Arguments Against Nude Statues

Now, the NEA wants to show the audience what they have developed. They want the audience to be entertained by the gorgeous amount of work of the art. The NEA also limits the graphics of nudity to show the public. According to Parachini, Allen in source C, “including, but not limited to, depictions of sadomasochism, homoeroticism, and the sexual exploitation of children or individuals engaged in sex acts.” Relating to the NEA it states to not let the children or public feel discouraged to have

Another issue with the statues are the actual subjects monumentalized. Notable people that are commemorated with having models of themselves publicly displayed are usually figures that the people of America are proud of, like Abraham Lincoln or Harriet Tubman. Confederate statues, however, are the exception; for they are monuments that represent the institutionalization of racism. “Our public spaces should not glorify historical policies of hatred and racism,” argues Kevin Kamenetz, executive and president of the Maryland Association of Counties (Eversley 2017). That single phrase perfectly sums up what people across the country are attempting to convey, and expresses the main issue that many have with these statues. No person who fought for the right to keep humans as property is deserving of modern honor.

What is the true cost of knowledge? Throughout history, books have been banned for an array of reasons ranging from inappropriate content, offensive language, and sexually explicit material. When proposing a challenge in hopes of banning a specific book from schools and libraries, those in favor claim children’s’ innocence should be preserved and that children should not be exposed to inappropriate material found within some books simply because it is part of a school’s required curriculum. In defense of these challenged books, many say the ethics of free speech and the important life lessons gained from reading books should be considered. Several books are banned within schools and libraries because of their potentially offensive or sensitive content; however,

In the Renaissance period women are almost invariably shown as completely passive and as an object for contemplation. The reclining female nude in the Renaissance raises questions of the male gaze more often than any other artistic stereotype. Female nudes were only an open acknowledgement of not only male desire but also the right males had to express that desire. A woman’s feelings when looking at such images of members of their own gender were never discussed or asked until recently.

The Jewish poet Heinrich Heine once said, "Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." Did you know that the Chinese government uses “The Great Firewall” of China to monitor and prohibit any dissent against the Chinese government?(Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer) These kind of actions are called acts of censorship and most of them are against the 1st amendment, law prohibiting that Congress can’t pass a law that establishes religion, or restricts the freedom of speech in America . Censorship is when a government or social group regulates the content in movies, books, and other types of media, and prohibits content they consider obscene or inappropriate. Another instance of censorship is when 20,000 books were burned in 1933 by the Germans in the beginning of the Nazi regime(Holocaust Encyclopedia). The grave incidents that happened on May 10, 1933 were a direct result of the German propaganda against anything Jewish and non-socialist.

It is very important to be aware that the media is capable of controlling the flow of information that citizens receive. Furthermore, much of the content suppressed in this country is for fear of retribution from others. When governments and other institutions suppress information, citizens are not able to address matters concerning their country, as well as around the globe. In ‘The Decline of American Press Freedom’ by Anne Applebaum, Applebaum explains a recent controversy with Yale University and the publishing of a contentious comic in a scholarly report on the global consequences of political comics. The comics in question were satirical in nature and displayed the Islamic prophet Muhammad in an offensive manner. In an aniconic religion where visual depiction of the prophet is inherently blasphemous, the Islamic response to these comics were violent. When an analysis of the comics and the cultural backlash was written, instead of publishing it, Yale University swept it under the rug for fear of offending Islamic extremists. Applebaum argues that if “Yale University Press refuses to publish [the comics], then that makes it much harder for anybody else to treat the cartoon controversy as a legitimate matter for scholarly and political debate” (Applebaum 640). By not allowing the publishing of this analysis, Yale University is censoring what the American populace have access to in terms of global controversy. The issue becomes trivialized because institutions fear retribution from extremist groups. Without these scholarly points of reference of this issue and others, it is difficult to have a serious conversations about the ramifications of political and religious satire. This leads to people remaining uneducated and ignorant of these serious issues, and liable to repeat these same actions that so sorely offended an extremist

In light of the recent Confederate statue debate, a Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 50% of likely voters agreed with President Trump’s tweet that it is “[s]ad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.”

