Young people, particularly those in their 20s, often demonstrate an active sex life since the age bracket is largely characterized by the search for lifetime partners as well as settling down in marriage. However, youths in different regions show differing trends in the way that they approach their sex life, a factor that is greatly linked to the aspect of cultural, historical, and religious differences. Culture particularly plays a critical role in determining how young people approach their sex life. For instance, the culture of most parts of Asia is conservative, where most values found in the Asian culture discourage premarital sexual activity.
In contrast, Western societies, such as the UK are less conservative since they allow young people to live an independent life once they reach the adult age. Therefore, it is common to find young people in the UK indulging in sexual relations with one or multiple partners before marriage unlike in such Asian regions as China, Japan, and South Korea. The cultural differences have to a great extent influenced the places that young people chose to have their sexual relations. The conservative culture of Japan has encouraged the increase in the number or ‘love hotels’ in the region since sexual acts before marriage are forbidden by both culture and religion. Hence, for young people to engage in such acts, they use the hotels as secret places since they are afraid of condemnation by their families and the larger society.
Similarly, urban motels are increasingly becoming hidden places for sexual activity among young people in South Korea, and they are largely influenced by the concept of ‘love hotels’ found in Japan. The trends in Japan and South Korea differ from the UK in that in the UK, young people who own houses are likely to perform the activities in their own houses. However, for those who share apartments or are still living with their parents, some of the most common places that they indulge in sexual activities include vacation destinations, cars, sex clubs, and pay-per-hour hotels. This research paper examines urban motels in South Korea as the main places where young adults engage in sexual relations with the aim of comparing the places with similar hidden places in Japan and the UK.
Hidden Place where 20s British have Sexual Relationships in the UK
In the traditional context, Davies and Basuita (2017, p.30) argue that the 20s was considered the ideal age when young adults built relationships with members of the opposite sex for purposes of starting families. Davies and Basuita (2017, p.31) note that in the past years, the larger proportion of the UK population settled in marriage in their 20s. In the periods before the 20th century as well as the beginning of the century, very few people remained unmarried by the age of 30 (Davies and Basuita 2017, p.31). The tendency to settle in marriage at an early during this period is largely attributed to the fact that the cost of living and raising children was relatively low and young people earned decent incomes. The decent incomes allowed young adults to leave their parents’ houses and start an independent life, which commonly led to the early marriages. Davies and Basuita (2017, p.32) observe that the trend has changed significantly in the recent years with the larger percentage of young adults avoiding marriage until they are in their 30s.
The delay in marriage is majorly linked with the rising cost of bringing up children, which leads most young people to opt to build their careers and businesses before they can get married so that they can have adequate income to take care of their children and families. Currently, the average age of marriage in the UK is estimated at 34.3 years for women while that of men is estimated at 36.7 years (Davies and Basuita 2017, p.32). The delay in marriages in the young UK adult population is closely associated with the fact that although the UK culture allows for the independence of young adults irrespective of whether they are unmarried, a large proportion finds it difficult to leave their parents’ houses due to the present high cost of living and low-income Bessant, and Watts (2017 p.11). In instances where young adults do not live with their parents, they often opt to live in shared apartments to lower the cost that is associated with living and renting an apartment alone. Living in shared spaces denies young adults the necessary privacy to pursue their sexual life; hence, young people are increasingly looking for convenient spaces where they can meet for dating purposes or other sexual engagements.
Moreover, delays in marriage have influenced the emergence of a new culture, the hookup culture, which is synonymous with individuals in their 20s and early 30s in the UK (Garcia, Reiber, Massey, and Merriwether 2012, p.160). Given that the majority of young people in the UK are presently settling in marriage in their late 20s or early 30s, the young adults are left with nearly a whole decade of being single. The long period of singlehood coupled with the growing hookup culture influences most young adults to have multiple sexual partners before they decide to settle in marriages. Garcia, Reiber, Massey, and Merriwether (2012, p.162) maintain that the hookup culture is a reflection of the changing social and sexual trends in the UK and the changing sexual tendencies as indicated by the uncommitted sexual encounters that are synonymous with the culture. Moreover, the growing hookup culture demonstrates the idea that the UK society is increasingly shifting towards generally accepting uncommitted sexual relations rather than the traditional model that emphasized on courting and romantic relationships that almost entirely aimed at marriage. Garcia, Reiber, Massey, and Merriwether (2012, p.163) note that the hookup culture is rapidly becoming culturally normative; as a result, sexual activity outside of marriage and the traditional committed relations has significantly declined. Similarly, dating for courting reasons has also declined.
