Why Dutch people don't mind you peering into their homes

For many visitors to the Netherlands, one of the great discoveries when wandering through the streets of Amsterdam or other towns and cities is that you can often take a look inside people's homes when it gets dark. That's because many Dutch people never close their curtains or blinds. Often, people don't even have curtains or blinds.

At a time when coronavirus restrictions are confining people all over the world to their homes -- with only a window for contact to the outside world -- this national quirk seems even more intriguing. The Dutch themselves don't think it unusual. It's so interwoven in their culture that researchers have struggled to figure out exactly why people in the Netherlands care so little about their privacy.

Those who look for an explanation for this rather curious exhibitionism quickly get caught up in major sociological tangles. Is it an "I've-got-nothing-to-hide" or a "look-what-I've-got" mentality? Or both?

Marianna Beets, 51 lives on the ground floor

I have lived here for over 25 years, but it's only for the last 13 years I've not had anything to cover my windows. Thirteen years ago I demolished my old house and built the one I live in now. Buying curtains was on my to-do list, like hundreds of other things, and apparently the curtain part wasn't that urgent since I still have uncovered windows in the living room. The room is located directly on a street and canal in Edam, a touristy fishing village next to Volendam, where I'm originally from.

There are always people walking by. Sometimes they stop and stare. When I wave they get shy, promptly aware of what they were doing, but most of the time they smile and wave back. I don't mind. I like watching tourists and the interaction. I think otherwise I might feel secluded and this way I am always in contact with the outside world. It's an extension of my house. It's gezellig.

I understand why people peek inside, I enjoy it too. Other people's interiors inspire me and the best time to do so is at night when it's dark and the lights are on. When I was living in Amsterdam I had neighbors who were not aware of the possibility they could be seen because they lived on the fifth floor, but I saw things that did not belong to my eyes!

I have no problem walking through the house in only my sleeping shirt and undies. Only on Sunday morning, during the Sunday Mass in the church across the canal, I make sure I'm more covered. In the end I do want curtains, for sure. It's on my list again now I have more time due to corona. Why? Because I want to have a choice. To close them, or keep them open.

Hier het hele artikel. Foto Puk Beets.