Westerners are quick to denounce customs in, say, the Muslim world that they perceive as limiting women. But in Germany, despite its vaunted modernity, a traditional perception of motherhood lingers.

The half-day school system survived feudalism, the rise and demise of Hitler’s mother cult, the women’s movement of the 1970s and reunification with East Germany.

Now, in the face of economic necessity, it is crumbling: one of the lowest birthrates in the world, the specter of labor shortages and slipping education standards have prompted a rethink. Since 2003, nearly a fifth of Germany’s 40,000 schools have phased in afternoon programs, and more plan to follow suit.

From In Germany, a Tradition Falls, and Women Rise in the New York Times.

I learned this lesson the hard way. I blogged about my breakup that started in February 2007, here, on Vox, and on Yahoo! 360. This was shortly before SXSW 2007.

Blogging was cathartic for me. But it also put my ex on blast, and opened us both up to a lot of questions about why we were splitting. I distinctly remember having uncomfortable conversations at SXSW about what was happening, especially since most of my SXSW crew had met the ex at SXSW 2006. The ex was also drilled by his rather large circle of friends and acquaintances.

I even argued with the ex about whether and where I should blog — Vox was the community where my peoples played; Yahoo! 360 was where his friend’s stayed, though I was connected to his friends there. If I had to blog, he wanted to know, why did I have to blog there and not where my friends were?

It made an uncomfortable situation worse — more for him than for me (win!) — but I decided that I’d rethink being so public about relationships in the future.

Then came Twitter, which, thanks to its ambient intimacy, made staying involved in my friend’s lives a lot easier. Even though we were, in some cases, separated by 2,100+ miles and three time zones, we still had this wonderful sense of connection.

SXSW 2008, then, was markedly different. I didn’t need to catch up on what was happening with my friends. We could just enjoy some real-world face time. I felt my online friendships slowly melting into offline ones.

One friendship in particular had changed in a palpable way. After some Twitter conversations, surprising dreams, and a series of private-plurks, I found myself on a plane to Los Angeles for Labor Day Weekend.

First and foremost, our trip was about seeing each other and having fun as friends. We have always had an easy way with each other, and some of the absolute best times I’ve had since 2005 — the year we met at SXSW — have involved him.

But we also knew this was about a potential love thing shaped by, if not directly attributable, to Twitter and Plurk.

We both live our lives in the digital public, and are generally open about things. We also, however, have a sense of privacy and boundaries. This tension came out in weird ways, particularly around whether and what to tweet. Is it an innocent tweet, or a double-entendre? Do I mention our visit to Frederick’s of Hollywood? What about those hilarious one-liners that are almost too good not to share, but would reveal what we did and how?

Ultimately, we were both concerned with how things would be (mis)construed. And what kinds of intrusive questions would arise from those who know us, and those who think they know us?

And while I’m at it, what about us? I’m not sure I was ready to officially state what was up between us, even though our friends knew instinctively. What’s said offline and hinted at through a carefully-crafted, semi-private tweet is, still, in many ways, deniable. If things didn’t work out, the details would be obscured if not concealed.

But what’s expressed publicly and tagged with my name? That’s big. And brave. And Google-able. And cache-able. It’s a huge leap of faith in our friends, our acquaintances, and most of all, in whatever this is between us.

Actor Doyle Reynolds does an amazing job of playing a total of 36 characters in two acts. He skillfully uses changes in voice, body position and gestures to draw each character for the audience. It’s truly an incredible performance.

The Pulitzer Award-winning script is based on playwright Doug Wright’s interviews with and research about von Mahlsdorf and her life. He captures both von Mahlsdorf’s life and the controversy surrounding her receipt of a government medal and involvement with the East German secret police (the Stasi).

Wright leaves the questions surrounding von Mahlsdorf unanswered, but explains why Charlotte is so important to gay history and identity: “I need to believe that a man could survive two of the most repressive regimes the West has ever seen in a pair of heels.” (I think that’s the exact line.)

Oh hell, I’m lying. Sex still carries a big honkin’ blush factor for me. There’s also the privacy issue: our friends, family and colleagues don’t need to know (and may not want to know) what Sweetie and I do or don’t do behind closed doors. Plus I’d probably need to find a new web host.

Add the fact hat I use this blog for career purposes and my parents are known to show it off to their friends, weeeeell, let me just say writing about sex here under my real name is just (erm, probably) not going to happen. But a pseudonymous blog elsewhere with a P.O. Box for a registration address? Hmmmm …

In the meantime, I’ll post (relatively tame) links to what other people are saying about sex. Behold! It’s the NQSFW link round-up … with varying degrees of crustiness age.

Homemade Sex Toys

Turn fruit, electronic equipment and computer hardware into vibrating sex toys. [Via Nerve]

How We Have Sex Now

The results of Esquire’s sex survey, available in the February issue. [Via Nerve]

Is Dakota Fanning in Kiddie Porn?

Where the line between kiddie porn and art gets drawn.

No Sex, Please; We’re Sony

Or why HD-DVD will beat beat Blu-Ray like VHS did to Betamax and leave Sony looking stupid once more.

How to Seduce a Mac Geek: A Macworld Sex Guide

More tongue-in-cheek than serious, Violet Blue does offer one good tip: arrange a post-conference hook-up with Bonjour. Sort of related: Saudi Youth Use Cellphone Savvy To Outwit the Sentries of Romance from last summer’s Washington Post.

The Dildo Song

An oldie, but a goodie: Three minutes of hilarity singing about sex toys. Even my mama laughed.

Related: Atlanta, GA: Sex Workers’ Art Show 2007