515
    @ricklawrence2515 10 місяців тому +33

    I wish I had the person to quote, but someone once said "It's like our sexuality is being taken away and then sold back to us."

  • @chrisnurczyk8239
    @chrisnurczyk8239 11 місяців тому +226

    As a 'senior citizen'in the US (okay, so I was born in the 1950's) who has witnessed many changes, I am still amazed at the inability of so many US denizens to acknowledge the existence or even the possibility of non-sexual nudity. As a male middle-school & high-school student, open showers for athletics were the only choice, no one found it a problem. Teaching at a middle school in my 60's before I retired, the boys & girls were only able to use individual showers, and most didn't bother (yuck!). Why? "Somebody might see them" (in a closed locker-room, who?). The boys in my classes told me that my generation's shower habits were 'gay'. The fear of child molestation and over-stress by the media here, coupled w/hyper-religious bias and over-reporting by social & network media drive this nonsense. And now it is made a political stand in the US. The puritanical drive against teachers in particular goes far back in this country. In the 1800's & early 1900's, female teachers were often forced to quit their positions after they married, or if they became pregnant. Both male & female instructors were severely negatively judged socially or outright forbidden to drink alcohol. This ostensibly was to 'protect the children'. In supermarkets when I buy beer or wine in my state of Illinois, if the checker is under age, they can't touch it until an adult employee strolls over and runs it over the scanner. After that, the kid can handle the bottle all they want, and bag it for me. This is even true of the non-alcoholic Clausthaler beer I buy, because it is made in a brewery. This makes sense? Puritanical nonsensical ethos is still a part of our culture here, and sadly, many are now trying to turn it into legislation.

    • @tresenie
      @tresenie 11 місяців тому +22

      mobile phones didn't have cameras yet in my time, now i would be paranoid about all those cameras as kids can be jerks.
      In Belgium they only started upholding the drinking age about 10 to 15 years ago. Before they would just allow a kid to buy a bottle "for dad", it was not uncommon for a lazy (grand)parent to send the kid to the store for alcohol. The fact that a 20 year and 11 months old working in a store can't even scan the bottle (of non-alcoholic beer)sounds like pure kafka.

    • @kenkarish826
      @kenkarish826 11 місяців тому

      Show me the person who sees naked people and doesn't think of sex even a little and I will show you a liar.

    • @jacobdionne4334
      @jacobdionne4334 11 місяців тому +3

      I graduated high school in Massachusetts in 2012. I played football and we only had open team showers

    • @grandpafalkenrath2988
      @grandpafalkenrath2988 11 місяців тому +2

      Absolutely more embarrassing every day

    • @Quallenkrauler
      @Quallenkrauler 11 місяців тому

      Among the many things that baffle me about the US (I'm German), the disparity of their priorities when it comes to "protect the children" is at the forefront.
      Seeing a statue of the human body at its most natural is "pornographic", but producing highly sexualized music videos that kids can see on TV around the clock is protected by free speech.
      Drinking a beer under 21 is completely illegal, going to war at 18 is fine and a patriotic thing to do.
      Kids have to protected from curse words on TV at all costs! Let's show them violence instead, that completely fine!
      Owning a plethora of high powered weapons is a fundamental right, an elementary school classroom being massacred by said weapons is the price one must pay for that right. And don't you dare demand any kind of control over who buys an arsenal!!!
      I've been actively watching this for over a decade now and no matter what happens and how many children openly suffer, the US refuses to change their way. And the hypocracy of "doing it all for the children" is just infuriating from an outside perspective.
      We had our own little taste of that during lockdown, when a new party got founded called "Die Basis" who violated lockdown laws by doing "protest walks" on mondays (which have a historical tradition in Germany) when it was forbidden because, you know, it was the lockdown. And they had the audicity to claim that it was all "for the children", while it was clear to everybody that they just wanted to disobey the lockdown laws.
      Nobody believed them that they actually cared about the kids, they never got any significant amount of votes and ever since the lockdown laws were lifted, they have fallen into obscurity.

  • @drmoynihan
    @drmoynihan 5 місяців тому +13

    Thank you - you covered this issue well and with entertainment, especially about the naked statue of the uncircumcised David.
    I am a male - 73 years of age.
    I grew up in a small American town and the public pool's changing and shower areas were all open. Physical Education was mandatory and all showers areas were open. I played sports through high school and you would have been considered weird if it bothered you to shower in an open area (no other choices).
    When I got to college at Oregon State University, all shower areas were open. In fact the men's swimming pool was Olympic style - men swam naked. My class of 1974 was the first provided with black minimal swimsuits. And my wife said the women were provided with black plain swimsuits with no breast support. During these college years some girls went through the "burn the bra" stage and no breast support was common on campus. But there was definitely two school of thoughts - conservative & liberal.
    In college, coed swimming naked together in rivers or beaches was not a big deal. For some of different backgrounds, it was a big deal. It was common, in the coed dorms (which had separate men and women restrooms and showers) for students to stuff towels under the doors and turn the hot water up and make a coed "sauna". These saunas were not for sex, but for just relaxing and quit making such a big deal - also as a counter-culture statement to the conservative masters of the college. LOL :)
    Today I still participate in sports including membership and swimming at our pool, and all the men's showers are open (both at the public and private pools). When little boys come in they are naked, when adolescent boys come in they leave their suits on and find booths to change in, when men come into the shower they are naked - who cares, as everyone can do what they feel comfortable with.
    I am a long time scuba diver and it is common to need to change on the rocks or beaches. Men don't care, but women make a bigger deal of it and try to cover up, and men always try to get a look - and some girls, especially from Europe, really don't care. Scuba Diving in different parts of the world has let me know that some cultures aren't bothered by nudity, while some cultures seem to sexualize everything, even families bathing or changing together. Japanese, as a whole don't really care - but have changed some because of pressures of Western Culture. Bathing in the hot springs are so open, and while once coed are now one hot springs separated by some kind of a barrier. On the male side, all males are just naked and comfortable being so. My wife says the same with the women's side. And nobody is really bothered if there is a child of the opposite sex in the area.
    BTW - in most of the world, children can swim on the beaches naked and girls start covering their tops when they want to. In the USA it seems like American culture sexualize everything and put bras on babies.
    At our local Anime Conventions (attendance 10,000+) the exposure of nipples are not allowed by either sex and bottoms are mostly covered.
    Growing up, breast feeding was always in private and I never saw it happening, and have not seen any of my nieces or nephews breastfeed.
    Now breast feeding in public is common, with the mother mostly covering up, and I have seen all 8 of our Grandchildren nursing and we all get to change the babies.
    So, there is a report from 1951 to 2023. Any questions?

  • @billps34
    @billps34 5 місяців тому +8

    The story about the poster of the David statue in the Glasgow Subway really surprises me. The UK is generally not that prudish about naked statues. I read a bit about the story on the BBC website. Apparently it was something to do with the company responsible for the advertising, rather than the Glasgow Subway itself. It seems absurd, particularly when you find out that there's a Channel 4 TV show in the UK called called "Naked Attraction" - it's a dating show, where the contestants are shown stark naked, and there are often close-ups of their genitals. Also there have been straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender contestants on the show. Also in the UK breast feeding in public places is protected in Law, and it's technically criminal offence for someone to try to prevent someone from breastfeeding in public.

  • @theboulder027
    @theboulder027 10 місяців тому +65

    The absurdity of sex and nudity being simultaneously glorified and demonized in the US has always baffled me.

    • @crashlag420
      @crashlag420 9 місяців тому +8

      Double standards and hypocrisy riegn king here in America. Just book me a flight to Europe and let me live

    • @airgin3000
      @airgin3000 9 місяців тому

      Gentlemen -- it is a PSYCHOPATHIC scarring technique that started after the 1960's to mess American's all up psychologically - which then makes them want to fill the void / psychopathic injury with baseless shopping.
      I know, I know that sounds ridiculous >>> but it is true. I comes from the bastardization of Freud's findings in psychology. Evil people took it and distorted those teachings.
      By DEMONIZING NUDITY in the US and then GLORIFIYNG IT RIGHT AFTER >>> THEN YOU CREATE AN UP AND DOWN psychological 'scar'/turmoil.
      It is used by Narcissists to also inflict damage.
      Narcissists will do a "love bombing" then they will insult and discard.
      The UP and then the DOWN is really really disastrous >>> IF YOU BELIEVE BOTH THE UP AND THE DOWN IN THE FIRST PLACE.
      You have to BELIEF BOTH the UP and the DOWN -- for it to hurt you.
      IF you don't believe the LOVE BOMBING then the INSULT STAGE AND DISCARD STAGE do not matter or hurt.
      Here in the US WE NEED TO NOT GLORIFY SEX AND TITTIES AND ALSO NOT DEMONIZE IT. :) We need to be healthy neutral and mature about it.
      NOT UP nor a DOWN.

    • @jack-of-all-trades1234
      @jack-of-all-trades1234 8 місяців тому

      The United States is divided on a number of issues. Liberals believe in sexually grooming children too.

