Police confiscated two posters from a Virginia Beach Abercrombie & Fitch store and cited the owner for obscenity.The images in question?
One poster shows a group of males running through a field, with one either pulling or pushing his pants down. "You can see the whole top portion of his buttocks," (police spokesman Adam) Bernstein said. "The other sign includes a female who's topless from the waist up, and you can see her breasts, with her hands covering the nipple portion." [dailypress.com]All this in a town where people parade their nearly nude bodies on the sand, wearing skimpy bikinis and Speedos that leave nothing to the imagination.
The definition of "obscenity" is expanding to include almost any display of human flesh, even when exposed in non-sexual situations. The recent FCC fines over the exposure of buttocks is a troubling development which opens up this portion of the anatomy as something to be feared and criminalized. "Mooning" someone could now be perceived as an obscene or perverted act.
What's next? The prohibition of male nipples? The banning of cleavage? Since some people have a foot fetish, are we now going to ban open-toe shoes or sandals? It's completely ridiculous, this American fear of the human body.
What is most disturbing about the Virginia Beach situation is that the officer himself thought that the posters were "pretty racy" and issued the citation.
"We strive for voluntary compliance, but when they weren't taken down we had to issue a summons," Bernstein said. "This is steps our city takes, because we have a reputation of being a very family-friendly city."These irrational censorships always take place under the auspices of being "family-friendly". No politician wants to be seen as being anti-family, so they always err on the conservative side in these issues, even when they turn a blind eye to the First Amendment rights guaranteed to the American people.
Censoring posters in a clothing store is stepping over the line, with police taking action that is outside their jurisdiction. Back in the seventies I remember shopping at Spencer Gifts, which was always filled with tons of "racy" material, and nobody ever complained. Today you can walk into any "family-friendly" bookstore, pick up any fashion magazine, and see a lot more skin that was on display in the Abercrombie store.
This type of police action has to be seen for what it is: fascism. The Nazis and the Fascists used censorship and violence to keep the population under control, to force them to get in line behind the warring policies of the dictators. Today we see a frightening rise in censorship, a growing trend in police using tasers to bring even peaceful protesters under submission, all under the shadow of a government who has taken us into a foreign war without end.
I'm surprised they just didn't taser the Abercrombie store owner.
8 comments:
The model was "topless from the waist up"?
Thank goodness she wasn't topless from the waist DOWN!
The police action was ridiculous, but of course it's also a trend—a disturbing trend.
Having said that, I have little sympathy for A&F. Their target market is young teens, and they routinely use highly sexualized marketing to hook into the raging hormones. IMHO they're not an ethical business.
It doesn't matter if A&F is an "ethical" business or not - it's unnecessary censorship, period. Don't forget that even Larry Flynt won his Supreme Court case. Sometimes freedom means having to live with some things that are offensive to some.
"Sometimes freedom means having to live with some things that are offensive to some."
Very well said.
"Sometimes freedom means having to live with some things that are offensive to some."
That's absolutely true, and nothing in my original post suggested otherwise. I've never called for any business to be shut down. My original post also states that the police action is one more in a disturbing trend. In other words, totally uncalled for me.
But my point about the nature of A&F still stands: they are a predatory company.
Dear luvnaturism, I never said that the comment you made was not accurate, just that it's beside the point.
I believe that Virginia beach needs to wake up and smell the coffee. They do know what year it is don't they? I mean come on. It's not the 1940's It's 2008. This is a year where people should see the human body as an art form. I grew up with people naked around me. I'm doing just fine on my own. When did someone come up with the idea that naked people is a bad thing. For they should get this message to them. Here's a secret under your clothing your naked. There shouldn't be anything wrong with a woman showing here breasts. If woman aren't allowed to show there extra pieces of skin then fat men shouldn't be allowed to either. They should be forced to wear bra's like us woman have to.
I happened to be in New York a few weeks back and walked past the A&F flagship store on Fifth Avenue. The huge front doors open into a vestibule. On the front wall I glimpsed a large (15 ft. tall) black and white photo of a male. I didn't think anything of it until I heard a woman who was also walking by start shrieking how "vulgar" that was. My curiosity having been piqued, I went back to take a look. It was nothing more than a photo of a nude male standing outdoors, viewed from his right side. He was holding a pair of jeans in his right hand such that his genitals and pubic hair were hidden. It's amazing how easy some people are offended.
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