The hookup culture currently forms a large part of the popular culture in the UK, and its emergence and growth are closely linked to the social shifts that took place in the 20th century. Some of the factors that contributed to the growth of the culture include the increased use of automobiles and new entertainment, which minimized the involvement of parents in supervising young adults, particularly in the context of courting (Currier 2013, p.705). Less supervision of young adults during the period contributed to increased dating activities and created space for a greater peer-influences and permissive sexual culture. In addition, sexual content in the form of visual media become more available creating newer sexual fantasies in the young adults. Other factors that highly contributed to the advancement of the culture in the 1960s include the growth of feminism, decreased attachment of dating and marriage to the expectations of parents, frequent party events in college, and the availability of birth control (Currier 2013, p.711). These factors played a critical role in encouraging young adults to delay marriage, especially women who gained greater control over their sexuality with the teachings of feminism and the introduction of birth control.
Currier (2013, p.712) notes that the high rate of premarital sexual activities in the UK are commonly fuelled by the contemporary popular culture since it encourages uncommitted sex to a great extent. The popular culture mainly encourages uncommitted sex through media, which form the major avenues through which young adults access to sex education. Hookups refer to any sexual encounters that take place outside the contexts of formal sexual relationships, including dating and marriage. The majority of such encounters take place in pay-per-hour hotels, cars, and sex clubs. However, these places are also increasingly becoming popular for young couples who are formally dating but lack the needed privacy to meet their sexual needs, especially those living with parents or in shared apartments.
Heinemann, Atallah, and Rosenbaum (2016, p.144) argue that sexual behavior among the young people vary from region to region due to the cultural differences that each region possesses. In the UK, cultural, social, and historical factors are associated with influencing sexual behavior and sexuality among young adults in their 20s. According to Atallah, and Rosenbaum (2016, p.144), human sexuality refers to the sexual attraction that individuals portray towards each other. The authors note that there are diverse ways through which individuals can express their sexuality, including practices, thoughts, fantasies, desires, relationships, and attitudes among others. The manner in which individuals express their sexuality is manifested through socio-cultural, biological, physical, and emotional ways. Moreover, Heinemann, Atallah, and Rosenbaum (2016, p.145) postulate that the concept of human sexuality is influenced and largely influences the legal, cultural, political, and philosophical elements of human life, and it often interacts with such crucial aspects as religion, spirituality, morality, and theology.
The interpretation of the concept of sexuality in the UK differs from that of other regions in that the society grants young adults greater freedom to engage in sexual acts. However, this freedom has only been realized in the recent years; in the early 20th century and previous periods, unmarried young adults received greater parental supervision, and parents played a crucial role in determining the kind of people their children dated (Huang 2017, p.668). The society at the time was also patriarchal and strict, and clear gender roles were created around sexuality. According to Huang (2017, p.670), sexual norms in the UK mainly focused on the aspect of sexual possessiveness and controlling the female sexuality. Therefore, the society was characterized by male dominance and men had greater sexual power and freedom compared to women.
However, with the advent of the industrial revolution, feminist movements, and birth control women have gained greater control since they can make decisions on when to get married, get children, and indulge in sexual acts without getting pregnant (Hekma and Giami 2014, p.18). Further, the sexual revolution that took place in the UK in the 20th century, including the liberalization of abortion laws, and technologies for pregnancy control has enabled young adults to delay marriages as they pursue personal development and careers. In addition, the fact that feminist ideas granted women power to exercise control over their sexuality encouraged more women in their 20s to start indulging I premarital sex because they felt liberated from the norms and traditions that portrayed women who indulged in such practices to be of a lesser value (Hekma and Giami 2014, p.19).