    • @jack-of-all-trades1234
      @jack-of-all-trades1234 8 місяців тому

      Do you walk around in public nude?
      Why not you prude?😂😂😂

    • @mannydib
      @mannydib 8 місяців тому

      It's quite simple, actually. Religious conservatism makes it seem forbidden which media uses to create allure

  • @pendragon2012
    @pendragon2012 11 місяців тому +71

    And on my second watch through (yes, the video was that good!) I really resonate with your closing statement, "Sex sells, especially in a country where the body and sexual desire have been named the enemy." I think that's it. Sex sells because instead of seeing it as simply a natural and ordinary part of life, it becomes this secret thing that we want to experience. So at the same time our country seems so sexualized, it is definitely not in a healthy way. Way to go, Feli! Another homerun!

  • @TheKIMANO
    @TheKIMANO 5 місяців тому +11

    Greetings from Denmark. I would immediately think that Denmark and Germany are similar on these points. In the 27 years I played football, the bath was a shared experience without me ever thinking about it. The same thing happened in school sports many years ago. Changing and bathing took place in gender-separated communal baths. In the youth club I was part of a mixed team at one point and they changed and bathed together. For my own part, there was a limit that had to be crossed, but after experiencing it a few times, it was actually quite normal.
    It is my experience that young people in Denmark have increasing problems with self-confidence when it comes to public baths. Whether it is the media's depiction of how a body should look, an actual shyness or the risk of unwanted images, I cannot decide, but it is worth investigating.
    It is fundamentally strange that the physics we humans are now equipped with can create these kinds of problems since it is literally completely natural that we look the way we do. As an atheist, I tend to blame religion for no social invention is more important to people's experience of unfreedom.

  • @timprescott4634
    @timprescott4634 2 місяці тому +14

    As a teenager in Northern VA In the late 70s/early 80s we had a public pool in our neighborhood. Someone had family visiting from “Europe” (might have been Germany or Switzerland)…one lady simply came in, took off her top and lay down to sunbathe. There was NO huge uproar, someone simply informed her gently that it was illegal in the states. She wasn’t mortified, parents didn’t scream and cover their children’s eyes. We teenage boys were STUNNED though.😂 for a bunch of freedom lovers, we Americans can be INCREDIBLY prudish…

    • @davidfoss4365
      @davidfoss4365 20 днів тому

      I don't think public nudity is generally illegal in the US as long as you don't also behave in a lewd manner. But it's a local matter so rules will vary.

  • @lanpartyanimal5215
    @lanpartyanimal5215 10 місяців тому +156

    I have a relevant anecdotal experience to add to the conversation. When my English wife and I were on our honeymoon in Crete we were at a topless beach one afternoon and I saw something that perfectly epitomized the differences between American and European women. There were a number of these four-headed shower units you find on beaches all over the world and I couldn't help but notice this beautiful topless young woman standing under one of the units rinsing the sand off when three other guys come to the same unit and started rinsing themselves off as well. No one cared that she was topless. She didn't freakout because there were guys standing right next to her and the guys didn't pay her any notice. They just did their thing and went their separate ways. That could never have happened here in the States. The girl would have been freaking out with these stangers around her and the guys would have been ogling and trying to hit on her. The dichotomy of that situation has stuck with me all these years.
    However, there is a caveat to that. You night be thinking that topless or nude beaches are cool and something to be experienced. That is true, however, you have to take the good with the bad. There are some things you can NEVER unsee! You've been warned.

    • @tracy419
      @tracy419 10 місяців тому +20

      Exactly right 😂
      My first nude beach was also in Greece, the island of Corfu and I can confirm, those beaches accept all shapes and sizes 😂

    • @lanpartyanimal5215
      @lanpartyanimal5215 10 місяців тому +4

      @@tracy419 LOL

    • @friedrichdergroe9664
      @friedrichdergroe9664 10 місяців тому +10

      I visited a couple of beaches in Belize long ago, and some of the women were topless, around kids that were playing and didn't even care.

    • @gerdweist5961
      @gerdweist5961 10 місяців тому +9

      I‘m from Eastern Germany were nudity was even more normal before the unification. I remember very well when i was a young student and there was only one community shower for all the students (men and women) together in the students hostel, because the other shower was broken. So we had no choice to use this one which worked together. It was a little bit strange at the beginning but after a while we were all totally accustomed to it and it was no problem anymore. And yes. We used the shower alll completely naked.

    • @kinsellakp
      @kinsellakp 10 місяців тому

      This is nonsense, this beautification of Europeans and vilification of Americans has to stop. There are plenty of places and people in America who are completely civilized and wouldn't be fazed with a pretty topless girl, just like there are creeps in Europe. Just because you surround yourself with shitty people and places doesn't mean you get to shit on the whole country. People like you make me sick

  • @gregschulz3966
    @gregschulz3966 11 місяців тому +110

    So - first things first, I swam competitively in high school, and we all showered in a communal shower after practices and weight sessions. It was a little weird to me at first, but I quickly got over it. However, this was NOT the case for the Women's swim team. They actually put swim suits on to shower after weights sessions. My initial reaction was, how do you actually get clean if you're showering with a bathing suit on??? Kind of covers the areas that most need to be washed...
    Second, when I went to Germany for the first time, I went to Oktoberfest in Munich. When I walked into the bathroom I got a bit of a shock, because there was a 20-something year old girl handing out paper towels, so I thought I had walked into the wrong bathroom. Until I saw the giant trough in the middle where all the dudes were peeing, completely unconcerned. I did my thing, walked back out, and told one of the Germans I was with about it, and he just laughed. He basically said Americans are prudes, we don't even think twice about these things.

    • @RalfOltmanns
      @RalfOltmanns 11 місяців тому +6

      Reminds me, when I went to a Squash court with some friends, one of them a Canadian from Halifax. After we finished playing Squash, off it went to the communal shower. That by itself wasn't a problem even for my Canadian friend, but when a woman (employee in the Squash court) came in and refilled the shower gel dispensers, he was rather shocked ... or maybe embarrassed. We German guys didn't even take notice.

    • @mandandanmandamayor3511
      @mandandanmandamayor3511 11 місяців тому +3

      When we had swimming in gym class, the boys swam naked. The girls had school issued ugly brown 1 piece suits. This was all through middle school and high school. Early 70s in Minnesota.

    • @kevinmhadley
      @kevinmhadley 10 місяців тому +1

      If the women put on swim suits to shower after weight sessions, didn't they have to naked first?

    • @turkeypedal
      @turkeypedal 10 місяців тому

      @@kevinmhadley Sure, but they wouldn't do that in front of everyone else.
      Girls not wanting to be naked in front of other girls usually has more to do with how "developed" they are. You have the early bloomer who is made fun of for having breasts, to the late bloomer who is made fun of for being flat.
      Guys, on the other hand, have a taboo about looking at each other's genitals, so they can't really tease you all that well about them. That said, apparently there are some people who would get teased for their circumcision status, so it wasn't absolute.

  • @richardroyston4746
    @richardroyston4746 2 місяці тому +2

    Greetings from an American in Munich! I love spending the day at Therme Erding. Not going to happen in the US! Friends and family can't believe I will spend the whole day naked with a bunch of strangers. If everyone is naked, nobody is naked! Love your insights, keep up the good work.

  • @publius1776ad
    @publius1776ad 8 місяців тому +4

    I love how you cover these topics without bashing either country.

  • @carmendodl275
    @carmendodl275 11 місяців тому +132

    I went to a hot spring in Iceland with some friends (all of us American) a couple of years ago, and we were completely caught off guard when we realized that we needed to use the communal shower beforehand. We definitely felt pretty uncomfortable being naked in the showers with everyone, but it made me really question the inconsistencies of American social norms when it comes to prudishness.

    • @williamhitchcock6265
      @williamhitchcock6265 11 місяців тому +3

      Its not the shower that is uncomfortable, but the moments that you are outside before getting into the water. Been there, done that.

    • @davidz3879
      @davidz3879 11 місяців тому +1

      Yet Iceland has outlawed strip clubs & paying for sex, so they're clearly prudish about some things.

    • @HobbyOrganist
      @HobbyOrganist 11 місяців тому

      Yeah whats the big deal anyway?? there's only two body types on the planet, those who have male bodies and those with female bodies, half the planet has one type, the ther half has the other, and both know what they and the other type LOOK LIKE, it's no secret!

    • @Joshr9501
      @Joshr9501 11 місяців тому

      haivng bounadaries= prude. creepy and rapey you people are sick

    • @derVilli
      @derVilli 11 місяців тому +5

      ​@@williamhitchcock6265 only if you are trained to be ashamed of your body. I go to the Sauna in Germany and would not have problems with a group shower.

