Lifestyle

[fzintzock]

not illegal if you don't get caught

 

[serpentwrap]

I think Europe on teh whole is far more liberal on these things than the US. There might be a few exceptions, but they do prove the general liberal attitude of Europe.

 

[catalina_francisco]

not illegal if you don't get caught

Actually, whether you are caught or not does not alter the legality of anything, just the outcome.

Catalina

 

[verdante]

uk

i'm not sure about bdsm over here....though there are more and more on places like fetlife...but non-typical sexuality is quite accepted, e.g. swingers bars are fairly open...doesn't exactly answer your question, though hope it gives some perspective. As for the legality issue, it's only in extreme cases that people are found to have broken the law, i.e. in scotland a man accidently killed his wife, ruptured her bowel while doing anal with a whip, and a few guys ended up in hospital after nailing foreskins to chopping boards etc...and they were found to be criminal. (sorry...law student)...so yeah, i think it's probably about the same as the liberal US states

 

[DVS]

I'm in the uk and have bought a good 50% of my sex toys on-line, not tried Amazon specifically and having just checked it out i am rather surprised that they don't seem to sell vibes or dildos, although there are a few 'massager's' listed.

It's not a general issue though, there are plenty of places to openly purchase lots of lovely toys and equipment both on and off line over here.

I'd guess you can probably buy just about anything over there right now with the Olympics logo or rings on it...well, except a dildo.

 

[DVS]

The U.S. has a liberal front in many ways. We have sex shops where you can purchase things, but many of them are expensive. And because of what they sell, you usually have to go into unsavory parts of town to shop there. On line is a much easier and even safer way of purchasing toys here. They all come in brown wrappers, so nobody knows what you're purchasing, unless the wrapping is maybe torn open or you live in an apartment and your neighbors call the cops about a suspicious package Fed Ex left at your door.

We also have an issue with sex and jobs. And it doesn't have to be kinky sex to disturb an employer. Many employers don't like to see their employees associated with unusual or what they would call unacceptable situations that bring the company into a bad light. Any unwanted publicity is likely to get you kicked out on your can, especially if the company is in an "employment at will" state.

So, we might seem very liberal on the surface in some areas, but some of that liberal skin is pretty thin. If you were to scratch the surface, the mean, conservative, religious skeletons are revealed.

 

[desertslave]

There are longstanding problems with toys on several mixed venues. Ebay did a massive overhaul and rejection of their "adult" section about 8-ish years ago, largely due to pressure by the Bush/Ashcroft administration. Asscroft has major issues with hand-made sex toys and 'drug paraphernalia' and very nearly destroyed the businesses of several glass artists in the process.

Fortunately, other venues have gradually picked up the slack, but the damage was pretty deep.