German couple shocked to learn that they must have sex to get pregnant - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

denim · 05-18-2004, 11:25 AM

If it's true, I really feel bad sorry for these people. OTOH, now they get to learn it all! Should be fun, once they manage to get over their own hang-ups.

nogoodreason · 05-18-2004, 01:26 PM

Can you imagine how awkward sex would be for the first time if you'd both lived to be adults and never even heard of how to do it? The speculation is fantastic.

Otherwise, this seems entirely impossible. They went to the fertility clinic. They tested his fertility. That means he had to cum into a cup. He, at least, had to have some clue that his wee-wee had some role to play in procreation. No matter how religious, it doesn't seem plausible.

gdr2004 · 05-18-2004, 02:34 PM

Is this a parody site? It has to be.

Gjefflin · 05-18-2004, 05:02 PM

I'm sorry. They MUST be retarded.

Nachimir · 05-18-2004, 06:32 PM

Bizarre!

I was raised a Jehovah's Witness with a mother intent on keeping me away from porn, etc, yet I still knew all about the mechanics of sex by the time I was eight (Probably one of the few things I wasn't naive about when I ditched religion).

I agree about the comedic value of that story

MSD · 05-18-2004, 07:27 PM

Urban Legend. Nobody is that stupid.

billege · 05-18-2004, 10:06 PM

I don't see it. Unless one lived in a vaccuum and never questioned anything, I don't see it.

I just can't imagine anyone so non-questioning and oblivious as to not figure it out.

Nachimir · 05-19-2004, 03:50 AM

It might not be true, but it's not entirely unbelievable.

If people grow up in an environment such as a non-mainstream religion or sect, where they intentionally segregate themselves from the rest of society, people are embarrassed to talk about sex or even think sex itself is sinful, they're told as kids that "touching yourself is bad, it's a sin", and every time they ask a question they're pointed toward the bible, it's perfectly possible.

If people are conditioned with enough guilt and fear, it can easily overwhelm curiosity.

Kostya · 05-19-2004, 04:57 AM

Quite clearly these religious zealots learnt sex education...

It's justthey failed to recognise that the story of the Immaculate Conception is an atypical example...

CSflim · 05-20-2004, 02:35 PM

From snopes:

http://snopes.com/pregnant/nosex.asp

Quote:

Sex is a subject which, because it has long been considered an inappropriate subject for public discourse in our society, is a particularly favorite topic of non-public discourse. We gossip about people who are having sex, we gossip about people who aren't having sex, and we gossip about people who are having too much sex. We titter about people who know too much about sex, and we chortle at people who know too little about sex.

The latter point is well-represented in urban folklore, which abounds with tales of sexually naive adults who don't understand what sex is, have sex the "wrong" way, or don't grasp the rudiments of birth control. Thus we have tales of childless couples who discover their infertility is due to either a complete lack of intercourse or to the husband's mistakenly penetrating his wife's urethra (because no one ever explained sex or proper sexual techniques to them), couples who use prophylactics by placing them on the ends of bananas or broomsticks (because that's how condom use was demonstrated to them), and women aghast at finding themselves pregnant even though they've been consuming contraceptive jelly.

(In Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, Doc Daneeka reminisces to Yossarian about his days in private practice, and he talks about a couple who once came to him because they were unable to conceive a child. Despite the couple's claims of regular sex, the doctor discovered upon examination that the wife was still a virgin. He used plastic models to demonstrate to the couple how to have sex the "correct" way, and a few days later the husband returned and punched him in the face.)

In May 2004, yet another news article reported the classic "couple discovers they're childless because they're not having sex" tale, this one supposedly involving a German couple who reported to an IVF clinic at Lübeck University for infertility testing, where the staff determined the cause of the couple's childless state was their having "never made love" — they thought all they had to do in order to conceive was "to lie next to each other and let nature take its course." (Their ignorance of sex was attributed to their having been brought up in a "strict religious environment.")

As far as we can tell, this recent version of the story originated in the 18 May 2004 edition of the UK newspaper The Mirror and was picked up from there by other news sources, including UPI. The article looks to be either a spoof or a hoax — the type of story one would expect to find in a supermarket tabloid — not only because it repeats a common urban legend motif, but also because:

* It has a lack of detail common to tabloid or spoof articles: The couple is identified only as a "husband" and a "wife" (with no quotes from either), and no name or title is provided for the article's single source of information, a university representative (he's merely an unnamed "spokesman").

* The spokesman states that it was only after the couple "were subjected to a battery of tests and both were found to be perfectly fertile that we asked them how often they had sex." In-depth questions about frequency and nature of sexual activity are generally asked of couples well before any actual fertility testing is undertaken, in part for this very reason (i.e., nobody wants to run a battery of expensive tests only to find out that some external factor was responsible for the couple's failure to conceive — like maybe the couple is engaging in sex infrequently, and always at a time when the woman is probably not ovulating.)

* The article includes some way over-the-top, buffoonish statements (ones not befitting a medical professional) based upon information supplied by the putative spokesman, such as: "We're not talking about retards here, but a couple who were brought up in a strict religious environment" and "The couple had read up about in-vitro fertilisation treatment but believed it was something to do with a 'turkey baster, a mattress and a woman standing on her head.'" (Would a couple so ignorant of the basics of sex and pregnancy really understand the concept of IVF?)