  • @jbmcdoogle
    @jbmcdoogle 11 місяців тому +274

    Living in Europe for 17 years really changed my mind when it comes to nudity. My first experience was a sauna in Berlin with a friend. We were there with other guys when his dad walked in then a few minutes later his MOM! I freaked out and shrunk! Then a few days later his neighbor, who worked for VW, asked me if I wanted to go to the beach with her and her son. My friend was at work so I said yes. I grabbed my swim suit jumped in the car and we headed to the beach. It was a local lake surrounded by woods. We walked through a trail to each the water and once there they took their clothes off! Mom and her 15 year old son, naked! I just though WTF and dropped my pants and joined in with them and the hundreds of other naked swimmers. When I moved to Prague I saw nudity everywhere - tv, tv commercials, print ads etc. A local park had an area for nude sunbathing. It didn't take long for me to get comfortable with all of it. When I moved back to the US, I went to my local gym for a swim and after my swim I took a shower and headed to the men's only sauna. I was sitting naked all alone when two men walked in, then walked out. An employee came in and told me to get dressed or leave. This was a MENS ONLY sauna. Those two men were offended so I left. America is so backwards and I blame the proliferation of religion - right wind extreme Christianity.

    • @JohnSmith-qk7zj
      @JohnSmith-qk7zj 11 місяців тому +22

      As a life-long Christian, I can assure you that Christians don't have an agenda against nudity. We have important things to worry about, like the MURDER OF INNOCENT BABIES.

    • @humphrey212
      @humphrey212 11 місяців тому

      You did not mention Islam and Judaism. You are a coward.

    • @porky1118
      @porky1118 11 місяців тому +13

      Nudity is even more common in east Germany.
      I live in south Germany, if someone tells me to go swimming, if nobody says otherwise we still wear clothes.

    • @ericv7720
      @ericv7720 11 місяців тому

      ​@@JohnSmith-qk7zj Exactly! School shootings are a mounting problem in the US!

    • @vladutzuli
      @vladutzuli 11 місяців тому +52

      @@JohnSmith-qk7zj America's puritanical tendencies most definitely come from the brand of christianity that made it to those shores and proceeded to establish the country. Just because you specifically dont have much against nudity doesnt mean christianity hasn't influenced America's attitudes towards it.

  • @cosmicconundrummm
    @cosmicconundrummm 8 місяців тому +57

    The most absurd thing: Prostitution is illegal in the US, yet they have the biggest porn industry in the world. So it is legal to pay a woman for sex, but your friend has to stand in the corner with a camera and film it. And this woman can be 18 years old - but she's not allowed to drink a beer after the filming.

    • @hazeleyedsoul3282
      @hazeleyedsoul3282 4 місяці тому

      porn has ruined many relationships and marriages in this country....is wildly out of control and no one seems to care.

    • @Nandrall18-25
      @Nandrall18-25 3 місяці тому +7

      Both are immoral and can ruin a woman's future and reputation. Prostitution is much worse though for several reasons. Risk of STDs, kidnapping, rape, pregnancy, murder, exploitation, etc. These things occasionally happen with porn as well.

    • @FuzzyNaiyalism
      @FuzzyNaiyalism 3 місяці тому +6

      @@Nandrall18-25 but it's only immoral because we choose to make it so. Without stigma and with government regulation like other industries, sex work of all kinds can be a safe and respectable job field. In fact, respecting and supporting sex work can make it harder for the "STD's, kidnapping, rape, murder, exploitation, ect." to take place entirely because the industry has greater transparency and support.

    • @2528drevas
      @2528drevas 3 місяці тому +1

      The Porn industry was illegal for decades, but unlike a lot of places we have a constitution that assures the right to free speech. The Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a Pornographer named Larry Flint that it was free speech. It has nothing to do with hypocrisy.

    • @AeonStaite
      @AeonStaite 3 місяці тому

      @@Nandrall18-25 Found the bible banging dumbasss who never read a history book.

  • @orlando_Metalhead
    @orlando_Metalhead Місяць тому +1

    I love your way to explain everything! 😃

  • @joebolick112
    @joebolick112 10 місяців тому +54

    I’m an American, but my Grandmother was born in Baden-Baden Germany. I retired from a German automotive manufacturer and spent a tremendous amount of my childhood and professional career in Germany. As an American, I can say that we are very conservative about nudity and sexuality. Almost ridiculously conservative about these topics. My family in Germany, find our conservative views about these topics almost laughable. Perhaps my German family members, just take the stance of there are much more important issues to be concerned about. I personally find the German culture about nudity and sex more mature than us in the United States. I know my German friends and family, view the naked human body as natural and normal. I can vividly remember spending summers in Germany as a child (late 70’s early 80’s) and when the family would go to the lake, we didn’t have a “swim suit” your birthday suit was your swim suit lol. I always recall an experience with a professional colleague who travelled to Germany for the first time. We were in the bathroom at a bier garden and a woman walked in to change the hand towel roll while we were using the toilet. He almost had a heart attack! Lol. I remember his confusion when I tried to explain this was normal. I have always felt lucky, that I’ve been able to live both cultures. As my uncle Christoph said, “Everyone has a nude suit, get over it.” Danke

  • @VegasAlien1
    @VegasAlien1 10 місяців тому +112

    I was never more embarrassed than when I was a soldier in Germany and some of the other guys were really excited about going out to a lake to swim, but all they did was put on sunglasses and walk around looking for people laying out naked. It turns out the people that were laying out naked where not the people that they wanted to see laying out naked.

    • @michaelcuchinelli5598
      @michaelcuchinelli5598 10 місяців тому

      I was Air Force in Germany and went to a lake, there were some women that were topless and a few of them totally nude but they were sitting away from most everyone else. Now parents did tend to let the little kids run around butt naked.

    • @alastairthegreat2887
      @alastairthegreat2887 10 місяців тому +28

      That's usually how that works out. Had a friend that was really excited at the idea of going to a nude beach, me and the hotel clerk both told him it wasn't going to be like what he was picturing in his mind.
      I actually ended up at the beach and it was exactly what I thought it would be.

    • @ScooterinAB
      @ScooterinAB 10 місяців тому +7

      Lol. I'm in a nudist group. Can confirm.

    • @furosh118
      @furosh118 10 місяців тому +3

      Sometimes bathing suits are preferable!

    • @kuldan5853
      @kuldan5853 10 місяців тому +4

      @@alastairthegreat2887 Show people like that the nude beach scene from Eurotrip. It's exactly like that.

  • @galenbeals3538
    @galenbeals3538 9 місяців тому

    Great video.
    Thanks!

  • @nathanielmccray2746
    @nathanielmccray2746 7 місяців тому

    Feli I love this video hope to see more soon thank you

  • @kdw75
    @kdw75 10 місяців тому +238

    As a conservative living in Missouri, it is beyond me how anyone could find nude people to be "pornographic" or offensive. That is like someone complaining that your face is offensive and demanding you fix it.

    • @SevCaswell
      @SevCaswell 10 місяців тому +20

      Oh that is a common thing in parts of America too. People with facial disfigurements are threatened with violence and banned from entering stores and other every day establishments because they 'scare the children'.

    • @kdw75
      @kdw75 10 місяців тому +8

      @@SevCaswell WTH??? I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.

    • @Truckingup
      @Truckingup 10 місяців тому +4

      Just a heads up. Your not conservative. Your liberal. Nothing wrong with that.

    • @daniel4647
      @daniel4647 10 місяців тому

      @@Truckingup Why? Seems to me like it's often American liberals and their whole outrage culture that start making a fuzz over nothing. What does conservative and liberal even mean in the US? Seems to me like it's just a silly culture war that most non extremists of either side don't actually care about and it's just hype to sell "news media" which have actually become tabloids now in an effort to compete with the internet. The reason I ask is because conservatives are considered to be on the right of the political spectrum, and liberalism, especially American style neo-liberalism, is also a right wing ideology, so it doesn't make any sense politically. And the so called differences don't seem to even exist except among a very few very loud crazy people. I've spoken to a lot of Americans on either side of the spectrum, and it's very rare to come across a conservative that actually agree with any of the stuff the liberals commonly accuse them of in the culture war, they're usually not racist, homophobic, or afraid of everything that has to do with nudity or sexuality. So where does this all come from? Did you all just make it up and run with it or what? Or is this some deliberate campaign just to get you guys to vote right every time by making it about something else? You guys are weird.

    • @kdw75
      @kdw75 10 місяців тому +13

      @@Truckingup Not liberal at all. I like freedom and small government. More like libertarian. I think we should have about 5 laws and no more.

  • @barbaras5550
    @barbaras5550 11 місяців тому +41

    Regarding nudity and kids: in Germany it’s common for babies and toddlers to wear just swim bottoms in pools, even up to elementary school age, whereas in the US baby girls are often out in ridiculous bikini tops! I remember my daughter being considered a boy just because she wore just swim bottoms as a toddler! That of course continues into adulthood where Americans find it scandalous that European men wear “speedos” instead of board shorts. Also, there was always the latent fear that the neighbors would call child protective services when we had our toddlers play in the kiddie pool in our own backyard. And then there are the stories of photo printing places calling the police for suspected child pornography of harmless photos of naked toddlers. I also have heard stories of US families where the only the parent of the same sex would bathe their toddlers, or where kids have never seen their parents naked. All things unthinkable in Germany.

    • @FelifromGermany
      @FelifromGermany  11 місяців тому +8

      Yes!!! So true! Thanks for sharing that observation.

