Just a bit of musing about social mores today. The photo you see here was taken while on holiday on the south coast of Croatia in 2006. The reason i'm putting it up, other than the obvious bid to get more people to look, is to contrast what Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders and the like consider to be risque, and what it's like in Croatia, which is different to anywhere else i've ever been.
This young lady is actually not that extreme a case. Many of her peers were showing more flesh, she was just the one we managed to get a photo of without being obvious. No, I didn't take it, my wife did.
Conservatives in the western half of the northern hemisphere and indeed downunder do a lot of tutting about how young women dress these days, I believe they would have a coronary if they saw how they dress in the Summer in Croatia.
In the week we were there I never once saw a woman sexually harrassed. The argument is often put about that women dressing provocatively are "asking for it", and yet we saw many young wome dressed like this walking around late at night without a care in the world, which would not be the case where I come from, nor where I now live.
So what is the difference? Why is there a problem in some places and not in others? I believe the answer is in societal attitudes toward sexuality in general. Where sex is considered a healthy and natural part of life there is less harrassment and rape. Something for our Muslim and Christian fundamentalist neighbors to consider.
posted by admin on Social mores