So after some recent facebook controversy concerning the above photo which i posted in a Toronto Pride Parade 2010 album, I've decided it's time to rant about NUDITY.
First of all, I don't see why anyone, especially my friends (who i thought were cool), should find fault with nude pictures online that were taken at an event where nudity was permitted. This naked dude marched down the street, uncensored, in front of thousands of people... so why can't a snapshot of that event be posted on facebook?
FB sent me the following warning email to notify me that my photo was being removed:
Seriously? Since when am I supposed to watch out for other peoples' children? Facebook is just like any other site on the internet... it's the parents' job to monitor what their children see online. Furthermore, I don't have any children on my facebook, so if any children do manage to see my photo, it would most likely be because facebook changed their privacy settings causing my profile to become public... not my fault. I completely admit that a fairly decent case COULD be argued for WHY facebook doesn't allow nude pictures to be posted, however the reason the gave me was bull....
But let's get to the real issue here. How can there actually still be people who are offended by naked people in events like Pride, or the WNBR (World Naked Bike Ride)? I'm not saying it's ok for people to strip/streak in EVERY situation, but in a world where celeb va-jay-jays are hidden by a couple pieces of string, and where obscenity of every sort is impossible to escape, why is it that people like this guy at pride are given so much flack. Come on society. Really.
So instead of attempting to articulate the rest of my feelings on the matter, I'm just going to add a bunch of pictures of nudity. I hope you enjoy, and I would very much like to hear comments on this matter. A final thought: What makes nudity obscene? What makes it tasteful? What makes it artistic? Who decides?
*If you liked this article, please upvote it here and digg it here ...thanks!*
PHOTOS FROM THE WNBR TORONTO 2010:
PHOTOS FROM TORONTO PRIDE 2010:
(taken by myself and found on PrideToronto's Flickr)
NAKED PEEPS WE SEE EVERY DAY:
NAKED CELEBS:
"ARTISTIC NUDES":
(all are from the "artistic nude photography" section of DeviantArt)
Posts
Facebook applies a totally ethnocentric view of what is appropriate. It appears to be based on meeting the offensiveness meter of fundamentalist religious zealots in the southern United States. For more evidence, just look at this group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2517126532
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, Blogger (a.k.a. Google) won't cancel your blog for this nudity but they may add a "content warning". Not because they decide but because there are lunatics out there who spend their time looking for things to be offended about so they can complain. Enough complaints and you get a "content warning".
Here's something that nobody seems to be able to explain to me: How are children damaged when they see nudity? Why is it OK to see violence but nipples and penises are bad?
Children should not be damaged by seeing a naked body. Parents should be responsible and decide what they want their children to see, no one else should be responsible for that...
ReplyDeleteParents should also create an open dialogue with their children and explain life to them honestly so that they are armed with knowledge which might help prevent them from getting into trouble later on in life.
I am not about to tell someone else what to do, however I would prefer my child/teen saw the beauty of the body without being ashamed rather than the violence that is readily available as indicated in the other comment.
I'm a naturist, and don't consider it offensive in anyway. The human form is art and something beautiful to be seen compared to all the violence and turmoil that goes on in this world. Keep up the great job of posting beautiful photos of people enjoying life at the fullest.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Maybe it was my BIG butt in the photo that they didn't approve of, lol.
I was also at Toronto Pride, and I was so thrilled by the really casual nudity and incredibly proud of the man in front of me who held his young son on his shoulders throughout the parade, and gave honest answers to any questions that came up. Even if children likely could find your pictures, there is something incredibly wrong with a world in which we believe nudity needs to be hidden from children.
ReplyDeleteI'm gay and I am a little unsure as to what casual nudity adds to our bargaining position.
ReplyDeletegoing back to the pictures above, I really didn't like seeing a naked kid riding in that parade. Kids should not be coerced into taking part in events like that....it just sends so many mixed/dangerous messages.
I guess I also have issues with how children are introduced to nudity and at what age this should happen. As has been stated above a dialogue between parents and children is key and I don't think a fair two way dialogue can be had at the age of 5-6 years of age.
Coming from a family of doctors, I knew what the human body looked like from... well, pretty much as early as I can remember. In my opinion, that's so much better than being exposed to violence and drug abuse. Naked = Natural.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say that I actually LIKE looking at old man butt, but you get the point.
"Kids should not be coerced into taking part in events like that"
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth makes you think he was coerced? Have you ever been around a small child? Children think nothing of taking all their clothes off, in fact if the weather is hot sometimes it's all you can do to get them to keep anything on. We are not born with a sense of shame about nudity (despite what the Adam and Eve story would have you believe), it is taught to us. Give children some credit, they learn an entire language from scratch by the time they're 3 or so, you really think they can't be taught the concept that nudity is appropriate in some situations and clothing is appropriate in others?
Words like "coerced" are emotionally laden. The fact is that as parents we have a responsibility to impart values on our children. Sometimes that means we "coerce" them to do things they don't want to do. As my children have grown up, I have "coerced" them into eating properly, brushing their teeth, playing fairly with other kids, telling the truth, etc... But having raised my kids to be comfortable with their bodies, I certainly don't need to coerce them into being nude. Like all children, they were born with a natural love for running around naked and free. The difference is that we never shamed them out of it.
ReplyDeleteit's not the nudity that's offensive; the celebrities we see nude every day are okay because 1)they are corporate sponsored, 2)they are sponsored BECAUSE they look like what companies would have us believe people look like, and what they believe is the only body type we should be allowed to see. notice how they're all "hot" women? the naked hippie girls were hot naturally, but that's not okay. can't sell a diet pill that makes you love the body you have.
ReplyDeleteEngaging post and comments! Ta for the interesting read, Ally.
ReplyDelete