The sexuality of 20-year-olds in the UK is also largely influenced by socio-cultural factors, including family cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, sex education, and the influence of the media (Berrington and Smith 2009). There are numerous religions in the UK, and each religious groups comprises of well-developed moral codes whose major role is to guide the sexual conduct if their members. Some religions hold sexual activity as sacred acts that are only permitted between married couples. On the other hand, some religions consider the acts as shameful, and they should only take place for procreation reasons (Berrington and Smith 2009). However, Berrington and Smith also note that some religions in the region emphasize the individual control over sexual drive and desire. Therefore, most sexual aspects, including promiscuity, use of birth control, and engagement in premarital sex are commonly dictated by the religious beliefs that one holds.
On the other hand, sex education plays a critical in determining the nature of sexual relationships that young adults create. The media is the key channel through which young people get to learn about sex in the UK. In this context, the media is responsible for shaping the ideals that refer to normal sexuality, including elements that enhance one’s body image and sex appeal. Further, the media is largely responsible for providing the social scripts that determine the sexual roles that men and women should play, including the scripts that define sexual relationships (Berrington and Smith 2009). The media achieves these objectives by sending diverse messages to the young people through such avenues as music, print material, and film among others. These messages then influence the way that the young adults express their sexuality as well as their sexual motivations. Although the media has been criticized for promoting sexual immorality in the UK, it is crucial to note that the messages that the media sends regarding sexuality resonate with the sexual practices that the dominant culture considers ideal.
Given the historical, cultural, social, and economic aspects that influence the sexuality of young adults in the UK, one of the key challenges that the young adults face in relation to their sex life is to identify the ideal time, place, and partner for purposes of sexual activities. The UK culture in relation to premarital sex has changed to a great extent over the year, and most people in the region are increasingly embracing sexual activity among unmarried young adults as a crucial part of a person’s everyday life. A study by Cornelio (2016, p.102) proved the shifting perception about sex by demonstrating that approximately 70% of the population in the UK has no objection towards premarital sex, revealing that there is an increase in the level of acceptance of the practice since in 1984, only 48% of the population supported premarital sex.
Hence, given the growing acceptance of sexual activity among the young British adults, the greatest constraints that the individuals face in their sex life are legal, religious, and economic (Cornelio 2016, p. 105). The legal constraints pertain to the idea that public sex is outlawed; an aspect that forces young people to search for decent places to indulge in sexual activities. The young adults are also faced with the role of selecting their suitable partners, and making decisions on appropriate sexual behaviors and the desirable age of consent, although these aspects are largely culturally determined. Currently, 20-year-olds in the UK enjoy more freedom in selecting their partners than most young adults globally, especially following the decriminalization of homosexual engagements in consenting adults that are aged above 21 years (Cornelio 2016, p. 105).
Based on the analysis of the key factors that influence sexuality among young adults in the UK, it is clear that some of the factors that determine the hidden places that young people choose for sexual relationships include economic, sex education, media, religion, and culture. Although the UK culture supports premarital sex among young adults to a great extent, the culture is also conservative in the sense that such activities require privacy (Escoffier 2008, p.5). Most people consider engaging in sexual activities in the presence of family members or friends disrespectful, a factor that makes it uncomfortable for young people to have sexual relationships in shared apartments or their parents’ houses.
The increased desire for young adults to have sexual relationships coupled with the economic, religious, and cultural constraints have therefore contributed to the emergence and growth of pay-per-hour hours. The concept of pay-per-hour hotels is a new development in the region since it contradicts the values of the UK people (Escoffier 2008, p.7). Traditionally, people of the UK are reserved in the aspect of expressing their feelings, particularly sexual feelings. However, the hotels almost explicitly reveal to the world and the attendants the intentions of the clients, an aspect that is not synonymous with the UK culture. On the other hand, individuals who shy away from the pay-per-hour hotels often consider getting their apartments where they can comfortably pursue their sex lives. However, owning an apartment is only viable for those individuals with financial stability, and who represent the smaller percentage of the young adults.
