Help Me Find This Old Science Fiction Story

A science fiction story I read as a young teenager made an indelible impression on me. I don't remember many details, and it might certainly have been a terrible piece of schlock instead of, say, a worthier Arthur C. Clarke exercise — no idea.

What I do remember is the broad plot line. A traveler (a police inspector, I think, though that could be wrong) arrives on another planet (or on our own planet at a time in the future), and finds that social mores are radically different. When he wants to eat something in public, the local humanoid population erupts in shock, horror, and indignation; the second-most natural act in the world has become utterly taboo.

Even at the time, it struck me as a comment on society-wide sexual repression, though my teen hormones probably led me to see nookie references literally everywhere.

Anyway, if you know what the story is called, and who wrote it, I've long been dying to find out.

Comments

You may be thinking about "Space Cadet", by Robert A. Heinlein. The cadets crash land on Venus, and the natives consider privacy when eating paramount. The cadets use that to gig them on lack of manners when the cadets are all jailed together, without any privacy cubicles for eating.

I'm pretty sure Heinlein used the same device again, maybe with Martians this time. Anyways, I'd start re-reading the Heinlein juveniles if I were you. They're still fun to read, anyways.

[Leah]

That's interesting - I'll have to check it out. To me, it sounded a lot like our culture's attitude toward breastfeeding. Especially extended (past 1 year of age) breastfeeding. Perhaps that's because of my current life situation, but thanks for bringing it to my attention - I'll have to read it and see if the analogy holds up...

[DAve]

Check with vox day @ vox populi