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There's a Finnish expression for this: you can see, but you do not look. For example, it's accepted that everybody in a sauna is naked, but you wouldn't go ogl
by jpatokal 11y ago
There's a Finnish expression for this: you can see, but you do not look. For example, it's accepted that everybody in a sauna is naked, but you wouldn't go ogling at somebody's genitals -- even if they're the opposite sex.
It's "wilful privacy", if you will: as long as everybody respects the privacy, everything stays private, even though it takes only one person to break the illusion.
- themartorana 11y ago"Look with your eyes, not with your hands" is also a popular saying in saunas. So I hear. I wouldn't know.
- tajen 11y ago"Touch with your eyes, not with your hands"? Or am I used to museums?
- Symbiote 11y agoAnother example: many Nordic people don't close the curtains, so everyone could see inside. But the shame is on the person looking, who is violating the expectation of privacy.
- kwhitefoot 11y agoLots of windows here, Norway, don't even have curtains that can be drawn all the way across.