Therefore, most young individuals who cannot afford an apartment and do not prefer visiting the pay-per-hotels often utilize vacation destinations as their ideal places to engage in sexual relationships. According to Kelly, Hughes, and Bellis (2014, p. 10052), more young adults from the UK are travelling abroad for vacations with the aim experiencing other cultures, nightlife in the international resorts, as well as using the moments to engage in sexual acts with their regular partners or the new partners that they meet during the vacation. Commonly, sexual activities that occur among the young people in international resorts are highly linked to the use of alcohol and other illicit drugs, often causing the individuals to have unprotected sex as well as having multiple partners (Kelly, Hughes, and Bellis 2014, p. 10053).
However, going on vacations is expensive for most young people, and they only afford to go on such trips a few times in a year. Hence, for young unmarried couples, it is unviable to only meet during vacations since they are also in the process of learning each other, especially if they are aiming at marriage (Kelly, Hughes, and Bellis 2014, p. 10053). As a result, most young people still prefer going to pay-per-hour hotels since they are convenient, given that they are locally available. Further, the hotels are cheap since clients pay on an hourly basis, which makes them more affordable than vacations, and accessible several times a month.
Moreover, unless one has a natural dislike for the places, the hotels provide young couples with the necessary privacy, particularly for the young unmarried adults who face cultural and religious constraints. In addition, cars are also increasingly becoming preferred spaces where young adults can engage in sexual activities (Hughes, and Bellis 2014). Most young people opt to have sex in their cars since it is decent, convenient and cost-friendly. Sexual activities in cars are common at night, when the young couples are away from the public eye since such activities could attract legal activities because they are categorized under the outlawed public sex.
Another common place where young adults in the UK go to satisfy their sexual desires are sex clubs, also commonly referred to as swinging clubs. Kelly, Hughes, and Bellis (2014, p. 10055) attribute the growing popularity of sex clubs among young adults to the increased availability of pornographic content, which exposes the individuals to new sexual desires and fantasies. Such desires and fantasies include indulging in group sex activities, and exchange of partners, a practice that is commonly known as swinging, among others. These activities cannot be found elsewhere, and with the legalization of the clubs, more young adults are willing to experience these new trends (, Hughes, and Bellis 2014). The clubs are also becoming popular due to their high levels of privacy, which encourages the young people to explore their sex acts without fearing getting exposed to their families or the world. In some swingers clubs, clients are expected to wear masks to protect their identities.
Understanding the changing trends among the young adults in the UK remains crucial in facilitating the establishment of ideal policies that seek to protect their health as well as their general wellbeing. The modern UK society is demonstrating increased acceptance of the fact that the current economic environment is causing young adults to delay marriage as they pursue career growth and financial stability. Hence, the society is accepting the fact that the young adults have sexual needs that need to be met despite their single status since most individuals are settling in marriage above the age of 30 (Escoffier 2008, p.9).
However, the modern society has failed to provide the ideal spaces that the young people require to enjoy their sex life. For instance, young adults still encounter economic, religious, and cultural barriers to exploring their sexuality. These factors have led young people to identify areas where they can enjoy their sex life away from the society, including sex clubs, pay-per-hour hotels, cars, and vacation destinations. Although these places are considered ideal for the young people, (Escoffier 2008) notes that they pose significant health risks to the young adults since they create an environment that highly encourages irresponsible sexual behavior, including promiscuity among others, therefore increasing the risk of contracting HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Love Hotels in Japan
According to Lin (2008), love hotels are commonly referred to as rabuho or rabu hoteru. The hotels are a crucial part of the Japanese society since they provide young adults with ideal spaces where they can meet their significant others for purposes of dating or sexual activities without necessarily attracting attention from the public. The Japanese culture is mainly characterized by extended families living together, which illustrates that the nature of family arrangements make it challenging for young unmarried couples and lovers to access the important privacy for their sex life. Wakabayashi (2003) observes that most homes in Japan comprise of thin walls and small rooms, which deny young couples the privacy that they may require in the family setting. Moreover, the Japanese lifestyle, which is family-oriented, encourages several generations to reside under one roof, a factor that denies young individuals an opportunity to enjoy privacy in dating. Hence, Wakabayashi (2003) argues that the emergence of love hotels has been of vital importance to young adults in Japan since they provide them with the necessary privacy and anonymity to pursue their sex life, therefore, resolving the challenge of lack of spaces for their private lives.
