Psychology of sexuality: cultural changes in the Netherlands

culture

The culture that we grow up in, defines how we think, feel and act sexually

• Cultures change

• Within a society several cultures exist (subcultures; culture is never homogenous)

In the past half century there have been a lot of significant changes in the Netherlands about sexuality; less repressive, more open view about sexuality.

• Sexual revolution

baby boom (after WW2)

• Dramatic increase in number of babies born after the war ended à people more positive about the future

  • Adolescents in the sixties

de-pillarization

• Pillarization: the way society is constructed based on religion or worldview (liberal, socialist, catholic, protestant)

  • You were born in a pillar, would mostly interacted with other people in your own pillar (school, store, television, hobbies, marriage, funeral). This formed your identity

  • In all of these pillars it was a taboo to talk about sexuality

• The pillars began to crumble, people started to interact with people from other pillars, question their own views and pillars

secularization

• Increase in non-religious people

urbanization

• Move from small villages (the countryside) to the city, expansion of cities

• Small villages have a lot of social control, big cities have less social control à more room for experimentation

• In cities ideas spread/progress much faster

lengthening of school-period

• Compulsory education until age 18

• Slow transition from child to adult

  • Half a century ago you didn’t have adolescents, you were either a child or an adult

economic prosperity

• More money, free time, social and geographic mobility, mass media

mass media

• Newspaper; cinema; radio; television; affordable records, record players, portable transistor radio’s

cultural ‘revolution’ and youth culture

• April 12, 1954: Bill Haley records ‘Rock around the Clock’

  • Adults didn’t understand this new type of music

• October 28, 1956: Elvis Presley ‘You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog’

  • Elvis shook his hips (sensual movements), which was very provocative

birth control pill

• Produced in Oss (south of the Netherlands)

• The south of the Netherlands is very Catholic → against the pill

• Talked with the bishop of Oss → compromise → not sold as an contraceptive, but as a medicine for ‘irregular menstrual cycles’ with the side effect of temporary infertility.

• Available and affordable → drop in birth rate

sexual revolution

• First naked woman on Dutch television 1967

• First feminist wave (1870-1920)

  • Equal rights in education and jobs (1871)

  • Right to vote (1917 passive, 1922 active)

  • Aletta Jacobs (1854-1929): first female student and general practitioner

• Second feminist wave (1965-1990?)

  • True equal rights in education and jobs

  • Equal pay for men and women

  • Equality for married women

  • Access to (oral) contraceptives

  • Legalization of abortion

  • Dutch action groups:

    • ManVrouwMaatschappij (political action group, moderate feminist)

    • Dolle mina’s: Baas in eigen buik (left wing, radical, political action group)

    • Monthly radical-feminist magazine Opzij

• 1971 Blue movie

  • Contains a lot of sex scenes

• 1973 Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit)

  • Movie with explicit nude scenes

acceptance of homosexuality

• COC Netherlands has been standing up for the interests of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people (LGBTs) since 1946

  • 1946: Shakespeare Club

  • 1949: Cultuur- en Ontspannings Centrum (C.O.C.)

  • 1964: Nederlandse Vereniging voor Homofielen COC

  • 1971: Nederlandse Vereniging tot Integratie van Homoseksualiteit COC

• Same sex marriage in the Netherlands legal since 2001

• Developments in attitude towards homo- and bisexuality in the Netherlands

• Different times have different views on sexuality. Different cultures have different views on sexuality. Within the Netherlands different cultures exist → the Netherlands is a multicultural society

Multicultural society

• Started with the guest workers (1960)

  • Large scale industrialization in the Netherlands

  • Low-skilled workers recruited in Yugoslavia, Italy, Portugal and Spain and later in Turkey and Morocco

  • Most return to country of origin

  • Turkish and Moroccan guest workers stay permanent in the Netherlands and bring over their families → Turkey and Morocco largest groups of migrants

Turkish and Moroccan migrants

• 5% of the total population

• Different culture, different religion (Islam)

• Culture of country of origin is retained

• Low level of education, low income, high unemployment

• Concentration in older neighborhoods in 4 largest cities

• Majority of children there is non-Western migrant

• Contact with natives is limited

• Within this culture, young people develop their view on sexuality

Dutch youngsters with a Turkish or Moroccan migrant background compared to Natvie Dutch youngsters

• Poor sex education

  • Parents give little or no information

  • School sex education misses target

  • Knowledge on sexuality is low

• Feelings of guilt over masturbation

  • Turkish and Moroccans feel more guilt (especially girls) compared to native Dutch

  • Difference in sexual experience

• Different norms and values on sexuality

  • Dutch culture fairly tolerant on sexual diversity

  • Negative attitudes towards homosexuality and gender non-conform behavior

  • Negative attitudes towards women

    • Sexual double standard

      • Madonna-whore complex

    • Girls expected to remain virgin

      • Family honor

    • Boys allowed to have sex

      • Irresistible urge

      • Status

      • Practice

culture and sexuality

• Different cultures have different view on sexuality

• Cultures change, so the view on sexuality changes

• Within a society, there are several cultures that have different views on sexuality