Hard to tell, but imho religion does indeed have a lot to do with it. One of religion's ways to control is to make women ashamed of being who they are. Well, fuck that shit.

I like this topic and that sounds weird to say- I grew up in a heavily religious home as well as my mother had a hysterectomy(I think that's how it's spelled?) So yah I didn't know shit lol- I wake up one day when stuff starts happening and I'm like wtf!? Am I dieing? What every month?! For how long?! So yah not gonna do that with my little girl I'm giving her knowledge- I don't want her thinking anything about her self is wrong or sinful- this kind of nonsense needs to stop

I've never really understood the taboos. I know they come from a Puritan attitude, and I also believe they come from the fact that this is a patriarchal society, and anything to do with women's bodies was labeled as dirty, nasty, embarrassing, etc. To me, this helps explain why men's body parts are taboo; they didn't want women thinking or talking about them. My mother was the same way; I never had any talks with her about stuff like that. (I still remember how shocked I was to learn men had pubic hair, lol). But I made sure to talk to all of my children about all those subjects. I even advised them to consider masturbation as an alternative to coitus if they wanted. However, I never had a specific talk; instead I just made it a natural part of their development, answering questions (in an age-appropriate fashion) as they asked them. In that way, I tried to show them that all of the above subjects, and more, were just basic human nature. There was only one question that I couldn't answer. And they all asked it, lol.

Just throwing a few things out there! In Utah most adult men do not know anything about..well just about anything sex related. Especially anything female-centric. I used to have to be the one to always change the used products disposal in the bathroom at work because my general manager was so scared of tampons and said he got sick at even the idea of them and asked us not to talk about them at work. And someone's god forbid my co-worker and I talked about her birth control implant. Manager would get so squeemish. Late 20s, guess he's still afraid of cooties. Oh, and on the sex thing. Just a fun fact! Sex toys were illegal until 2000 in alabama. Sodomy was illegal in the US until about 2005 while some states still have antisodomy laws in place (just not enforced) as well as extramarital sex. While not enforced, its still a misdemeaner in virginia to live together without being married. they call it "lewd and lascivious cohabitation" which is kind of a cool sounding phrase. Sooo society is super scared of anything woman and sex related.

I will never understand why any natural function would be considered 'taboo'. If we're being honest, once menopause got done kicking my ass, I was pretty much rejoicing over it. I am finally, after more than 40 years, FREE of the reproductive bullshit attached to residing in a female body! I don't have to think about it, plan for it, deal with the pain of it, or the expense of it. I think religion has played a HUGE part in demonizing human sexuality. To which, I say, FUCK religion. I am so grateful to be free of it's control over my life. I wish the same for everyone else.

Humans like to pretend they aren't animals. we like to pretend that we're happy, smart, aware, and better somehow. I think that's why farting on an elevator is so much fun.

When my girls were age 7 I probably had not talked to them about menstruation. But then again, I talked and still talk about anything and everything so they might have had a clue. But "the talk" no. I did have tampons and pads around, and they'd snoop in my bathroom often enough. Hmmmm, I might ask my girls about this next time we're together. The youngest had to have had a clue, given when she was 7 her older sister was 14.

You are right that we don't talk openly about menstruation, however, we also don't talk about urine or feces either. Everyone knows we do it, it just isn't discussed. Same as for masturbation and/or coitus, I assume everyone does and it's no big deal to me either way.

Attitudes towards menstruation have improved a great deal. You have to go back to the 1980s (at least here in the UK) for tampon adverts on the TV to be remotely controversial. They're slowly becoming more direct over time, too. I'm sure I recall at least one that dared to demonstrate absorbancy using red liquid rather than blue. The idea that a menstruating woman is 'unclean' is definitely documented in various religious texts. Whether it originates from religion, is another matter.

Masturbation is still taboo because it's a form of sexual pleasure that doesn't make babies. Sex is only okay if, at some point in the proceedings, you give God an opportunty to press his big 'create new life' button. If you don't do that, then sex is wrong.

