I’ve lived in Berlin for a couple years, unquestionably the most hedonistic city in Germany. I have many friends involved in the SM scene and sex industry and I know the club scene well. Having observed this stuff up close and very personally I would not necessarily disagree with your statement, but my viewpoint is naturally skewed…I can only compare what I see to what I experienced beforehand living in the States. Also, things are probably a lot different in Bavaria.
Germans overall are way more comfortable with nudity and sexuality than Americans. I don’t consider this “weird,” but as openminded as I like to consider myself, I have to admit the openness of Germans has amazed me from time to time. There’s FKK (Freikorperkultur–Free Body Culture) for one thing–meaning that you can be nekkid in just about every city park and beach and nobody bats an eye except for the occasional naive young Ausländer. There’s the freaky toilets which just about force you to examine your waste as it sits there on a shelf before you flush it down. There’s the late-night softcore telly ads for horny hausfrau phone sex. Porn mags visibly on display for sale in every train station and frequently within reach of kiddies. There’s also a popular magazine for preteen girls called Bravo which is kind of like the equivalent of Tiger Beat but which is surprisingly explicit in dealing with sexual matters.
I’m not sure if I think Germans are genuinely more prone to “perversity” (not my favourite word, but can’t think of a less judgmental synonym at the moment) than other nationalities or cultures, or if they’re just a lot more open and less repressed than, say, Americans or Brits. There’s definitely a lot of kinky stuff going on, but at the same time SM is hardly mainstream. I do know a handful of self-admitted sadists but this can be chalked up to the fact that I happen to move in some pretty strange circles and enjoy all that Berlin nightlife has to offer. On the other hand the vast, vast majority of my German friends and colleagues are far less deviant than I am, so who can really say.
The answer to the original question will naturally depend on who is providing the definition of “weird.” I think the voluntary cannibalized guy was a bit weird, I think the satanic vampire killers were a bit weird, and I think schlager fans are quite weird. But these are all hardly representative of German society as a whole. There are also plenty of things about American society which still boggle my mind and seem even weirder from a distance. (Easy Cheese in a spraycan, driving instead of walking to a destination which is 2 blocks away, Jerry Springer, and Michael Jackson, just off the top of my head)
People are basically alike. Our customs and traditions may be different, but we are alike in the most essential ways. We value home, families, friendship, courage, sportsmanship, a job well done, wit, someone to love, someone to love us, creativity, music, relaxation, good food and drink.
From time to time anomalies arise. Don’t judge a country by them.
Living in Texas kind of sucks for Germans as it would be like the same as a person living in the most liberal parts of the US going there too. Germans don’t particularly react well when you want to start sharing stories about your respective church lives
[QUOTE]
Umm, you have no idea what Austin is like do you? You also have no idea about my religion, which is a lack of actually.
Hmm. I’d never really thought about it before, but yeah, I guess I think of Germany and Germans as being a little weird compared to the rest of Europe. Not always in a bad way (well, not at all, really, except for that Nazi thing). Just unusual. Maybe a bit bizarre. But I kind of admire that.
To quote South Park, “What the fuck is wrong with German people?!”
The German people I’ve met don’t seem any more strange or different than any other foreigner. They all have their quirks. From what people hear though, of course we won’t hear about the normal people, only the really crazy ones travel over the Atlantic in the news. For example, that psycho that canibalized the other man that wanted to be canabalized (though not before enjoying each other’s company for their penis dinner) isn’t helping the “Germans aren’t crazy” camp.
I’ve never been to Germany. I did meet a bunch of Germans through a friend who works at Deutche Bank and I have a German friend from my old job. Like most Europeans, they do seem weird in a “not quite classic American” sort of way:
-my friend only smokes cigarettes he rolls himself for some reason
-he’s bald and basically LOOKS like a scary, humorless German stereotype (which make it that much funnier when we get him all riled up about somthing)
-One of the Deutch Bankers thought that wearing leather pants out (like Ross from Friends) was a good idea.
-And of course, the mystifying obessession with all things Soccer.
I think the American stereotype of Germans is a cross between the stern, punctual, humorless, potential Nazi and the jolly, fat, Lederhosen clad Octoberfest villager.
Du
Du hast
Du hast mich
Speaking of, I was watching the Family Values Tour DVD yesterday and during the second Rammstein track the lead singer pulled a fake penis through his zipper and it started spouting fake urine. He proceeded to “pee” all over his “gimp” keyboard player, then “pee” in his mouth and then “pee” all over the crowd.
Not that Marilyn Manson or Jonathan from KORN is all that normal.
I too am an American who lives in Germany. I live just north of the city of Kaiserslautern, in the southwest of Germany, and I’ve been over here just over a year. So far, I can say that Germans are actually quite normal. Sure, there are cultural differences. They have no front lawns, the shopping hours are rediculously short if you’re used to America (10-6 or 8 M-F, 9-2 or 4 on Sat, and closed on Sun), They drive much faster on highways (but much safer…I’ll take Autobahns over Interstates ANY day), but they’re still everyday people.
Germans (and most Europeans) take more time for themselves, exercise more (you’ll often see 70 year olds riding bikes), and are notoriously blunt. They say what they mean. Sometimes it sounds rude, but if you know that they’re just being honest, it’s not offensive. In fact, among the European countries I’ve been to, the Germans are one of the friendliest peoples I’ve come across.
As for Germans being more perverted or not… it probably is about cultural acceptance. Americans outwardly are more cautious about their sexuality and Europeans don’t mind showing. Both go home and spank each other the same way probably.
I haven’t finished my first cuppa joe yet, so I fear I haven’t read all of the responses. I probably shouldn’t even be posting without my caffeine. Anyway…
I think the “sadist” thing is just a stereotype. I think of films such as Necromantic and Necromatnix 2, which were pretty bloody strange. South Park has made a few references to German scheiss videos, which I think was poking fun at the stereotype. Then there’s that guy who put an ad in the paper looking for a victim to slaughter. He ate him. And we still tend to accuse Germans of sadism because of the wars. Certainly there are people in Germany who are into some weird things; but there are weird people here as well. I think it’s just that these particular stereotypes have somehow been attached to Germans, just as people in other countries have stereotypes about Americans.
FTR, I’ve only been to Germany (Munich) once. My visit was rather short, but I never heard of any bizarre practices. The only “weird” German I saw was in Stockholm. He was drunk and was wearing one of those early-'70s style suede hats and a fringed suede jacket and was being a bit obnoxious. But he was the only “weird” German I saw in five weeks in Europe.
Well, just about every serial killer I’ve read about who’s cooked and eaten his dead has been a German…except for all the Americans. Don’t think I’ve ever read about any French or British or Italian cannibals, but I’d love to see links.
Extra-Credit Reading Suggestion: Lustmord: Sexual Murder in Weimar Germany by Maria Tatar, Priceton University Press, 1995. Profusely illustrated!
I have no personal experience to share, but I thought it wasn’t totally a hijack to mention Mil Millington’s site in which he writes (hilariously so) about the perpetual protracted war that he (a Brit) engages in with his German girlfriend.
