I was reading the post about breastfeeding that is still raging in the Pit, and I was thinking about why breastfeeding makes people uncomfortable.
Perhaps because people don’t breastfeed nearly as much as they used to (or nearly as much as they do in other countries) some people aren’t as accustomed to it, and they lose sight of the fact that its just a normal process.
With all the conveniences of modern society, technology will likely do more for us a century from now. I wonder what we will consider ‘obscene’ in that time period.
Going along with the breastfeeding arguments, I predict people won’t eat in front of each other. They’ll have devices to provide nutrients directly into their bodies. We’ll be having arguments about someone making a ignorant statement like “Ohmigod yesterday I was driving my hovercar downtown and I saw someone EATING A SANDWICH! :eek: Oh man it was so gross he was holding it in his HANDS then he put it in his MOUTH, bit off a piece, then CHEWED IT UP WITH HIS TEETH! That’s not what teeth are for! I can’t believe some people have the nerve to eat in public like this! Why can’t we have laws against this disgusting behavior?!”
Unlikely. It’s against our programming for eating to become obscene.
While the degree of taboo violation changes between societies, both geographically and over time, the taboos themselves are universal. There’s a book by Plomin I should dig up - I think called Evolution of Human Sexuality - which says that even among humans that do not wear clothing over their genitals, taboos ensuring the privacy of sexuality remain in place.
Eating as a group, though, has always been a great civilizing expedient, part of the food-sharing that defines “civilization.” There are taboos around food as well, but these table manners, I would WAG, are one of the ways people were identified as “part of the tribe” vs “an outsider.” But a brand new taboo against eating at all will never stick.
That said, I would guess that the old taboos will become more rigidly enforced 100 years from now. Our society is - or was - about as relaxed about taboos as it gets. The taboos were still there, but you could push the envelope more. Statistically, you can expect that by 2103, baring the elbows could be risque.
I feel that in 100 years, the ultimate obscenity will be “Anna Nicole Smith.” We will see “Anna Nicole Smith-tard”, “Anna Nicole Smith-nugget”, and “Manhattan, Go Anna Nicole Smith Yourself”* being used helter-skelter in the BBQ Pit.
*Manhattan used as an example only. Should not be held against this poster or counted toward his Pit Race rankings.
I suspect that sex with animals will qualify, and I’d guess sex with people younger than a certain age. Beyond that I’d only have to concur on Anna Nicole.
I think it will be less new taboos and less concern over the older ones. Even sexual stuff that today would be considered outrageous may fall like sleeping with your sister, society is strange like that.
Whatever it is, if it’s taboo in North America, it’ll be featured in television commercials in Europe.
In the HBO special “Banned in the USA,” airing in June 2103, we see a Fiat commercial from Italy where a priest is fellating an ewe, a South African commercial for Domino’s Pizza showing a woman pleasuring herself with a stick of pepperoni, and the popular late night show on BBC 12 – “Swordfight.” Meanwhile, we Americans are seen as prudish because network censors only started allowing prime time shows like “Filthy Sanchez and the Cleveland Steamer” and “Are You Hung?”
[ul]
[li]Smoking[/li][li]Drinking Alcohol[/li][li]Eating Meat[/li][li]Referring in any way to the ethnic background of another person[/li][li]Naming sports teams after anything except meaningless abstract concepts, like “Dodgers” (i.e. no animals, no cultural references, nothing that hints at violence, like “Pirates,” etc.)[/li][li]“Owning” a pet[/li][li]The word “pet”[/li][li]Referring in any way to any particular differences between any two people[/li][li]American Foreign Policy ca. 2000-2008[/li][li]Any images of people taking baths or showers, using a swimming pool, or washing a car, as clean water will be in extremely short supply [/li]
[li]Many other things which I am glad I will not witness (hopefully).[/li][/ul]
Bathing in swimming-pools (also as others have said).
Disposable clothing and personal effects.
In short, anything that would disrupt the tense relations between people living in a world that has been too crowded and too short of resources for too long…
•Entertainment media from America will have polarized to a grotesque degree, leaving only “Ultra ‘G’ Rated” and “Ultra ‘R’ Rated.” This will be a result of the combined effects of a new wave of moralistic naivete in the public consciousness (From both Liberals and Conservatives, each making their own contributions), and Hollywood’s increasing desperation for revenue causing them to pander to an ever-lower common denominator.
Thus, expect to see movies and TV shows to be sharply divided between things like “The Fluffy Bunny goes to Happyland” and “Kung-fu Vampire Hooker Spies.” (The title of the latter, of course, is a transliteration…the actual titles will not only be as oblique and unintelligible as the titles of present-day action movies, but will also be written primarily in a linguistic descendant of “leetspeak,” because it will be “kewl”)
Any “serious” elements in “Ultra G Rated” films will be “frowned upon” by the public, and even cause protests and boycotts. Any “light hearted” elements in “Ultra R Rated” films will be mocked and scorned by moviegoers, or outright dismissed by the production companies as “not being what the public wants to buy.”
Curiously, CGI Cel-Rendered Japanese movies that are frame-by-frame remakes of old Albert Brooks and Ridley Scott films find a niche audience in the U.S., but are widely derided by critics as being “immature” and “not serious artistry.”
•Hardcore anti-Intilectualism will be a tolerated, and even encouraged, ethos among the general public. In the long term, however, this philosophy will lead to the downfall of Western civilization. Unfortunately, when this happens, Eastern civilization will still be pretty screwed up, too.
•Oh, and of course, wearing hats in public will be completely taboo.
Hmmm … Well , I guess with the way political correctness is getting out of hand , I’m going to with a regressive theme on this one . Society has gotten to a point where certain words that USED to be considered obscene are now pretty much widely accepted . For instance , the word ’ asshole ’ . " Ya know what, Bob ? You’re an asshole " After 100 years of this ‘not wanting to offend anyone’ , I’ll say calling someone an asshole will be considered obscene and a hate crime as it may offend those people who are tragically born without assholes or have lost them in horrible farming accidents.
It’s not outrageous to predict that society’s mores might go through a complete reactionary backlash, and some of what is acceptable today will again be verboten.
That said, I think bestiality will always be considered obscene, as well as child pornography.
At least “child pornography” as it relates to actual children; the sexual attitude towards teenagers seems to fluctuate. In the 19th century, it wasn’t unheard of for a man in his 20’s or 30’s to marry a 14 or 15 year old girl. While that’s currently considered indecent, the fact that overt teenage sexuality has become more acceptable in recent years might indicate that in the future statutory rape laws could possibly become less important to the general public. Just a guess.
Religion will be obscene everywhere except the southern US (and the rest of the world will pity that area, especially because of the toxic waste dumps).
Body fat will be obscene. Stores will charge double, maybe triple, to sell food to fat people.
Tobacco and gasoline exhaust will be taboo. Marijuana and bicycling will be de rigeur.