    • @Dunklerturm1990
      @Dunklerturm1990 11 місяців тому +8

      How dare I pervert to bath with my 1 1/2 yo daughter xD
      For me it is normal as breathing that parents and kids can walk around at home or in the garden as they wish, now in summer my daughter just runs around in her dipers and my wife and I just sit around in the living room in underpants, how else are you supposed to bear the heat?

    • @porky1118
      @porky1118 11 місяців тому +4

      When I see babies at the beach, they normally don't wear swim bottoms. It's common to be totally naked for kids up to an age of maybe 2 or 3, maybe even older.

    • @HobbyOrganist
      @HobbyOrganist 11 місяців тому

      " in Germany it’s common for babies and toddlers to wear just swim bottoms in pools, even up to elementary school age, whereas in the US baby girls are often out in ridiculous bikini tops!"
      LOL oh I know exactly what you mean, like you'd see a 4 or 5 year old girl with a "bra" that stupidly covers up absolutely NOTHING, because there IS NOTHING there LOL!
      I grew up with my adptive parents who were not prudes or nudists, but aside from basic modesty, there would occasional brief nudity like at the bathroom sink, getting dressed, getting out of bed, it was no big deal.

    • @szeddezs
      @szeddezs 8 місяців тому +1

      I don't know why Americans still think all European men wear speedos. I grew up in the 90s and it was almost exclusively little boys and old men wearing them.

  • @jwbjpb1338
    @jwbjpb1338 8 місяців тому +5

    Here in the USA we have far too many "morality police prudes" who need to shut up. That's the reality.

  • @countryvideo
    @countryvideo 5 місяців тому +1

    Good day Feli! I only discovered your channel this week. Just wanted to let you know that your videos are delightful. Thank you. Welcome to Ohio, and Merry Christmas. (Bruce)

  • @flamewave000
    @flamewave000 10 місяців тому +92

    My wife and I did a long Europe trip and one of our stops was Florence. At the time, we were excited to see the Piazza del Duomo and other beautiful architecture and had NO idea that the statue of David was home there. We found out it was actually on display only a short distance away at Galleria dell'Accademia, and we immediately changed our plans so we could go to the museum. It was incredible. It was waaay larger than I thought, and the detail carved into the stone was astounding. It truly looks like a man cast to stone by medusa's gaze.
    Edit: Added name of museum where the Statue of David is displayed

    • @dudeonbike800
      @dudeonbike800 7 місяців тому +8

      I saw David in '97 and really didn't expect much. It was mesmerizing and FAR more impressive than I had ever imagined. Man, what a work of art!

    • @grantottero4980
      @grantottero4980 5 місяців тому +2

      The David's statue in the square "Piazza della Signoria", not "Piazza del Duomo" which is some hundreds of meters near) is a copy. Michelangelo's original one is in the not-so -far "Galleria dell'Accademia" Museum.

    • @flamewave000
      @flamewave000 5 місяців тому +1

      @@grantottero4980 Sorry, I can see the confusion based on my phrasing. We did not see the statue the Duomo itself. We did indeed go to Galleria dell'Accademia to see it (only a short walk from the Duomo).

  • @brucekeller741
    @brucekeller741 11 місяців тому +148

    As a member of AANR (American Association of Nude Recreation) here in the U.S. I want to thank you for this very well researched and presented video.

    • @lokiva8540
      @lokiva8540 11 місяців тому +10

      As a former member of AANR and over more years TNS member, plus someone with formal Federal Rulemaking comments about management plans for traditional nude beaches near nature areas, I've found both organizations infested with people with psych issues over values conflicts they refuse to be honest about, and cannot resolve without upending sexuality prejudices, but that AANR is worse in its structure of petty regional bureaucrats, Board meetings as sex hookups and failure to follow ByLaws, and prejudices against resorts that have strong pagan member or visitor bases, or sexually open policies.

    • @BrendonShipley
      @BrendonShipley 10 місяців тому +3

      Do you find that you replace your furniture more often than other people?

    • @lokiva8540
      @lokiva8540 10 місяців тому +1

      @@BrendonShipley No. Why would you think that?
      I do find that several chairs are home to towels, easy to launder, and that there are several types of easy to kick on or off sandals and clogs in my entry mud room.

    • @WildWillieWiccan
      @WildWillieWiccan 10 місяців тому

      ​@@BrendonShipleyWhy?

    • @eamonnholland5343
      @eamonnholland5343 10 місяців тому

      Degenerate.

  • @mjeffn2
    @mjeffn2 Місяць тому +2

    Never wear a bathing suit in a natural hot spring high up in the mountains. Artificial dyes, detergents, and other chemicals meant to keep the dyes from fading leach into the water which contaminates the stream all the way down the mountain. It’s been a long time since I was there, but Conundrum Hot Springs below the Maroon Bells outside of Aspen, CO, did not allow backpackers to wear bathing suits in the hot springs. I don’t know if that has changed or not. Orvis Hot Srings in CO is clothing optional. I used to go there weekly. It’s wonderful. Local families bring their children. Nobody cares and the children don’t behave like they’ve never seen a naked adult before.

  • @PeterJames-cr1ul
    @PeterJames-cr1ul 5 місяців тому +2

    I think you nailed it when you said that our values depend on our upbringing, I can’t believe a headteacher lost her job over a simple piece of art. That was a very interesting look at differing opinions from the USA & Europe. (UK viewer)

  • @DexLuther
    @DexLuther 10 місяців тому +67

    In Canada, it's been legal for women to be topless wherever men can be topless for ages. It is not really a well-known law, so not many take advantage of it, and there were 1 or 2 cases of women being fined by police for it, but they ultimately won in court because they did nothing wrong.
    As for nudity and the US, I see the issue pop up often in regard to video games. One is a horror game that's kinda violent and gory but has a tiny bit of nudity in it. The discussion boards are usually filled with posts demanding that nudity be censored because people play the game with kids in the room. I always find it odd that a boob existing in a video game that you don't even really see unless you know it's there and are looking for it is not ok for kids to see, but violence and gore is completely fine.

    • @jb888888888
      @jb888888888 5 місяців тому

      There's a story on Reddit by a MTF transsexual who got outed in her small Tennessee community. They demanded that she's a man, and she can't get her birth certificate changed due to state law. So she got revenge by going jogging topless. She's a man so it's not illegal for a man to run topless, right? Cue outrage.

  • @Joerideabike
    @Joerideabike 11 місяців тому +61

    I’m 75 so high school was a long time ago in the US.
    I’m shocked and disappointed at how much has changed in the US on attitudes on nudity.
    Showers were open communal and mandatory. After 3 days of nervousness (fear of erection and being laughed at) us freshmen thought nothing of it. We got to see how the other boys were developing and go to the next class without stinking.
    Now I understand that boys shower with clothing. Now if someone did that in my high school back then, that kid would’ve been laughed at and ridiculed for being modest.
    Maybe someone can tell me what caused this change. I think it is very unfortunate.

    • @jkaugust3586
      @jkaugust3586 11 місяців тому

      Read my reply about being accosted by parents in Georgia.

    • @dharmachile999
      @dharmachile999 11 місяців тому +9

      @John Doe After gym, we would shower in the same area (no partitions), then proceed to another room to grab a towel and dry ourselves. We stood around in a circle, so, yeah we looked at each other. No big deal.

    • @dharmachile999
      @dharmachile999 11 місяців тому +1

      @John Doe I guess Speedos are right out!🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • @LucasFernandez-fk8se
      @LucasFernandez-fk8se 11 місяців тому

      That’s disgusting. My highschool had showers and nobody used them even with the curtains because it’s sinful and inappropriate to be naked at school. I’m glad by the 2010s we stopped being PERVERTS and had enough common sense to just shower at home and being deodorant

    • @Ribulose15diphosphat
      @Ribulose15diphosphat 10 місяців тому

      You are the Hippie Generation. You were cool. Everybody of your Generation was coll (except Joe Biden). You brought free love. The Boomers enjoyed free love (tipp: Research the age of the Groupies of 70s Rock Stars ... the awnser is non-PC).
      When Millenials troll you ... they are wrong. They are the squares, they are the prudes. In fact Postmodern Christians are more repressive, than premodern Christians ever were (tipp: where were no sexual age limits, and nudity was at worst shamefull). And Postmodern Islam is even more extreme. Postmodernism is the problem.
      I Respect your Generation, you were Supermen (in the Nietzsche sence), overcoming absolutely an ethics. Especially West-German hippies (68er). They had zero morals, just supermen. They brought free - love absolutely free love - they raided unpleasent professors while naked (Adorno only complained, that they thought he were offended), The Commune 1 introdcued free love to john lennon and Yoko Ono. The Commune 2 and the Kinderläden permitte free love for really all ages and anarchist parenting (often naked) for toddlers. The RAF left a trail of Bombing, Aircraft-highjacking and asassinations through the BRD, putting West-Germany in a mayor stat-crisis and martial law. They made West-Berlin the capital of Heroin and teen-prostitution. And Anarchocommunist Theorist Rudi Dutschke not only survived several headshots, he also had radical coup plans and ideas to blend Communism with Catholicism afterwards. Must have been a wild time. Modern leftist are prudish and have no balls.
      Also the catholic church, only banned sodomy, but not beeing gay (the concept of a "sexual orientation" is postmodern). So a catholic priest could have theoretically been gay as long he stays celibate (I sayd "theoretically" for politeness 🙂).

