Chastity Belt Design Innovations

Angelina

it would drive me crazy to be able to see my private parts all day but not be able to touch them

I'm not looking at them all day. In fact, I see them about exactly as often as anybody else. Even without a physical barrier, for hundreds of years women have been told that their genitals are inferior, shameful, and not to be touched. The psychological barrier foisted on a billion women has been far more insidious.

Because I like to play with narrative structure, the past month has inspired me to work on a modern adaptation of Persephone and Hades, except I've personified my genitals into Cate (short for Hecate) as the goddess of magic, pleasure, and the Moon. She's been locked away in a cage made by Hephaestus. I have to fight to free her, and then she will one day grant me powers and pleasure.

WriterAlexis I'm not looking at them all day

I've never done that either, but I often had situations in which I lay in bed in the evening (without pants) and looked at my locked abdomen. If I could see everything now and not touch it, I would certainly go crazy

Angelina , but I often had situations in which I lay in bed in the evening (without pants) and looked at my locked abdomen

I reckon that as a liberal German, you probably spend more time without clothes than an American from a Mormon family.

youdontknowme

youdontknowme religious conservative sex-negative family

er, these nice people do often have mindsets that seem medieval, old-testament style to the rest of the world.

And can sometimes be mistaken for Middle Eastern nightmares. In the case where "fundamentalist" takes over as dominant word, even over Christian.

George Yeah, the only context in which such invasive controls of someone's sex life, ultraconservatism and a garment that shows off the "goods" together made sense to my mind was the one where a daughter gets traded for ten goats and three camels. Glad to hear that the clear shield was actually her idea and not that of her parents.

George

I think it can be the case even in mainline Protestantism, depending which part of the country it is in.

Mostly, I gleefully watch as the various churches devour themselves in a foregone culture war, and we steadily secularize in the fashion of western Europe.

WriterAlexis we steadily secularize in the fashion of western Europe.

Sorry, but from looking in from the outside you don't. Even most American atheists show social religious conventions. (While in most EU states, even the "believers" show religious conventions in public perhaps a dozen times a year.) Just observation as mentioned from the outside, and a little observations from my American coworkers that I happen to meet at least once a year.

Religion is getting politicized in the USA, by the conservatives. So it will not go away quietly as it has here.

(Although I admit that the church tax that the Nazis introduced, but somehow never got canceled, greedy Church, is an incredible great impulse in Austria/Germany for people to officially resign from the Church, it's usually driven by some scandal/dick move from their Church, and then the tax bill shows up in the mail, and people literally pilgrimage to the authorities to change their official religion to atheist.)

George Sorry, but from looking in from the outside you don't. Even most American atheists show social religious conventions. (While in most EU states, even the "believers" show religious conventions in public perhaps a dozen times a year.) Just observation as mentioned from the outside, and a little observations from my American coworkers that I happen to meet at least once a year.

Religion is getting politicized in the USA, by the conservatives. So it will not go away quietly as it has here.

I think above all, religious matters are getting more divisive in America, while they seem to be getting more harmonious in western central Europe. Over here, even believers start becoming more open towards criticism of the church as an institution, which results in many former catholics and lutherans becoming more like non-denominational christians, whereas in the US, the people tending towards secularism are becoming more secular while the devoutly religious become more fundamentalist. I would say the age divide is on the side of secularists in the long run, but in the short term, the aforementioned culture war will result in that secularization being a rather unpleasant affair compared to what Europe went through in recent decades.

I would also argue that "mainline protestant" might mean something completely different in the USA compared to, say, Germany.

But again this is getting quite a bit political.

George Religion is getting politicized in the USA, by the conservatives.

Conservatives seem to politicize religion everywhere, as it is a key reference point for them as a source of values.

George church tax that the Nazis introduced, but somehow never got canceled

When Polish guest workers traveled to Germany, at first they usually declared their affiliation with the Catholic Church, but when they found out that they would be charged church tax by doing so, they momentarily "lost faith." The German church took revenge by sending information to Poland that such a person had apostasized, so the Polish episcopate had to introduce a regulation that apostasies made abroad would not be recognized.

youdontknowme I think above all, religious matters are getting more divisive in America, while they seem to be getting more harmonious in western central Europe.

In the U.S. - especially in Protestant circles - there is much greater religious fervor than in Europe. Churches in the US are also completely separate from the state, making them more resistant to secularization.

Andrew The German church took revenge by sending information to Poland that such a person had apostasized, so the Polish episcopate had to introduce a regulation that apostasies made abroad would not be recognized.

If only, for getting someone a Catholic funeral in Poland, you need a confirmation from their Austrian parish that they've been active members of the parish and attended regularly mess.

Guess we missed this regulation, or it only applies to the living who still can give.

Did I mention that my parents are very "good" Catholics. (Which did not keep them from allocating my girlfriends to one of the guest rooms, letting them know that the room is well sound proofed, where the condoms are, and that they know how to answer inquisitive questions from their parents. Very catholic )

With such "good" Catholics as parents, I've managed to raise me as a very pragmatic atheist

youdontknowme No, I don't use a translator, so it's just a typo

And yes Austrian Church is quite a bit more relaxed than Polish Church. The only thing less relaxed is church tax collection.

youdontknowme I reckon that as a liberal German, you probably spend more time without clothes than an American from a Mormon family.

that may be, of course, but i still maintain that it would probably have frustrated me even more if i had been able to see my private parts all the time.

youdontknowme I reckon that as a liberal German, you probably spend more time without clothes than an American from a Mormon family.

Probably correct, but I doubt the Mormon fathers watch their daughters shower.

George Which did not keep them from allocating my girlfriends to one of the guest rooms, letting them know that the room is well sound proofed, where the condoms are, and that they know how to answer inquisitive questions from their parents. Very catholic

I would say exemplarily Catholic. Probably no other religion can so perfectly combine such contradictions between teaching and the practice of everyday life.

Andrew I haven't seen it like that

Interesting point of view.

Avery Probably correct, but I doubt the Mormon fathers watch their daughters shower.

Exactly, well said. Girls have right to intimacy, and even on a strict point of view, some minutes of intimacy do not collide with safety.
It is OK do not allow long showers without the belt, but to spy daughters is a madness in my value scale.

George I've managed to raise me as a very pragmatic atheist

Why not be a pragmatic Catholic. Boston College, a Jesuit institution, forbids the distribution on campus of condoms. So the Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH), an independent organization, sets up a table outside of McElroy Commons (the student center) on the corner of College Road, a city street, city property, and distributes condoms. The priests have done their duty and so has BCSSH. The only people who lose might be students who believe a condom is adequate protection (against pregnancy, not venerial disease).

Angelina it would probably have frustrated me even more if i had been able to see my private parts all the time.

I have to agree with this, even wearing voluntarily, being able to see it like that would drive me nuts

Huh. This is an interesting consensus forming. Guess I'm an outlier.