They would say that they are simply acknowledging a part of America’s history. For example, an article from foxnews.com states that the National Portrait Gallery says, “’… the bust is in keeping with the museum’s goal to see the past clearly and objectively’” (Anti-Abortion Groups Demand Portrait Gallery Remove Planned Parenthood Founder Bust). I completely disagree with this defense because busts are not meant for people who have done such controversial and terrible things. The museum should just keep documents or have a plaque to explain her life and horrible acts that she committed. The National Portrait Gallery should remove Margaret Sanger’s bust because busts and statues are meant for people who have made a positive and incredible impact in the world. They are meant for the people who want to change the world for the greater good and not for destruction. For instance, Abraham Lincoln’s statue was created because he was an American president; he was the president who tried to get rid of slavery once and for all. He was for the people, all of them; he was in no way against any of

Ana Veciana-Suarez’s article titled, “A Senior’s Photo is Too Sexy for the School Yearbook” is an opinion filled piece about a senior’s controversial yearbook picture. The controversial picture is that of Sydney Spies, a 18-year-old high-school student. In the picture, the young woman is wearing a cropped black top, a yellow miniskirt and is posing with her leg propped on a black staircase. There has been a lot of backlash against the picture. Many people agree that the picture is too revealing and is inappropriate for a high school yearbook. Suarez, the author of this article voices her opinion not only as the mother of a high-school student, but also as a previous attendee of a Catholic high school. Suarez’s opinion in the article arises from her personal experience; she utilizes her own yearbook picture as well as her son’s yearbook to show that Sydney Spies’ picture is too risqué and is therefore, extremely inappropriate. The article, “A Senior’s Photo is Too Sexy for the School Yearbook” is poorly supported with little to no credibility; the article contains logical fallacies such as Ad Hominem, appeal to emotion and appeal to the people. The logical fallacies along with the overall lack of appeals (ethos, logos and pathos) make Suarez’s argument ineffective and poorly executed.

Anne McClintock’s “Gonad the Barbarian and the Venus Flytrap”, focuses a lot of attention on how from the beginning of history, women have been denied some of the basic rights and freedoms that have been essential to the way that men live. Starting back from the times where they couldn’t vote and when women were basically seen as property when wedded. Women today and even in the earlier days could not express their sexuality and could not show that they were sexual beings. Anne McClintock gives the idea that women should be able to have the things that men have and they should be able to express it in the same way as men. In this essay, I will analyze how Anne McClintock views pornography as a form of pleasure that is mostly consumed by men and how women are incorporated into the employment of the industry and even in the home setting.

The pornification (or alternatively pornographication) of the social world has created lasting effects in the lives of people that they must deal with every day (Dines 1998, p. 164). Pornification is the process by which the social and cultural world is sexualised. This occurs through the expansion of media technology and the pornography industry, as well as changes in media regulations and restrictions which allow pornographic imagery to intrude into public spaces (Tyler 2011, p. 79). This essay will offer explanations for why the pornification of the social world is occurring, how the phenomenon differs from a freedom of expression issue and is instead considered a sociological issue, what consequences and harm arise from these explanations, and will offer social measures that can be adopted in order to deal with the issue. Pornification has occurred in almost every realm of the social world, including in its unaltered form on the Internet, social media, marketing, advertising, music, fashion, sport, and art. However, this expansion of easily accessible pornified content is a stark and confronting challenge for our social world.

The reading claims that nudes throughout artistic history have been an important source of beauty and controversy. Nudes began to spike during the Baroque period as they were used for the more expressive and emotional arts of the time. In the nineteenth century, nudes became more common, yet became more sensitive. Artists would train by drawing nudes of ancient Greek statues and figures from myth. However, many artists would then move on to create works depicting prostitutes or peasant naked women. This would not please patrons as they were extremely societally taboo. However, this did not start artists from making them, as they moved into the twentieth and twenty-first century. This shows the importance of artistic nudes and their impact

Ethics Pornography is a social problem and is a commodity brought into existence by certain characteristics of a highly developed civilization. The problem with pornography is that any form of censorship or downplay cannot solve it. It is difficult to draw the line between ones right to express their ideas and or opinions or sexuality

The pornographic industry has not lost their viewers, and the constant leaks of female celebrity personal pictures demonstrate that society has always sexualized women’s body for their pleasure. McRobbie states that there is a modern movement where women are free to choose for themselves. Females are choosing to go topless to prove breasts are merely body parts. Celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Rihanna walk the streets with see-through tops, making the appearance of their breasts nothing but a fashion statement. Many allegations are made saying self-exposing breasts comes from a lack of self-respect. The question arises, is it only acceptable for women to be topless for the pleasure of others? Not in the current pop culture world. Women are free to make their decisions, and they have decided their breasts are not to be sexualized. If a woman’s breast is out, she is doing it out of choice and for her

Lastly, there are emerging issues observed in the media which involve people displaying their nakedness to the public. Such deeds demonstrate lack of self-respect, and there is no particular individual to blame since it was one provoked by only one victim and other people followed. Reading from the material provided concerns me that I should practice personal values and ethics and emphasize on self-respect and individual principles. It is important to me that I have learned to respect myself and not to be controlled by habits.