  • @aj_aka_alan
    @aj_aka_alan 9 місяців тому +4

    When I was a teen in the US, I mowed the lawn of a German couple in my neighborhood. Their niece visited one summer to play the recorder with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra. For some reason, they felt it was necessary for me and her to hang out while she visited. They took us to this water attraction with a water slide. I went down the slide first, and the German niece. When she hit the water, her bikini top fell off! She was not impacted at all by this happening. She scooped up her top and put it back on like nothing happened. At least I had enough sense not to make a big deal out of it, but it my one culture story in this category.

  • @larslevinberget9558
    @larslevinberget9558 3 місяці тому +1

    Yeah, about time we bring it up !

  • @amuro1701
    @amuro1701 11 місяців тому +75

    Feli mentioning adult magazines being hidden away in stores reminded me that in some ways America is even more prudish now than it was when I was a kid in the seventies. At that time, you would see adult magazines displayed right out in the open. At one store I had to walk past them to get to the comic books.

    • @danielhoehne801
      @danielhoehne801 11 місяців тому +15

      Leland, I would also add, didn't it seem like, in the 70s, all was good? My favorite shows had black people, the majority of my friends were Jewish. to me, things seemed to be moving in the correct direction. I'm now shaking my head.

    • @jamescrane4050
      @jamescrane4050 11 місяців тому

      Your comments, "when I was a kid in the seventies... I had to walk past them to get to the comic books." And now you and today's kids don't need to be exposed to it. Looks like progress and you're welcome. We have also made progress on keeping smoking products away from children, as well as alcohol, and made progress on youth drunk driving. We really have to seriously thank conservative Americans for making the country better since the dark days of the 1970s and rescuing it from the cultural abyss.

    • @cocoaorange1
      @cocoaorange1 11 місяців тому +2

      I agree adult magazine should be covered, kids don 't need to see them.

    • @Krokostad
      @Krokostad 11 місяців тому +13

      ​@@jamescrane4050 But in what way is it progress? The people who grew up in the seventies seem to be fine. What harm can an image of a naked body do? I understand your comment about cigarettes and a liiittle bit the one about alcohol (that would be another discussion), but not the rest.

    • @golden.lights.twinkle2329
      @golden.lights.twinkle2329 11 місяців тому

      Most shops in the USA no longer carry adult magazines at all.

  • @alananimus9145
    @alananimus9145 11 місяців тому +37

    Growing up in the US I have dealt with both single and communal showers as a kid and adult.
    For me and a lot of my friends growing up communal showers were a great thing. It helped us in a lot of ways. Seeing others naked helped with body issues and showed us what to expect as we got older. It made us not feel like freaks because everyones body was different.

  • @peterharbman
    @peterharbman 8 місяців тому +2

    I'ma new subscriber. Thabk you for your insights and taking on subjects that are taboo, aka Nazis and Porn... well done. Brilliant. Hope all is well with you!

  • @brennsuppa
    @brennsuppa 8 місяців тому +2

    Servus Feli, another thing I'd like to add is that in Germany, as far as I know, driving your car naked is legal. Being Austrian with a 3 year old child I let my boy run around naked all the time when at a pool or a lake. I also enjoy being naked, going to the sauna and FKK, because I really do not like to lie around in bathing shorts, they are really uncomfortable. Going to a pool with bathing shorts I never use the changing rooms (or the towel "trick"), I just change on the spot. It takes about 0.5 seconds and I never had anyone complain and many others (male and female) do the same. The majority does the towel trick, which usually takes 5 minutes to get changed ... :)

  • @jquazz4095
    @jquazz4095 11 місяців тому +48

    My sons went to Catholic schools from grades K through 12. My youngest son's class had the opportunity to go to the Detroit Institute of Art for his 7th grade class trip. My wife wasn't able to take a day off from work, so I was the only Dad that went on the trip as a chaperone. I had a group of 7th grade kids, boys and girls, and I made sure that both had the opportunity to see specific areas of the museum that they were interested in seeing. The boys, of course wanted to see armor and weaponry from the middle ages, and the girls were more interested in the more "romantic" style sculptures and paintings. To my great surprise, the boys were a lot more well behaved when they were exposed to the sculptures and paintings that had nudity. Not a single snicker or giggle or lewd comment from a single boy, while the girls were quite vocal and immature when viewing the same objects and paintings. I had to mildly scold them and told the girls to behave themselves. I expected it to be the other way around.

    • @jkaugust3586
      @jkaugust3586 11 місяців тому +10

      When I was in high school in the late sixties to early seventies, we had a coed oversight team of 2 guys, 2 gals, and one teacher to oversee the restrooms. They would patrol after knocking and emptying out the users, then make notes. Guess whose restrooms were the dirtiest with the most trashy graffiti? Yep, the young women's. It was an eye opener.

    • @davidsmith5334
      @davidsmith5334 11 місяців тому

      ​@@jkaugust3586 [

  • @charliesmith4072
    @charliesmith4072 11 місяців тому +20

    This is a great video, Feli. Regarding the bizarre American idea that crime is rampant, there is an equally bizarre explanation. Over the last thirty years crime has dropped to the level of the late 1940s, early 1950s. But so have the budgets of local television news departments. There are about 1/3 the number of reporters employed by television stations that there were in 1990, but the same amount of time to fill. Most local police departments are happy to provide pre-packaged crime stories to stations, which are run or read as-is. This has created the illusion of rampant crime. There are also several private organizations which have contributed, especially the myth that thousands of children are "kidnapped" every year. In fact, according to the F.B.I., there are about 200 children kidnapped by strangers each year; not a lot for a nation of 330,000,000 people. There are, however, about 20,000 cases where one parent takes a child from the other parent and refuses to return it. That is also a crime, but hardly the same as a stranger kidnapping. However, several NGOs use the larger number in appeals for funds.

    • @Milesco
      @Milesco 11 місяців тому

      Indeed....also crime news attracts viewers and boosts ratings. As Don Henley said, "It's interesting when people die". When local stations discovered this key to ratings success, they flogged the crime news as hard as they could, causing the public to think that crime was skyrocketing when in fact it was going down.

  • @Medorcrit
    @Medorcrit 8 місяців тому +3

    I will never understand why so many Americans have issues with nudity.

  • @coleenhuff432
    @coleenhuff432 6 місяців тому

    Very enlightening. Thanks.

  • @tims2532
    @tims2532 11 місяців тому +165

    A few years ago, I was in a hotel sauna in Munich. There was a large sign reading "nude only. No bathing clothes allowed."
    When I went in, I saw two women with bikinis. Showering and ignoring signs.
    I thought nothing of it, derobed, and went into the sauna.
    The first woman finished showering, and proceeded to dry herself in front of the sauna window.
    When she spotted me, she whispered as loudly as only an American can (I had no trouble understanding her from another room through closed doors) to her friend:
    "Look, over there. There is a naked man in the sauna!!"
    The other woman came rushing to gawk at me through the window. Same as her friend continued to do. Together, they ogled me for a good minute or two.
    Clearly not knowing how windows work, they were unaware that I could see them staring at me.
    Then, I waved them hello and they ran away.

    • @maximilian672
      @maximilian672 11 місяців тому +11

      😂😂😂😂

    • @timhartherz5652
      @timhartherz5652 11 місяців тому +11

      Probably US Tourists :-D

    • @spvillano
      @spvillano 11 місяців тому +1

      A proper wave would've done well.
      A thumb in both ears, fingers wave, while tongue cheers.
      Or, if not feeling so energetic, thumb to nose and wave away...
      We Americans hate when the monkeys mock us, it makes us self-conscious and being conscious is a novel experience for most.
      Although, I did tend to wear the towel until inside the sauna, then drape it on my seat.
      Rarely used one though, as where the most saunas were, they were the least necessary, as it was in Persian Gulf nations, which are saunas by nature.
      Deployed on 1 August, when it was 100 degrees outside, boiling literally (OK, it was F, 37.8 or so C), 5 million percent humidity due to the shallow sea - I felt like Aquaman. OK, 100% humidity, work with the humor. It looked like it was raining at night, as the triple pane thermal windows had condensation running down.
      One Arab complained about how sparse water was, while standing next to an air conditioner that was taking quite a brisk pee, which I pointed to. Thought for a minute that I'd have to explain to an Arab what distillation was, which would just be embarrassing, as an Arab invented it.
      Then explained an anhydrous ammonia based system that uses a standard utility type cooling tower to condense water from humid air and generate electricity, as it's solar based.

    • @Milesco
      @Milesco 11 місяців тому +6

      @ Tim _"...hotel sauna in Munich. There was a large sign reading "nude only. No bathing clothes allowed." "_
      Was the sign in English?