* No one we contacted at Lübeck University (at least, no English-speaking personnel — my command of German is nicht so gut) had any knowledge of this story

The Mirror hasn't responded to our inquiries yet, but we'd be quite surprised if this report turned out to be anything but a fictional bit of humor.

So although it's not definately false, that's where my money is.

Deominous · 05-20-2004, 03:13 PM

We all know that they were actually having sex. However to them it must have been such an intensely personal thing, certainly nothing they would ever want to share or get caught doing. I wonder how many trips they took to Thailand.

greytone · 05-20-2004, 04:50 PM

What is this "SEX" that you are all speaking of? It sounds like fun.

charlesesl · 05-20-2004, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Asuka{eve}
.......... This is a serious contrast from 70% of Chinese learn sex from internet pr0n.

If you are going to diss my people, at least show some prove.

ForgottenKnight · 05-20-2004, 06:58 PM

That's very funny. I can see how some people are ignorant to not know it, but I find it hard to believe that they were tested before asked how often they had sex.

Seer666 · 05-20-2004, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrSelfDestruct
Urban Legend. Nobody is that stupid.

Might be an UL, but there ARE people that stupid. I know. I used to work as tech support for AOL. :::SHUDDER::: So many morons....

forehead · 05-24-2004, 06:31 AM

Must be from the same household!

llama8 · 05-24-2004, 06:36 AM

Some people don't watch enough TV!

Averett · 05-24-2004, 07:16 AM

Quote:

... or to the husband's mistakenly penetrating his wife's urethra (because no one ever explained sex or proper sexual techniques to them)...

In other words... OUCH!

05-18-2004, 01:26 PM	#42 (permalink)
nogoodreason Insane Location: in your imagination	Can you imagine how awkward sex would be for the first time if you'd both lived to be adults and never even heard of how to do it? The speculation is fantastic. Otherwise, this seems entirely impossible. They went to the fertility clinic. They tested his fertility. That means he had to cum into a cup. He, at least, had to have some clue that his wee-wee had some role to play in procreation. No matter how religious, it doesn't seem plausible. __________________ I'm not sarcastic. I mean it.

05-18-2004, 10:06 PM	#47 (permalink)
billege Watcher Location: Ohio	I don't see it. Unless one lived in a vaccuum and never questioned anything, I don't see it. I just can't imagine anyone so non-questioning and oblivious as to not figure it out. __________________ I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence: "My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

05-20-2004, 03:13 PM	#51 (permalink)
Deominous Upright Location: South Korea	We all know that they were actually having sex. However to them it must have been such an intensely personal thing, certainly nothing they would ever want to share or get caught doing. I wonder how many trips they took to Thailand. __________________ If cannibals caught you how would you like to be cooked?

05-20-2004, 04:50 PM	#52 (permalink)
greytone Junkie	What is this "SEX" that you are all speaking of? It sounds like fun. __________________ I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing. Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

05-20-2004, 06:58 PM	#54 (permalink)
ForgottenKnight Jesus Freak Location: Following the light...	That's very funny. I can see how some people are ignorant to not know it, but I find it hard to believe that they were tested before asked how often they had sex. __________________ "People say I'm strange, does that make me a stranger?"

05-18-2004, 11:25 AM	#41 (permalink)
denim Banned Location: Massachusetts, USA	If it's true, I really feel bad sorry for these people. OTOH, now they get to learn it all! Should be fun, once they manage to get over their own hang-ups.

05-18-2004, 02:34 PM	#43 (permalink)
gdr2004 Crazy Location: CA	Is this a parody site? It has to be.

05-18-2004, 05:02 PM	#44 (permalink)
Gjefflin Insane Location: New York	I'm sorry. They MUST be retarded.

05-18-2004, 06:32 PM	#45 (permalink)
Nachimir Upright Location: UK	Bizarre! I was raised a Jehovah's Witness with a mother intent on keeping me away from porn, etc, yet I still knew all about the mechanics of sex by the time I was eight (Probably one of the few things I wasn't naive about when I ditched religion). I agree about the comedic value of that story

05-18-2004, 07:27 PM	#46 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	Urban Legend. Nobody is that stupid.

05-19-2004, 03:50 AM	#48 (permalink)
Nachimir Upright Location: UK	It might not be true, but it's not entirely unbelievable. If people grow up in an environment such as a non-mainstream religion or sect, where they intentionally segregate themselves from the rest of society, people are embarrassed to talk about sex or even think sex itself is sinful, they're told as kids that "touching yourself is bad, it's a sin", and every time they ask a question they're pointed toward the bible, it's perfectly possible. If people are conditioned with enough guilt and fear, it can easily overwhelm curiosity.

05-19-2004, 04:57 AM	#49 (permalink)
Kostya Little known... Location: Brisbane, Australia	Quite clearly these religious zealots learnt sex education... It's justthey failed to recognise that the story of the Immaculate Conception is an atypical example...

05-24-2004, 06:31 AM	#56 (permalink)
forehead Upright Location: Cincinnait, OH, USA	Must be from the same household!

05-24-2004, 06:36 AM	#57 (permalink)
llama8 Crazy Location: Leicester, UK	Some people don't watch enough TV!