WARNING!
(To American Viewers)
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*** The following commentary is based on stereotypes, so feel free to chime in with any corrections or alternate points of view.***
It's funny how culture shapes your perception of the world in ways that you never realize. Like this for example...I went searching for another jar of Nutella the other day and was just ambling (I can do that here now, since I actually have time in the day) past a magazine store, when this magazine cover jumped out at me.
Obviously, the supermodel in funky clothes, with the spaced out/stoned look isn't abnormal, yet NEVER in America would you find this in plain view next to a supermarket. In a rare fit of Puritanical shame and uneasiness, I looked around to see if there were any kids around who might be gawking at the cover as well. There were kids... However, rather than gawking, they simply continued past my bewildered state and entered the supermarket, along with the rest of the people on a random Wednesday afternoon.
I am by no means suggesting that people don't gawk at half naked supermodels in magazine stores...they obviously do, otherwise the pictures wouldn't appear on the covers. However, the interesting differences the image raises are in regard to sexuality and what society defines as acceptable and unacceptable etiquette.
In the States, it is generally accepted and promoted that displays of sexuality are confined to the private sphere of life (or a select number of predetermined situations) where the consumption of images is regulated and perpetuated by an entity (which is given either implicit or explicit control over the media through a variety of means). For example, news, magazines, public television, mainstream movies, and the internet to a limited degree (obviously excluding the porn industry) are all censored on various levels by an official organization because the perpetuation of sexually explicit images has been determined to be negative to society (supposedly according to our cultural values and beliefs). As a result, it is extremely uncommon to see images of nudity in the most accessible channels of media such as newspapers, front shelf magazines, public television, etc.
Here, in France, things seem to be slightly different (with various implications by extension) yet a variety of similarities still persist. Semi-nude or nude images (of both men and women) are far more frequent in the media, including on public television, but the images don't seem to be portrayed as always sexual or erotic. Rather, the images seem to be displayed as a mix of provocation and art, or as an extension of life in the reality that it actually exists...where people take showers without it leading to having sex in the shower...
In general, based on our limited experience here, the consumption of images appears to be different from the States in that its end goal is not always eroticism (although it obviously still is in some cases, as with the image above). In many ways, this is a refreshing point of view because it allows for a more profound portrail of the human experience, yet I'm sure that this more liberal display of sexuality is also subject to regulation and perpetuation, albeit simply on a different level than that of the States.
Whether or not directly correlated to images of sexuality, the public display of sexuality and affection in France is an interesting cultural identifier. Most Americans think of French culture and think of three things: French Fries, French Kissing, and nude beaches. Everyone loves French fries, so there's nothing to discuss there, but french kissing and nude beaches are two symbols of French culture that exhibit some interesting stereotypes and cultural paradoxes. I have yet to visit a French nude beach, so can't talk much about that, but I've gotten to see a fair amount of french kissing since we got here and have a few observations.
Observation #1: It is culturally acceptable to display affection in public. This is contrary to the anti-PDA (Public Display of Affection) rules which are explicitly enforced in primary and secondary schools in the US, and are later implicitly applied to adults within the greater American society. Here, it is common to see couples kissing, making out, and groping in public. The stereotype that France (especially Paris) is "Romantic" likely came from an outsider's perception of these displays of affection (in my opinion). In many ways, it seems that the "French Kiss" is the embodiment of this stereotype.
Observation #2: It is not culturally acceptable to openly "watch" people displaying affection in public. If you are in a public place, like a restaurant for example, and the couple next to you is babbling "sweet nothings" and playing tonsil hockey ("French" kissing for any French people who might have miraculously made it this far into my ramble), you may not directly look at them. If you do, you will be greeted with unpleasant glares.
This is where the interesting cultural paradox appears between what is defined as public space and what is private space (especially in regard to the consumption of images). In the US, images and actions that are presented in the public space (broadly defined here as anything "public", like TV, news, etc.) are intended to be consumed by anyone and everyone. People who view public media have expectations regarding the content that will be made available, and the producers of the media comply with a predetermined formula based on what is deemed acceptable and what is not. For example, PBS (does anyone even watch this anymore?) provides programs to an audience of all ages and demographics. People who view PBS know that they will never see any nudity, hear any cursing, and have a general understanding that they will probably be bored out of their minds with Bob Ross' "pretty little trees". Viewers who are looking for nudity, vulgarity and action buy HBO or Cinemax.
Thus, in the US, public spaces seem to be structured such that a viewer is never going to be surprised by content. It would be like if there was a late night Bob Ross Uncensored show. One where he screwed up one of his pretty little trees and was like, "WTF! Dammit Janet! This new paint blows donkey balls...I just spilled some on my shoes. Take off your blouse and clean this up for me will you? ...And while you're down there..."
Obviously I'm not the first person to poke a little fun at Bob Ross...here are a few other funny ones to rest your brain from my useless rambling:
In my opinion, viewer expectations of what they are going to get are very clearly defined in most public media. For America, sexuality in the public sphere means no partial or full nudity (in any way) and actions displaying sexually provocative material are restrained to very censored scenes that portray private spaces. Getting back the point....In the US, it seems that when people are in public places, they have a similar expectation about what they are going to view, and by extension, how they themselves are going to act as a result. Private spaces are generally where sexuality, vulgarity and all the other suppressed elements of society are acceptable to view and partake in.
In France, there seems to be a mingling of public and private spaces (that perhaps exists in the States as well, but to a much lesser degree regarding the proliferation of sexually explicit images and actions by extension). There may be expectations and regulations regarding what images are made available in the public sphere, but it is certainly more liberal that the States (in terms of both sexual content and language). However, beyond the obvious differences in standards between what is acceptable and what is not, France seems to have an interesting society where private spaces exist within the public spaces on a much more pronounced level.
For Americans, this mix of public and private spaces creates one of the most culturally confusing paradoxes, where it is a complete mystery why images of nudity are promoted liberally on newstands and public television, yet it is a total taboo to view people displaying affection in public (the embodiment of the sexuality that the images seems to convey & propogate).
I must confess...I'm confused by the delineation of public and private spaces here as well.