    • @tims2532
      @tims2532 11 місяців тому +10

      @@Milesco yes. Cant remember the exact words but it was definitely in both english and german

  • @55tallanh
    @55tallanh 10 місяців тому +82

    I remember many years ago reading in the news about a substitute teacher showing the movie "Striptease" to a class... I think it was about 6th grade. Another teacher happened to peek in the room and of course shut down the show immediately. Of course that movie for those kids was age-inappropriate. But the thing that stood out to me about the story was that all the kids had to be interviewed by counselors afterwords to ensure that none were unduly traumatized by the experience. Of course, none were. While the subject matter of that movie might not be appropriate in the context of a 6th grade classroom, why would adults think that children would be psychologically traumatized by the experience of seeing a human body? I think that it is the prudish nature of our society that causes the trauma, and not the sight of something that is natural.

    • @SevCaswell
      @SevCaswell 10 місяців тому +20

      Exactly. I was the 'victim' of a flasher when I was 9 years old. He broke into my primary school playground during lunch break. All I remember of the incident is a pink man holding his coat open (no details not even nipples) and how scared I felt when the teachers started freaking out and being confused about why. The experience afterwards has left a far greater impression on me than the actual event.

    • @Arskanbooki
      @Arskanbooki 10 місяців тому +2

      That's what I've thought too, and didn't just think, I also have observations. But talk about it, and you'll soon face a real storm of shit. Children must be taught that nudity is dirty, because otherwise they will learn to relate to it naturally. Shame and contrition must be instilled in them. 🤐

    • @KinToChuckNorris
      @KinToChuckNorris 10 місяців тому +5

      ​@SevCaswell I think it's about the intent of the flasher that is the issue. Granted it's probably not something you want to see in the first place. But the fact that a grown man wants to expose himself to a child in a sexual way for his own sexual excitement speaks for his other intentions.

    • @SevCaswell
      @SevCaswell 10 місяців тому +7

      @@KinToChuckNorris His intentions had no bearing on my lack of understanding. I fully understand what he was trying to do, and he was well known in the area, as both the Junior and Senior schools were girls only, and we had all been warned. But being told there was a flasher and knowing what that meant are two separate things.
      So while yes he should be punished, at least in my case he did no harm. All of the 'harm' came from the teachers freaking out and making me feel scared.

    • @Arskanbooki
      @Arskanbooki 10 місяців тому +3

      @@KinToChuckNorris You are probably right. Although it is said that flashers usually don't get physical, their strange behavior can be very frightening. This is the bad part of the matter, seeing nudity in itself is not supposed to harm anyone.

  • @richardrose7382
    @richardrose7382 6 місяців тому +4

    I live in Canada. Once I went to the Netherlands and was invited to go swimming at a public park by a slow moving river. There were no change rooms, people simply stripped and put on swim wear. I thought it was kind of silly; why put on swimwear when everybody had already seen me naked! But I did, as everyone else did. Here in many cities in Canada, women are allowed to go topless wherever men are allowed. It may not be surprising that I’ve only rarely seen a topless woman in public. The climate in many parts of Canada is only conducive to nudity in the heat of summer…and even then, many Americans would find it too chilly. We do have some nude resorts and a few nude beaches. More recently, I was at a public pool, separated gender change rooms, and a father brought his 5 or 6 year old daughter into the change room. She changed in a private stall, but the change room and showers were more of the open plan. She came out and saw what was on display. She didn’t seem to be shocked (or amused..many kids are) and I’m pretty sure she knew what she was looking at. Another time, I was showering after swimming, a young girl evidently walked from the pool into the men’s change room…looked around and calmly exited. No shrieks or reaction. I think it’s a good sign. The opposite sex should not be alarming and I do not believe that young girls are damaged in any way, by the sight of a naked man. Amused maybe, but not damaged. Women regularly nurse babies in public…though not usually when they’re old enough to walk around. At least this has been my experience/opinion.

  • @ArchieArpeggio
    @ArchieArpeggio 8 місяців тому +2

    As a finnish person i can say that yes, in the sauna it´s better be totaly nude. There is no reason to have towel or clothes on. Also you´ll would get lots of swet in t your clothes or towen if you would wear it on in the sauna. And sauna is where you go for purify your skin so wouldn´t that be just unlogical to wear something on? After you throw few times water on the stove and there startsto be steam in the sauna it will soften your skin and dirt and dead skin is easier to scrape off.
    Well we had in our school boys shower at the locker room and we all had to go shower after sports and once again why to hell anyone would bath with clothes on?! It was small school so there was only 3-4 showers that there couldn´t all at the once. But when one got out next got in. We start first grade by age of seven (or even six if your birthday happens to be in fall). So there were nothing unusual to see other students naked. And of course here we think that it is natural and just common sense.

  • @fiveoctaves
    @fiveoctaves 11 місяців тому +17

    I sometimes go to Korean spas in Los Angeles. No clothing is allowed in the gender separate areas. Every once in a while, someone will be wearing a bathing suit but they often are groups of people that come together that look Eastern European. If no one says anything, nothing happens but if the staff finds out, they will approach the clothed people and explain that clothing is not allowed.
    One time after a backpacking trip, my friends and I found our way to a hot spring. A couple and their baby girl and an adult friend were in the spring with bathing suits. My friends and I didn't have bathing suits. I thought we were hanging out and waiting for the family to leave but my friends got naked and hopped in so I did the same. Boy, the the conversation got uncomfortable after that. They said, "This ain't Europe" and complained about how we were exposing ourselves to their daughter. That baby couldn't even speak and couldn't care less whether or not people were clothed but she probably noticed that her parents got angry. Way to go mom and dad.

  • @lihamuuri8697
    @lihamuuri8697 10 місяців тому +14

    a Stray Finn here. The thing about Nudity and sauna's is spot on. Finnish sauna is naked people only and must be over 60 degrees C hot. Reasoning in these is that most of bacteria (including legionella) dies at 55-58'C, so going over 60 is mandatory, unless you want to breathe in supercharged bacteria and moisture where they thrive. Similarly using any wet clothing is like giving germs a bunker where to hide and at the same time providing them with warmth and moisture to thrive.
    Final point why no swimming suits or towels in sauna is that many of the public saunas in Finland are in swimming halls and swimming pools use chlorine to purge the bacteria, now if you go into sauna with a swimming suit full of chlorine, you end up making shiploads of chlorine gass in the closed warm space. So yeah, not good. So nudity in sauna, you can keep your clothes on anywhere else.

  • @ibbygirl1417
    @ibbygirl1417 8 місяців тому +2

    Floridian here. The David thing is crazy to me. I think the school had a knee jerk reaction and were probably afraid of being sued. I feel bad for the principal who was forced to resign over something so ludicrous, but it's cool that she went to Italy.
    As for showers in school. I went to all public schools in the 70's and 80's here in South Florida and we had open showers in the locker rooms for gym class in Middle and High School. The locker rooms were separated by gender and the showers had a wall so that you could not see from the entryway into the locker room, but there were no curtains or stalls for privacy when you were in there. All the girls changed clothes and showered in front each other and if a girl was embarrassed she would usually just go without showering or do the oft used doctor's note to get out of gym class trick. I do remember there was quite a severe punishment for boys who tried to sneak into the girls' locker room however. I think they got suspended IIRC, but we did also still have corporal punishment back then too so maybe they got paddled, but I'm pretty sure they were at least suspended 3 days.

  • @jeffwright9431
    @jeffwright9431 5 місяців тому +27

    I took my teenage children to Germany, a boy 15, and a girl age 13, in 1995. During the trip we stayed at a very nice hotel which had a large indoor pool. Everyone wore a bathing suit when using the pool but there was only one changine room. My son was amazed, and a little embarrassed but also a little amazed that children and adults of both genders used the same showers before, and after, using the pool. It was a teaching moment and I believe he matured significantly because of the exposure to more moderate attitudes towards human nudity.

    • @R3TR0221
      @R3TR0221 2 місяці тому

      This needs to be reported to authorities. You took children to an area full of pedophiles?

    • @Holilo7
      @Holilo7 2 місяці тому

      ​@@R3TR0221
      There were pedophiles?
      I couldn't read it in his comment.

  • @ragamuffinm2834
    @ragamuffinm2834 11 місяців тому +74

    Grew up as a military dependent and lived in Germany for a while, and I was shocked by the nudity at first, but adjusted pretty quickly. Experienced some serious culture shock, moving back to America. . .nudity and cursing being taboo definitely blew my mind. . .and still does.

    • @tresenie
      @tresenie 11 місяців тому +11

      Oh yeah, alot of Belgian tv and radiostations will permit cursing 24/7. There is still a matter of not overdoing it but fuck you by Lilly Allen can just be played any time of the day.

    • @hbg423
      @hbg423 11 місяців тому +6

      The religious right is trying and in some cases they’re winning…..to the dismayed of our founding fathers……who put separation of church and state….but, you can’t stop religion

    • @almitrahopkins1873
      @almitrahopkins1873 11 місяців тому +12

      I was a military dependent living in Italy. My little brother’s class went to see that statue in the second grade.
      My fellow Americans are out of their minds.

    • @wessexdruid7598
      @wessexdruid7598 11 місяців тому +3

      But violence is just the everyday norm...?