Love hotels are important to the young men and women since they provide the essential solution to the sexual desires of individuals in their 20s. Love hotels in Japan possess a unique history, and their nature and roles have changed significantly over time. Ihara (1964) notes that love hotels in Japan are believed to have emerged during the Edo Period (1600-1868) when lovers engaged in sexual activities with prostitutes in teahouses found in Edo and Tokyo. Similar to the modern love hotels, the procedures of getting into the teahouses remained discreet, where the lovers entered and left the teahouses through hidden tunnels. The teahouses were synonymously associated with prostitution since they did not provide space for couples. However, in the 20th century, the trend changed with entrepreneurs beginning to establish similar facilities that catered to the needs of couples (Ihara 1964). Investment in the sector led to the tremendous growth of love hotels in Japan with the peak in the expansion of the establishment being realized in the 1980s with the Japanese economy boom.
Unlike other cultures in Asia, the Japanese culture demonstrates greater openness to sexuality, as illustrated through the region’s dominant religion, Buddhism, which celebrates and accepts erotic art. According to Wakabayashi (2003), erotic art in Japan can be traced back to the 17th century. Engagement in sexual activity was common practice and widely accepted in ancient Japan; however, this idea changed with the introduction of the Western culture in Japan in 1868, which regarded the practice of prostitution as immoral (Wakabayashi 2003). Despite the portrayal of prostitution and premarital sex as immorality, young adults in Japan continued to indulge in the practice since the traditional Japanese culture maintained the importance of making marriage permanent only after a woman proves her fertility through conception and childbirth.
According to Lin (2008), many aspects of the Japanese culture that relate to sexual activities among young adults have changed in the recent years. For instance, the marriage age has increased, whereby most young people opt to delay marriage or remain single for the greater part of their lives as they pursue careers or other personal interests (Dales, 2014). The delays in marriage have created room for young people to have indulged in sexual activity with multiple partners before eventually settling in marriage. The Japanese society differs from the majority of societies in Asia and across the globe in that it accepts sex as a pleasure activity unlike in most regions where it is reserved for purposes of procreation or for individuals aiming at starting families. The Japanese cultural attitude towards sex is different from the Western attitudes in that the activity is not considered to be immoral, an aspect that creates an ideal environment for the growth of love hotels, whose major objective is to provide spaces for young Japanese adults to access sexual pleasure.
According to Kobayashi (2017), love hotels play a critical role in decreasing the rate at which young adults in Japan are becoming asexual. Kobayashi examined 9940 young Japanese in their 20s and early 30s and established that young adult men were increasingly losing interest in sexual activities and dating. Kobayashi (2017) further noted that in the 1930s, approximately 98% of all the adults in the region were married, emphasizing on the idea of the loss of sexual interest among Japanese men since his study established that approximately 24.2% of adult Japanese men had not been married. The study also revealed that a notable percentage of young Japanese women were becoming asexual. However, more men than women were found to be asexual, an element that is closely associated with the fact that more young Japanese women visit the love hotels compared to the men (Kobayashi, 2017). Kobayashi, therefore, concludes that in the absence of the love hotels, the number of asexual young Japanese adults could be much higher.
In addition to preventing young adults from becoming asexual, Drillinger (2007) argues that love hotels are essential to ensuring the wellbeing of Japan as a nation. The Japanese government expressed concerned for low sexual activity among the young people since it poses a key threat to the decline in the country’s population in the coming years. Significant population decline would decrease the country’s workforce, forcing the region to import labor, which is a more expensive approach compared to utilize the local labor. The government has since implemented such measures as funding speed dating to reverse the trend. Further, Drillinger (2007) argues that given the role that love hotels play, their growth is crucial in reversing the trend of low sexual activity among the young people.
