Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a traveler on a tropical-paradise
islet leaning up against its only
palm tree, hands behind his head,
reading a book that's supported
by his erect penis. Preschool-
ers play naked in fountains in
Norway. A busty porn star is
elected to parliament in Italy.
Coppertoned grandmothers in
the south of France have no tan
lines. h e student tourist center
in Copenhagen welcomes visi-
tors with a bowl of free condoms
at the info desk. Accountants in
Munich fold their suits neatly on
the grass as every inch of their
body soaks up the sun while tak-
ing a lunch break in the park.
I'm not comfortable with all of this. During a construction industry
convention in Barcelona, locals laughed that they actually had to bus in extra
prostitutes from France. I i nd the crude sexual postcards on racks all over the
Continent gross, the Benny Hill-style T&A that inundates TV throughout
Mediterranean Europe boorish, and the topless models strewn across page
three of so many British newspapers insulting to women. And I'll never forget
the time my wife and I had to physically remove the TV from our children's
hotel room in Austria after seeing a couple slamming away on channel 7 (and
the hotelier looked at us like we were crazy).
Comparisons with America are striking. In our culture, a children's
TV star is routed into obscurity after he's caught masturbating in an adult
theater. A pop star dominates the news media for days after revealing part
of her breast for a split-second during a football halftime show. During one
particularly moralistic time, statues of classical goddesses gracing our nation's
Capitol were robed to protect easily of ended eyes.
An early edition of my art-for-travelers guidebook featured a camera-
toting
David
—full frontal nudity, Michelangelo-style—on the cover. My
publisher's sales reps complained that in more conservative parts of the US,
bookstores were uncomfortable stocking it. A i g leaf would help sales.