    • @Duke_of_Prunes
      @Duke_of_Prunes 11 місяців тому +2

      ​@@wessexdruid7598 Not sure where you live for it to be a "norm". New Orleans? Chicago? Atlanta? It's not common where I live.

  • @pendragon2012
    @pendragon2012 11 місяців тому +69

    A coworker and I were having a conversation about this the other day too--how our US culture tries to treat anything remotely related to sex as something that needs to be hidden. It doesn't actually protect kids from anything (we discussed how the second we got any freedom we did everything we weren't supposed to, lol) but it does sure stop us from being able to teach. I've had middle schoolers insisting I taught them something "inappropriate" because a reading referenced "the goddess of love" or I mentioned that in some cultures people don't wear much clothes because they live in hot areas. So frustrating. And if you're going to call yourself a "classical school" (a system created during the Renaissance based on Greco-Roman culture) you probably shouldn't have an issue with this. Well, it was great "hanging" with you earlier and the video was worth the wait! :-) Have a great weekend!

  • @ericballi4701
    @ericballi4701 3 місяці тому +4

    In 2018, I was introduced to nude sauna and swimming culture in Germany and while it was strange at first, I got comfortable quickly and ended up loving it. It really did change my attitude towards nudity and sort of took the sexualization out of it. I hope more Americans move towards this attitude. I think it is healthier. In my junior high and high school, during the late 80's/early 90's, open showers in men's locker rooms were the norm.But, generally, public nudity in America is mostly verboten!! In sex-separated saunas, people are normally wrapped in towels or in shorts. Nude swimming or bathing is never allowed unless you are in a private, hot springs/sauna resort (I visited one in Colorado once).

  • @claytonberg721
    @claytonberg721 8 місяців тому

    This is a good channel. I shall sub.

  • @brianarbenz1329
    @brianarbenz1329 11 місяців тому +71

    I once dated a women who had recently moved from Frankfurt, Germany and worked here in Louisville, Ky. USA as a visual artist. She said she had arranged for a group of models to gather in a park for a photo shoot. When she casually mentioned they were to be nude in the park, one of the models said, "You're new here, aren't you!"

    • @kmcgyver4134
      @kmcgyver4134 11 місяців тому +3

      Hi from the area!

    • @tupacshakur5868
      @tupacshakur5868 11 місяців тому +5

      You cant be nude in the park in germany either, at least not as an adult

    • @mattomon1045
      @mattomon1045 11 місяців тому

      In Colorado the state supreme court stated that if you can prove that a male human is topless on their property then femails can be topless also when thay are their property !

    • @bryanconant6969
      @bryanconant6969 11 місяців тому +2

      @@tupacshakur5868 yes you can in certain areas, it was literally covered in the video.

    • @stevendinowindfeld
      @stevendinowindfeld 11 місяців тому +1

      That is illegal in most (if not all) of Europe.

  • @4carhur1more
    @4carhur1more 10 місяців тому +33

    I grew up in a very southern baptist home and was in church for the better part of my childhood up until about 10th-ish grade. I distinctly remember seeing the David statue when I was a kid either in some PBS program or in some kind of art documentary and I remember just being a little confused why David was naked and I think I asked my mom about it and she said, "Well, it was probably very hot when he fought Goliath." She's a visual artist so in hindsight, I believe she looked at it from the perspective of exactly that, art.

  • @user-gl8wd8up9e
    @user-gl8wd8up9e 2 місяці тому +2

    As an American descended from Puritan immigrants, having been raised in a strictly prudish high-demand religion, and having thankfully had the opportunity to live in Munich, I can very much say that my parenting style with my children is MUCH more informed by healthier German attitudes around body positivity, thoughtful self-awareness and interactions, and bodily autonomy rather than arbitrary external control.

  • @tomnanD3
    @tomnanD3 3 місяці тому +1

    You're adorable! I find your vids both informative and entertaining.

  • @hansmolders1066
    @hansmolders1066 11 місяців тому +20

    Breastfeeding debate depends on where you're in the US. In Alaska (where I lived) two young mothers were breastfeeding their babies infront of me while we were talking. They asked me if I was offended ( in a challenging way) I told them that as a German it took a lot to offend me but certainly not nudity. That was at a time when young mothers were challenging the system by doing it in public buildings ECT.

  • @markusmschafer
    @markusmschafer 11 місяців тому +15

    As a fellow German, having lived in the US for 30 yrs now, I got to say you are spot on ... great video !!!

  • @dan438
    @dan438 8 місяців тому +6

    "Nudity plays different rules in different cultures."
    That's definitely the nicest way to say that Americans are prude.

    • @GeoSocratic
      @GeoSocratic 7 місяців тому

      Or they are not perverts.

    • @Jeebus-un6zz
      @Jeebus-un6zz 4 місяці тому

      You're both wrong. We have a very sexually extreme culture that's an overreaction to a puritanical past which lingers in our legal system. Look at the way we handle alcohol- that's exactly how we'll handle nude beaches in a country like this.

    • @Holilo7
      @Holilo7 2 місяці тому

      ​@@GeoSocratic
      Since the rape rate in the USA is many times higher than in Germany, if I were you I would reconsider this statement.

    • @GeoSocratic
      @GeoSocratic 2 місяці тому

      @@Holilo7 I won't ask for any studies that prove that, because i know how statistics work and i have some bad news for you, US, like any large country will beat any European country on every subject, whether good or bad, because it's a HUGE country with MORE people, so there's no wonder they will beat Germany on any crime. Howevever in statistics there are something called percentage or crime rates per 100,000 inhabitants. Just base how bad one country is based on raw data, disregarding how big the country is, it is not so smart to say the least. And we still have to take into account if the how proper the methodoly was to make these studies and reports, because you know, some countries rig their statistics.
      Now to your claim US is not safer than Germany: I personally disagree, because you didn't specify how dangerous the US is and why. And you made a basic mistake US haters make whenever they criticize the country, you made a problem that could be exclusive in one state seem like it is a national problem. And it isn't the case. If you look into crime rate (any crime rate) reports, it will vary from one state to the other. And democrat-run states tend to be the ones with the highest crime rates. So states like California, New York, Michigan, Illinois, and maybe not the ones where people own guns and defend themselves like the mainstream media try to mislead you into believing.
      Talking about guns, Germany could be safer than US even in percentage or crimes per 100,000 inhabitans, i don't know. But at least when shit hits the fan, most Americans are able to defend themselves. What about the Germans? All those women who were raped in Cologne on new year's eve some years agi didn't look happy with how things went.

  • @MatthewBluefox
    @MatthewBluefox 5 місяців тому

    Das Sambnehl (the thumbnail)! Hatte schon Angst, dass du das ganze Wideo so moderieren würdest. ^^ Grüessli aus der Schweiz. :)

  • @janetd4862
    @janetd4862 11 місяців тому +46

    Interesting topic. I was raised by very prudish parents. There was NO nudity in our house! When I was in high school, the showers after PE class were communal, with three stalls provided for “that time of month”. Sex education was non-existent. The only nudity I saw was in the National Geographic magazine. My husband grew up Catholic, and his mother told him that “sex” was the original sin. In college, I traveled with a group to Austria, and had our first exposure to a co-ed naked sauna. I passed on the opportunity, but it was sure an eye-opening experience for those that went, and a topic of much discussion on the rest of the trip.

    • @EddaPascher
      @EddaPascher 11 місяців тому +3

      Hello from Austria! 😊

    • @kellharris2491
      @kellharris2491 11 місяців тому +26

      I have always hated that idea. It's like they are teaching women that our very existence is evil.

    • @rafsandomierz5313
      @rafsandomierz5313 11 місяців тому

      The problem is simple you have radicals that claim to speak in the name of God, get rid of them and watch how confidence increases.

    • @cliffterrell4876
      @cliffterrell4876 11 місяців тому +12

      Janet Dwyer, the question I have always asked the hollier than thou pruds is were you born with cloths on? NO. The problem in America is 1) religion. 2) pruds who shouldn't be seen naked to start with. 3) total loss of natural beliefs. Prior to the 1920s, nudity was not looked at as profanity but as what the Lord gave you. Especially in rural areas.

    • @mossbresnahan3072
      @mossbresnahan3072 11 місяців тому +11

      He should have told his mom she wouldn't exist without sex.

  • @RomanJockMCO
    @RomanJockMCO 11 місяців тому +95

    As an American I can say the hypocrisy surrounding nudity and sex in a country that teaches freedom and choice is bizarre at best. Growing up with an ultra conservative father and the polar opposite mother was quite interesting. To sum it up succinctly dad never had "the talk", but my mom did. When the AIDS epidemic erupted in the early 80s mom came up with the expression "a bag a day keeps AIDS away". So as an eight year old boy I learned that condoms were for STD prevention rather than their original intent of birth control. I lean liberal and always showered nude in public showers. Been to a nude beach once, was a bit creeped out by people recording everyone else. I'm sure I'm on someone's home video in my birthday suit. I never saw any naked people in the English Garden when I was in Munich. Although it doesn't bother me it would have been a bit of a culture shock.
    The first time I ever encountered a woman breastfeeding was at a fine dining restaurant I worked at in college. She had her napkin over her breast and the head of her child. Didn't bother me.
    I really don't understand the outcry over a naked statue. Have those who claim to be Christian even read the Bible? The Old Testament could easily be considered pornographic.