The significance of love hotels in the Japanese culture has been a subject of debate for many years (Lin, 2008). One of the key arguments for the establishments is that they are crucial to meeting one of the key human physical needs, sex. According to Lin (2008), the set-up of Japanese homes makes it extremely challenging for young unmarried Japanese couples to indulge in sexual activity since most families live in shared small rooms. The homes are also occupied by married couples, young children, and elderly parents, making the environment inappropriate for the unmarried individuals residing in the homes to engage in sexual activity or have some private time with their lovers. Therefore, the lack of privacy in the home settings makes love hotels ideal spaces for young adults to meet their sexual needs.
Moreover, the love hotels play an essential role in enabling young Japanese adults to confirm their adulthood since the adults receive little sexual education from their parents and the school system (Drillinger 2007). Sexual discussions between parents and their children is a rare event in the Japanese culture, an element that forces young people to learn about the subject from other avenues, including online platforms, magazines, and peers. Schools, on the other hand, only teach about using contraceptives and abstinence, which leaves young people with limited knowledge on the subject. Lin (2008) observes that the sexual education curriculum in Japan majorly focuses on family planning and sex in marriage, an aspect that is closely linked to the rising number of Japanese adults that have not had a sexual encounter in their late 20s. Hence, love hotels are crucial in the Japanese society since, in addition to providing ideal places for sexual activity, they also provide an ideal environment for young adults to construct their self-identity (Lin, 2008).
Moreover, love hotels are important for young Japanese adults since they help them to separate their lives from their intimate experiences adequately. Most young adults in Japan, both men, and women, are focused towards growing their careers (Chaplin 2007). Therefore, they chose to separate their sex life from their work and family by considering visiting love hotels rather than inviting their partners at home or their private apartments. Japanese ladies prefer going to love hotels than visiting their boyfriend’s apartments or inviting their boyfriends to their houses to protect their privacy and the purity of their spaces. Lin (2008) postulates that Chinese women commonly perceive sex as a pleasurable activity that belongs to the outer sphere of their lives.
Further, Chaplin (2007) argues that the existence of love hotels is not only crucial for meeting the needs of the young adults in the region but also as a cultural symbol of change from the traditional practices of consuming sex in marriage institution to the concept of consuming sex outside marriage. Chaplin (2007) maintains that similar to other cultures, the traditional Japanese culture encouraged sexual activity among married couples mainly for procreation purposes. However, the idea perception of sex has changed globally, and people are increasingly embracing the activity for purposes of pleasure. Hence, the growth of love hotels in Japan is a symbol of the shifting cultural views, whereby practicing sex outside marriage is presently viewed as acceptable and normal in Japan.
Love hotels have also helped in promoting the idea of independence in the Japanese society, particularly among the young people. According to Lin (2008), the term independence has different meanings to different people; however, in the context of young Japanese adults, the term refers to the ability to enjoy one’s preferred lifestyle choices. Independence refers to the ability to have control over one’s life; hence, love hotels allow this independence by providing the necessary spaces that young Japanese adults require to meet their sexual needs without the discomfort that is associated with exposing one’s private life to the world (Lin 2008). The hotels also create room for women to stay away from their sexual partners, therefore helping in avoiding the complications that surround intimate relationships, including the interference by parents and other family members. Another way in which love hotels help in promoting independence among the young adults is creating an environment where women can pay or share the responsibility of settling the hotel bills. The idea of women settling bills creates a sense of independence since they no longer feel like they owe their partners, which minimizes the expectations of the men over their female partners, therefore creating a sense of equality among the genders and greater respect for women.
Furthermore, the recent expansion in the growth of love hotels in Japan is largely associated with the culture of hard work, which is a key value in the Japanese culture. The culture encourages the Japanese people to work hard in their careers, often leading most people to put their career before family or relationships with the members of the opposite sex. Presently, most young adults focus on building their careers after schooling; therefore they immediately search for work and begin building on their skills and experience in their field of work. The need to build careers often leads some young people to devote all their efforts towards work. In some cases, young adults are forced to work for long hours as they seek to attain their career goals, an element that denie
