Coed parties, alcohol and sex: The teenage lore of the American basement
There was plush, khaki-colored carpeting, an L-shaped couch, and a Wii game console that hooked up to a flat-screen TV, said Hughes, now 28 and working in health care in Philadelphia. Monopoly, Clue, and a couple of puzzles were stashed in the closet.
For decades, the basement has been the place where American teenagers go to grow up. At the bottom of the family home, separated from parents by a staircase and several layers of foam insulation, teens can test out things they’ve been told they aren’t quite old enough to try: R-rated movies, coed parties, alcohol, sex. In “That ’70s Show,” it’s where teenage friends retreat to smoke weed.
Around the same time, more and more American homes were adopting the technologies necessary for creating basements that were not, in Lichtman’s words, “really damp and gross.” Families installed air conditioners and dehumidifiers, and framed out a habitable segment of the space with sheets of drywall.While many families such as Hughes’ have transformed their basements into luxury hangout spaces, a basement doesn’t have to be fancy to hold teen appeal.
While basements are common throughout much of rural and suburban United States, there are certain parts of the country that don’t have them. In Phoenix, for example, the ground is too hard. In Florida, there is too much moisture in the soil. Across much of Texas, there are only a few inches of dirt before you hit limestone.
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