> Introduction of democracy and women’s rights in Europe are good examples.
Which is why I said “religious” and “sexual preference”.
Jews were widely discriminated against even a few years after WW2; Muslims are a current whipping-boy; I’m not sure if Catholic-vs-Protestant is as big a divide in Northern Ireland as it looks from the outside, but it does look big; In the USA, Atheists are almost as disliked as Muslims.
Then there’s sexual preference. You’re fine if you’re gay (finally!), but not so much if you’re into BDSM or have any fetishes more complicated than underwear. Also, I have a friend whose sexuality was previously legal, but which was outlawed in half of Europe and half of the USA this century. I invite you to guess what that might be.
5-10% of the population are “into” BDSM, although sex surveys are notorious for underestimating things. Atheism is a curious thing to call a “bizarro religion”; likwise for different reasons Islam, given the latter has ~1.8 billion followers worldwide.
I seriously doubt that. 5-10% of what? the _US population_? I'm pretty certain that 5%-10% of the population have more serious and pressing matters than worrying about their sexual preferences.
USA survey, though I would be surprised if it varied by nation.
People have rioted over the legality of their sex lives, and people have gone to prison because consenting to certain acts was deemed to be conspiracy to some form of serious assault (against themselves) — so I’m inclined to think it’s both significant concern and a major part of personal identity.
And as far as "enjoying life" goes, it's an ever sadder view to place it anywhere aside from luxuries on a society were people are homeless, without healthcare, without steady jobs, working 2-3 jobs, and so on. Not to mention the huge loneliness and depression epidemic, with actual tangible effects on mental and physical health, and wether one can openly smack their partner and electrocute their body parts is quite far from a priority.
It's closer to the "right" to enjoy champagne and oysters than anything fundamental...
> Not to mention the huge loneliness and depression epidemic, with actual tangible effects on mental and physical health, and wether one can openly smack their partner and electrocute their body parts is quite far from a priority.
I don’t claim to understand BDSM, but I do know a fulfilling sex life helps with depression, and that being outcast for your sexuality can cause depression and loneliness.
Sex can be one of the few things left for the homeless and the dispossessed, and has been part of human culture since before the invention of medicine and money, never mind health insurance. Dismissing it as a luxury makes you sound like a French aristocrat (ironically, given where the ‘S’ comes from).
Which is why I said “religious” and “sexual preference”.
Jews were widely discriminated against even a few years after WW2; Muslims are a current whipping-boy; I’m not sure if Catholic-vs-Protestant is as big a divide in Northern Ireland as it looks from the outside, but it does look big; In the USA, Atheists are almost as disliked as Muslims.
Then there’s sexual preference. You’re fine if you’re gay (finally!), but not so much if you’re into BDSM or have any fetishes more complicated than underwear. Also, I have a friend whose sexuality was previously legal, but which was outlawed in half of Europe and half of the USA this century. I invite you to guess what that might be.