I really don't understand Western views of things like sex and sexuality. From what I understand, considering the sheer number of organizations out there trying to regulate sex, in the Christian world sex is immoral. I have yet to figure out how this makes sense, and I wager it never will - especially since I come from a religion that has Kanamara Matsuri - the Festival of the Steel Phallus. Once a fertility festival, now it is a celebration of sexuality and a fund raiser to raise money for HIV/AIDS research. Oh, and it's still a fertility festival too, where people go to pray for increased intimacy in their relationships or to be freed from sexual dysfunction. This is a festival where the props and party favors are penises. That could never happen in this country, where Christian censors try to have Michelangelo's David's genitals covered over because they are indecent.

This festival is a place where all sexuality is celebrated. Queers of every stripe of the rainbow flag attend, as well as just regular people that aren't in a relationship of any kind. The locals of Kawasaka don't just support this debauched display, they are fiercely proud of it. They don't look at their festival as an outlandish pink penis parade like we would. If we had such a thing, it would be to shock people, embarrass people and elicit attention and immature giggles.

Here in a country where some people base their entire identity on sexual shock value, we could never have a festival where sex and genitals are just another thing to enjoy and be happy about. I wish we in this country just grow up.