Attitudes towards sexuality

 One of the things that stuck out to me in Peru in general, but especially after we went to the exhibition about the erotic pottery, is the attitude towards sexuality that I have observed in what we have studied. Specifically, the not shying away from the human body or sexual topics that might need to be talked about that I feel happens all the time in the United States. This exhibition had any number of genitals and sexual acts depited on different vases and pieces of pottery, but they display itself was rather open, and the exhibition was laid out in a way that didn’t shy away from its contents, being a series of big, open rooms where you could see the entirety of the pieces from the doorway. If there were to be an archaeological discovery of erotic art in the United States that was made some 500 years ago, it would be an extrememly avantgarde, edgy, and most likely limited showing, with protests or some kind of reaction to this kind of art being displayed somewhere where an 18 year old could walk in. In Lima, this was treated with almost more maturity, this is a permanent exhibition, and viewers were calm, simply looking through the art before leaving. This is the same thing I think would happen if a movie like Madeinusa was released in the United States, and though there was criticism in Peru, the fact that the movie even made it off of the ground to be produced says something about the willingness to experiment and be open to conversations regarding sexuality, even that which is criticized and taboo in society. 

I’m not sure what the effects of this may be, perhaps it helps people be more open about the problems in society, maybe not. I know that this may be reading into things a bit too much, but there is definitely something to be said about the relative openness of Latin culture towards some ideas which are more taboo in the United States, though in other cases it is most certainty the other way around.