Religion has appropriated sexual pleasure and put it to use as part of its breeding programme. It discourages any kind of sexual activity that isn't or doesn't lead to semen being deposited inside a vagina. Some things are acceptable as foreplay (e.g. some degree of mutual masturbation before coitus) yet doing it solo, without that as the end game, is still frowned upon. I suspect there are still similar attitudes towards oral and male/female anal sex: fine if it's a prelude to giving God a chance to press that button, but if that isn't a possible outcome, then still 'wrong.'

It isn't that long since oral sex was something of a taboo. It's positively mainstream now. Attitudes are changing.

Sex in any form in America is over done. Movies and TV always show a quick standup routine where a male stabs his penis at a woman as if it was a weapon. This nonsense complete with sound and done so frantically. Then after a 10 count they emerge from their hidden spot going merrily on their way. The sex scene was simply thrown in for no apparent reason.
Then at the same time we are all secretly told taboos of masturbation, menstruation, and so forth. It's no wonder that many men in the media have lost their jobs recently. It appears that they had tried to live out the quicky sex scenes I've described above and many got caught. To bad we do not have real sex education in America.

Her art, being along the walls of walkway tunnels, would be confronting - but only for that first instance. It's a good first step.

I don't understand how anyone could be that offended to go out of their way to deface the art. Whoever they were must have a stick up their butts.

I do know that the Baptists DO NOT have sex whilst standing up. it's taboo to them.

Anthropologically, I think it is fascinating that we pretend to hide these things from ourselves. Certaintly, I agree that it is absurd. Still I find it fascinating as a point of study. Why do "we" do this. Somehow, I think it goes beyond religion though it is often associated, perhaps even falsely, with religion. I don't think it has anything to do with religion really.

I do wonder why though. If not religion, is it some way of managing those with access to sex? Meaning is it a kind of dominance to prevent other possible competetors from joining the reproductiion party?

I tend to first look at most questions through the lens of Darwinian evolution via Richard Dawkin's Selfish Gene.

Religion had ingrained it into our society. It preaches that natural bodily functions and urges are dirty and sinful. It's all about control.

I wonder if it would help if there was a symathetic and simple explanation of why nature uses menstruation to keep everything healthy and ready for impregnation.

If a dog lays down and licks its balls no one gives a fuck. how mad is it to actually hide from humans the very means of there existance ie sex.

That's what I loved about the European attitude towards sex. I can still recall the first time I saw a German billboard with exposed breasts. I spent two years there in the Army, it was a very liberating experience. btw I learned later the billbord was advertising a business and the boobs were there to grab your attention much like bright colors are used here and nothing sexual was intended (thanks Marta).
It's really sad that we had to learn about sex at school or from friends or adult magazines. It has lead to many bad preconceptions about sex and sexual conduct.

In my childhood home, sex was never ever mentioned, as a result, I had no clue about sex, and had to learn about it in bits and pieces wherever I happened to hear people talk. Usually from older male friends who didn't know much more than I did. That's one of the disadvantages of a fine Christian upbringing. I grew up before the Internet, in case you younger people are scratching your heads. Now that I'm older, I've wondered many times why sex of all things was made a sin by the disgraceful old men who came up with religion.
I mean the very method we use to procreate. It's like making it a sin to eat.

I don't think society has a pretense that they don't exist, but rather that society thinks these things are shameful. There may be some anthopologist who can give a detailed explanation as to how these things became taboo, however it could also just be some bronze age holy book that makes it bad. Either way we should treat / teach that this is normal stuff.

Why isn't Europe as messed up about these subjects as the United States is?

I wonder a lot of the same things. Bodily functions are bodily functions, and it amazes me how some people a reason to be ashamed of them. I was once banned from my friends house for putting a very well wrapped used tampon about a foot down into the garbage in the garbage can. That was two in your face for the man of the house to have to deal with. The women really believed that it was disgusting for the man to see that. Wtf? I think masturbation and coitus and anything that feels good, was/is banned, because it feels good.