Europeans Are Kinky: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|"''You know America was founded by prudes. Prudes who left Europe because they hated all the kinky, steamy European sex that was going on.''"|'''Cooper'''
In works produced outside Europe, Europeans are often depicted as more sexually free and straightforward than anything else on the planet. The sexually liberal European is typically contrasted with a more inhibited American, or with some other non-European character, who has trouble dealing with her libertine ways. Since this is usually [[Played for Laughs]], the European character tends to be female, as having a woman act this way is considered [[Double Standard|more outrageous]], and therefore more humorous. Men acting in a sexually straightforward manner is considered either [[All Men Are Perverts|normal]], or at least not particularly funny. A stereotypical example of this trope is the [[Norse by Norsewest|blonde Swedish nymphomaniac]] (who occasionally appears in works from Europe as well), though other European nationalities can also be used. The only exception seems to be Britain, and to a lesser extent Ireland: British people are commonly portrayed as [[British Stuffiness|more repressed]] than Americans, while the Irish are considered too intensely Catholic for sex.
As a narrative trope,
The kinky European is rarely seen in negative light. If she is a minor character, she's usually presented as a sex object to the protagonist, often with added [[Fan Service]]. If she is given more characterization, she tends to be an [[Ethical Slut]]. This trope can overlap with [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]], if the supposed kinkiness of the European character is explained by her culture simply not having the same sort of inhibitions that the culture she is contrasted with has. This can be [[Truth in Television]], as in many European countries nudity and sexuality are indeed considered less of a taboo than in the United States, making them look more "kinky" in the eyes of Americans.
There may also be partial [[Truth in Television]] to the general "kinkiness" of Europeans: in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120226234624/http://psych.mcmaster.ca/dalywilson/commentary_schmitt.pdf a study published in 2005], citizens of 48 different different countries across the world were asked about their attitudes towards multiple sex partners and casual sex. When these countries were put in order based of how promiscuous they are, 13 of the top 20 countries were in Europe, whereas the US placed 22nd. However, 11 European countries also placed lower than the US. Most of these were Catholic countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, whereas the European countries in the top 20 were mostly former Eastern Bloc states and Protestant countries. A more truthful way of formulating this trope would therefore be "non-Catholic Europeans are kinkier than most other nationalites", but fiction rarely deals with these things with such a level of nuance. Of course, this lack of nuance might be attributed to ancient [[Latin Lover]]
An explanation for the "European kinkiness" lies in the general social stances regarding sex: it is, indeed, much more acceptable to be nude (as nudism has been a major part of European beachgoing culture since the 1920s) or to generally indulge in stuff that most Americans still consider ''somewhat'' taboo (like, for example, RACK [[BDSM]] which is generally a no-no even amongst the most die-hard American BDSM enthusiasts). This has been explained by the Enlightenment weakening the sole major prude church in Europe - the Catholic church - significantly, with the Orthodox church and even a lot of European Evangelicals having a much looser stance on sinning (unlike in America, where the local Evangelicals often punish those who have been deemed sinners by immense cruelty, with Baptists and Mormons behaving similarly).
{{noreallife|This is a trope about how characters are depicted in media.}}
{{examples}}
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[[Category:Index of Exact Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Sex Tropes]]
[[Category:Race Tropes]]
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