We've been learning about homebirth, child care, and euthanasia for the past two days. One thing I've realized from being here and from learning in the classroom is that the Dutch are extremely pragmatic. If they see a problem, they try to hit the nail on the head and fix it as swiftly and simply as possible. So - when it comes to euthanasia, if there are people who want to end the their suffering, the Dutch decide they might as well administer a safe way of doing so. Rates of people who are actually euthanized are surprisingly quite low in the Netherlands. I believe when you give people all their of options and nothing is novelty, outcomes are typically better. For example, abstinence is not even taught in health classes here. Sex is accepted as a normal part of life, and teens are taught about safe sex at an early age. The levels of teenage pregnancy are extremely low in the Netherlands, and I believe that's because they do not treat sex as a taboo. On Wednesday, we're taking a trip to two other cities, Dordrecht and Den Haag, to visit hospitals and learn more about euthanasia, and I am fascinated to hear more takes on the subject.
Tonight, we wandered around the canals by our class and ate dinner and a little bar. The waitress literally hated us and kept giving us the evil eye. Americans get a really terrible rap and it kind of sucks because it turns us into a huge stereotype . I 'm the first to admit that Americans can be weird and annoying - but it does not mean we're all uncivilized and loud and obnoxious. It's been surprisingly hard to be taken seriously when you look young and you only speak English. We spent an hour trying to get the check and finally made our way out. A few people wanted to go to a pub that night so I went home to shower while some other girls went to get wine and cheese.
Since I was the only one who had not been out in Amsterdam yet, my friends decided to show me the Red Light District on our way to the bar. This is something I have come to have extremely mixed feelings about. Clearly, the Dutch are known for their liberal social policy and pragmatic outlook. Prostitution happens in every country, so why not legalize it, normalize it, and regulate it? Going into this trip, I supported the Dutch way. I've become a pretty adamant feminist in the past year, and I am all for female autonomy. If a woman wants to sell her body, shouldn't she be allowed to? If prostitution is inevitable, isn't it a good idea to regulate it? Make it less of a novelty? It turns out there are still serious problems with sex trafficking here, which I did not realize prior to starting class.
When I walked into the Red Light District, I did not expect to have such a strong reaction. I felt SO weird when I saw the nearly naked girls in the windows. I felt even weirder when I saw a man casually strolling out of one of the girls rooms. And I felt angry and disgusted when I saw men banging on the windows and talking to the women while their friends stood a few feet away bent over laughing. Seeing the women objectified like that made me want to cry, scream, and punch things. How can these men be so disgusting, I thought to myself. But wait, the woman is choosing this. But is she? It's all really confusing and I honestly do not know how I feel about it. We're doing a unit on prostitution in class soon, and I cannot wait to learn more.
I do not have any pictures from the Red Light because that just felt fucked up, but here are some pictures I've taken on my way to and from class!
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