The Spanish in general are not a shy nor modest bunch. Any trip to the beach will make that abundantly clear before you even step foot onto the sand. This is not merely due to the fact that all beaches are topless (as in the rest of Europe), but also because you’ll see about one in every 20 people lacking any kind of swimsuit whatsoever. Now, some of them will strip down to their tighty whities, bikini briefs, thong underwear, bras – whatever happens to be under the clothes they showed up in –and jump right in the water or laze in the sun, while a smaller number will just get naked. There ARE designated nude beaches, all of which are gay gathering spots (are there any nude beaches in the world that are not?) but other beaches generally tolerate nudity, and off leash dogs, and just about anything else you can think of.  I know, I have posted about this before, but it is summer and it truly does deserve repeating because it is hot I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach. Moving on… Despite being a Catholic country, Spain’s citizens (refreshingly) have little to no interest in upholding any kind of biblical law themselves, much less deciding what anyone else should be doing. There are no zealots here, and people understand that you are what you are – and that is perfectly fine.

Case in point: Gay marriage is legal. In fact, I don’t know that is was ever even debated. Sexual orientation is such a non-issue here, it is hard to explain to a North American how the word “tolerance” isn’t used because it isn’t needed. Imagine this scenario happening in North America: The other day at the beach, I was watching a group of teenagers, I’d say all about 16 years old, interact over the course of a couple of hours. The group was clearly familiar, probably schoolmates, and while at first the girls grouped their towels separately from the boys, within an hour they were all together and a few couples were forming in the group. It was easy to see because public displays of affection are an everyday thing and Spaniards are quite demonstrative.  The group of ten young friends continued to enjoy their day as a few of them paired up, and not one of them blinked when two boys in the group paired off and clearly flirted and touched each other. They were a non issue, something that entire country has contact with every day. In my country, there would be staring, whispers, and then probably someone would get beaten up.

Another example of sexuality being a total non issue. About a month ago in Spanish class, we had an exercise where we read about seven different people and their struggles with learning a foreign language. The profiles included a little history and what they did for a living. When I came to the last profile, Antonio, his profile stated that he was 28 years old and “Amo de casa”. Ama de casa means housewife, so imagine my delight when I thought, good one Spain, I am going to read about this guy who stays home while his wife goes to work! (While openness regarding sex, masturbation and sexual orientation are the norm, Spain has not progressed quite as far with gender equality topics). Anyway, upon further reading, I discover that Antonio met his husband in France. So, yes he is an Amo de Casa — and his husband goes to work. Finally, let me share with you something that was on Groupon in Spain a few weeks ago: Yes, those are masturbatory eggs. They come in six…flavors, if you will, which, according to the ad, are described as (my translations):

• Spider:  Inhibits you in a web of pleasure, while jumping from thrill to thrill.
• Wavy: For the quietest moments.
• Clicker: It will prepared you patiently until it makes you succumb to a torrent of stimulation.
• Stepper: The one that produces the most intense sensations.
• Silky: It will envelope you without advance notice.
• Twister: It’s name says it all: You will feel a tornado!

Imagine this on Groupon in the US. People would have hernias. But Spain is unfazed by anything to do with masturbation or sex and doesn’t hide it. And while my American sensibilities still giggle like a school girl at this entire ad, it is kinda refreshing.