What wonderful b*llsh*t. The only truthful segment from this piece was a description of how American women, once they are married and have kids, passively-aggressively avoid sex by growing fat.

Of course, men are to blame for this.

What a hoot! It's sad enough that we need a French person to bring this to our attention, but to have that person named "Clotaire" is beyond the pale.

What a bunch of horseshit. This guy sounds like some 9th grade girl who just came back from France or Italy for the summer and feels justified in supporting all means of cultural stereotyping (E.g. Europeans are just so much more open about sex).

And the 'cinq a sept'? What a load of BS. 'French people' do that huh? This is no more common in France than it is in the US

I am so fcking ready to leave this country and move to Europe and have been for a while. This guy CEMENTS it for me.

I was raised first generation American and I have never understood why a man and a woman cannot savor each other's company and move on to the physical dimension with open eyes to truly experience each other fully in mind and body.

Instead it is about the guy being a more macho douche than the next ahole. Yippee, a bodily invasion in the back of a bigger pickup (golly.. ironic) truck, preferably on intoxicants so you can forget about it the next day! Whoop!!!

and the American women deny this is what they want, but their real choices in men betray this.

then they complain the guy never talks, is bad to her, never calls, on and on.

I have been wanting to move to another culture, one I can understand, where I can live to ENJOY life, enjoy people, enjoy just being.

But it seems an alien notion even here in Austin, where intoxication and running away from things is 24/7/365.

and people wonder why I am so freaking bitter.

I was captivated by every word. The first couple of letters here astound me. Either you need to take a good look in the mirror, or you haven't traveled much. The differences he describes between America and Europe, especially France, are spot on. America is an adolescent culture, through and through. Football, fast food, BIG BIG BIG everything, prudish women and homophobic, pseudo-macho men, the love of sexual titillation in the media, but the fear of actual sex - it's like being in Junior High - FOREVER. Having traveled a lot, and for extensive periods of time, having lived in many different regions of this country, and having a mixed extended family that includes both professors and truck drivers, I find myself agreeing with everything he said. A very interesting article. Thank you, Salon.

I was captivated by every word. The first couple of letters here astound me. Either you need to take a good look in the mirror, or you haven't traveled much. The differences he describes between America and Europe, especially France, are spot on. America is an adolescent culture, through and through. Football, fast food, BIG BIG BIG everything, prudish women and homophobic, pseudo-macho men, the love of sexual titillation in the media, but the fear of actual sex - it's like being in Junior High - FOREVER. Having traveled a lot, and for extensive periods of time, having lived in many different regions of this country, and having a mixed extended family that includes both professors and truck drivers, I find myself agreeing with everything he said. A very interesting article. Thank you, Salon.

Western Europe is a dying civilization. For all the talk about faire l'amour, the French can't seem to roll up their shirtsleeves, pop out some babies, and REPRODUCE. France, Germany, Italy all have negative birthrates.

Some rural towns feel like a museum setpiece, with the young gone in search of jobs, no children, and the elderly tottering about.

Think of a whole continent of metrosexuals, and that's Europe for you. They are in desperate need of energetic new blood... but they do have very good manners.

Enjoyed this article immensely. As for the negative birth rate in Europe, wasn't that whiter-shade-of-pale bloviator John Gibson just complaining that if it wasn't for Hispanics, the U.S. would not be popping out enough babies either?

Yes, whenever someone mentions any aspect of European culture that's more desirable, or that simply works better, than American culture, you can feel the inrush of air from those preparing to instantly bellow that it is impossible for any aspect of European culture to be superior to ours.

But Clotaire Rapaille is a genius. He has earned every penny of the money that the auto industry has paid him, for perceiving the inner motivations underpinning American psychology. I believe I read in another article that the hoodscoops of the Camaro, made to resemble the flaring nostrils of the gorilla, or the grills and musculature of many big trucks, meant to evoke the clenched jaw of a threatening man, were made to his specifications. He works for the devil, but sometimes you find yourself liking one of those that works for the devil. I'll read his book.

The only group in America with any capacity for pleasure, or feeling of any kind, seems to be the gangster.

Actually, Europe is doing quite fine. Cities like London and Berlin are jumping, vibrant and energetic places in terms of culture, the arts, and economics. Don't forget, the Euro is currently worth more than the US Dollar, and has been for years. The economies of countries like Britain, Germany and France are doing very well. Unemployment? Yes, it's higher than ours is, but don't forget that even waiters there make a living wage, and there's a much greater degree of social safety nets. As for small, geriatric towns - have you been to the outlands of Arizona, Nebraska, or West Virginia? It's about the same. Of course young people with skills, education and drive high-tail it to the major cities. It's that way everywhere in the industrialized world. As another poster stated, Americans can never handle the fact that somewhere in the world, someone just might do something better than we do. We immediately scoff because, after all, AMERICA IS NUMBER ONE! That's why we're fatter, less educated, we die sooner, and according to studies, are less satisfied with our lives. We're constantly on the go, constantly moving, - we want more, More, MORE - bigger, faster, flashier - SUPER SIZE Me! This leads to a vibrant pop culture, and a country that leads in innovation, but it also takes its toll on us physically and emotionally.