Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Art or Pornography?





We Americans live in a superficial world where sex is a dirty word, but the media talks about it all the time, magazines, newspapers, movies, and tv exploit it at every turn. We, as a population, don’t talk about sex much....that is, in a serious way. Our WASP upbringing
won’t allow it. As a result, we have a sexually stunted population, that believes art is pornography, and the human body something to be leered and peeped at in secrecy.

It’s okay that women are half clad and prancing around the streets, in schools, on magazines, in
movies, and tv. But, controversy about the naked human body exists in the US at every turn. In Nashville, I have never seen such a to do about the statue in the roundabout that depicts naked muses.

Here is another example:

I sent a statue of Michelangelo’s David to someone I know (who shall remain nameless). The
family has two children. One of the children, was shocked and appalled at a naked man standing on a shelf in his kitchen, and complained loudly about it. What happened next? The father in the family made a diaper out of a napkin to clothe David.

What do you think about that? Art or pornography? What are we saying to our children? Is this an outcome of a country founded by Quakers and Puritans?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Karen, how true. This is definately a country of double standards when it comes to the humanbody and sexuality. Look at the superbowl half-time show a few years back when a certain "boob" was flashed....UPROAR. How come no one was offended however when the penial/erection medication was aired. Why would children be offended by a "boob" but not the knowledge that one could take a pill and get maybe a 4hr erection, would kids not ask what that was? or maybe in this country of such double standards they already knew.

You go girl!!!

Linda