    • @warrenholmes3311
      @warrenholmes3311 11 місяців тому +1

      ...but makes it rather boring when someone is getting 'nekkid'. That, cannot be ignored.

    • @bethsmith3421
      @bethsmith3421 11 місяців тому +15

      The hypocrisy is astounding. The same people screaming and yelling about nudity, premarital sex, sexuality and gender issues are the same one touting family values and yet are sleeping with sex workers, cheating on their spouses and making sexual remarks about their own children.

    • @Atixtasy
      @Atixtasy 11 місяців тому

      @@bethsmith3421 i will do it for you @ trump, and his acolytes, looookin riiight at you all. Demons the lot of ya!

    • @dux_bellorum
      @dux_bellorum 11 місяців тому +4

      ​@@bethsmith3421 facts!!! 100% facts!!!

    • @ivetterodriguez9628
      @ivetterodriguez9628 11 місяців тому +2

      @@bethsmith3421 I doubt they're all the same people. Hypocrisy exists but that's an overstatement.

  • @CrustyOldDave
    @CrustyOldDave 4 місяці тому

    This was fun. Thanks.

  • @colleenthompson2737
    @colleenthompson2737 7 місяців тому +2

    "Hang out naked" 🤣🤣🤣Love your content. Truly enjoy every video.

  • @Trepanation21
    @Trepanation21 11 місяців тому +190

    I don't think most Americans care about nudity as much as political, religious, and "news" leaders pretend to. This is evidenced in our actual cultural output and supporting industries.

    • @Bakchoi13
      @Bakchoi13 11 місяців тому +1

      Completely agree! There is a misguided belief about anything interpreted as sexual. The religious are used to guide and control the political debate. It is insane.

    • @adventureawaits3646
      @adventureawaits3646 11 місяців тому +14

      that's true too, it's such a cheap and easy headline maker for politicians that have nothing else to offer but outrage about the "other". In this supposedly "land of the free". LOL

    • @seankrake4776
      @seankrake4776 11 місяців тому +6

      I think there are a lot of people who would be uncomfortable with public nudity, but wouldn’t say anything. There is a small number of people who would be upset and start a fight. There are also plenty who couldn’t care less. I was raised in a very traditional family, and I used to be very uncomfortable with it. Later I joined the navy, so now I’m numb to nudity.

    • @slushyslushslushbruh
      @slushyslushslushbruh 11 місяців тому

      @@seankrake4776 Why am I... not all that surprised?

    • @markfinch2016
      @markfinch2016 11 місяців тому +3

      No way, I'm American with a sense of what native born Americans think. They're called 'Private Parts,' for a reason, because they're supposed to be private. Private is the opposite of Pubic...

  • @pullaparoni4874
    @pullaparoni4874 11 місяців тому +60

    I've always found it funny how terrified or shocked people feel about nudity or being naked around other people. That is not the case here in Finland where it is normal thing to be naked in the saunas. Public swimming pools and saunas have usually communal open showers (men and women separated) where you have to be naked. When friends or friend groups get together and decide to go to sauna (a very common thing) we always go there butt naked boys and girls mixed (or if you are a modest person from down south boys and girls go in separately). A naked body is the most natural thing and there is nothing to be ashamed for being naked in the sauna, shower or lakes etc with your family, friends of even with strangers.

    • @Agonymous
      @Agonymous 11 місяців тому +15

      That is so true! A naked body is the most natural thing in the world. I am not from Finland but Austria but for me it was always completely normal. My parents have a sauna at home and we always were naked (the whole family, my older sisters, her partners, mum, dad). My in-laws always go to Balaton (Hungary) for FKK and my gf and I went with them.
      But I have to say that younger people than me (33) are more prude. On nude lakes here in Austria you only see old people over 50-60 and only a tiny part is younger.

    • @DavidWilliams-DSW558
      @DavidWilliams-DSW558 11 місяців тому +1

      NALF has already covered the topic of nudity in saunas in a video he made about a year ago.

    • @SomaelTentacleHair
      @SomaelTentacleHair 11 місяців тому +2

      Well spoken. I grew up with nudity being mostly normal to me among my family or in public showers. Still felt a bit weird at first to go with a mixed friend group to sauna in Finland but I got used to that 😂

    • @JeroenJA
      @JeroenJA 10 місяців тому +1

      @@Agonymous my first sauna was a huge step, cause i was 20, and it was a nude sauna in switserland :)
      really..
      it felt, remarcably normal, pretty quick , with people that found it just totally normal :).
      on holiday in turkey, the hotel had a free bathing suit sauna, i really noticed how my bathing suit seemed a bit in the way.. and that is with only having visited a naked sauna uhm, 3 times in 15 years??

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 10 місяців тому

      The body only becomes sexual if you make it sexual. With out that it's just or natural form.

  • @EnriqueDeQuesada101
    @EnriqueDeQuesada101 2 місяці тому +2

    Becoming a fan of you!

  • @Powerstroke98
    @Powerstroke98 6 місяців тому

    You're so well rounded Felicia, giving us great information on the topics you discuss here. Growing up in Canada, it's very rare to see much of anything 'nude', yet on one of my trips to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, there where many without bathing suits, thus we just figured 'they must be European' as we generally believe nudism is more Liberal in Europe generally. I feel, let people be whatever they wish, although I do remember back when my two daughters where young, not taking them down to the natural hot springs, until the two nude males got out of the pools, possibly more for the men, as we all had bathing suits on. If you have time, I'd love to hear more about any 'travel' you've done, and perhaps the history of these areas! Unsure if you've been to Alaska, but on one trip I took into the Yukon and up to Inuvik by the Arctic Ocean was a fabulous trip, mainly for the scenery and wildlife, but it continued after taking our time through Alaska. I've been twice, and look forward to the next time, as it's beautiful, as are the people there! Appreciate the work you do on your video's, as I understand the time needed for editing and such, as I'm a photographer and do the same for my images.

  • @Blixthand
    @Blixthand 11 місяців тому +23

    I'm for Sweden and I've never had any problem getting fully naked in communal showers or saunas, I was simply taught that was the way it was supposed to be. You're not gonna get all the dirt off your body before going into the public pool, or all the chlorine off when you get out, if you keep your swimwear on. I think a lot of teenagers aren't very comfortable with it though. You can see when it starts to happen and when it stops if you go to a Swedish school or visit a pool during busy hours. Younger kids in general have no problems, and while some adults keep their swimwear on, most people above the age of 20-25 will get fully naked, but pre-teens and teens will often not get fully naked. For 4 years of school between age 12-15 I was even the only guy in my year who would shower after PE class. Never been in a coed shower or sauna though. Most pools and a lot of gyms will have saunas next to the shower area, and those are already divided by gender. I've never been to a sauna at all that wasn't either private or at a pool/gym, but I would expect those would be divided as well unless you rent one for private session and bring your own group of people.
    But yeah, naked kids on the beach are pretty common here as well. And of course no-one bats an eye if a mom or a dad brings a kid of the opposite gender into a changing room before they are old enough to go alone in their proper one.

    • @jkaugust3586
      @jkaugust3586 11 місяців тому +4

      Its normal for adolescent kids to be aware of their bodies. Normally, though, they grow out of it.

  • @meg8294
    @meg8294 11 місяців тому +122

    In my opinion, society has become so hyper-sexualized that now any sort of nudity is viewed as sexual. How ironic that the US leads the world in “cornography” and WAP was #1 on the charts, but we draw the line at the David statue? 😂 sometimes I’m embarrassed to be an American lol

    • @lingenfeltervee
      @lingenfeltervee 11 місяців тому +9

      "We"? So your taking the comment of one person and applying it to the entire country?

    • @reddymon
      @reddymon 11 місяців тому +15

      @@lingenfeltervee well they did fire the principal so it apparently was more than just one parent.

    • @meg8294
      @meg8294 11 місяців тому +4

      @@lingenfeltervee it wasn’t just a comment by one person. Did you even watch the video? Lol

    • @lingenfeltervee
      @lingenfeltervee 11 місяців тому +3

      @@meg8294 Yes, maybe you need to go back and watch it, Ill even help you out. Feli at 5:17 "2 of the parents complained.... and 1 parent even called the lesson pornographic".

    • @meg8294
      @meg8294 11 місяців тому +8

      @@lingenfeltervee The district basically fired the principal and a Christian college affiliate ended their partnership with the school. That’s more than 1 person bro. Not sure why you’re so offended by my comment but regardless it was American schools so yes, I said “we”

  • @simonthebritoverthepond6719
    @simonthebritoverthepond6719 5 місяців тому +2

    Haha! Hey Feli, just seen this, does make me giggle! I was married to an Austrian girl. My very first meeting with my new in-laws was in their sauna, yep nackt! Your shyness wears off pretty quickly. After plenty of apre-ski in the Alps you just become used to the free feeling.