Nudity as Art; Male vs. Female

After watching the film in class titled, "Dirty Pictures," our seminar group had a really awesome discussion. We covered topics such as the difference between male and female nudity and how it is viewed by society. Some argued that the nude female body is more accepted in society, such as breast feeding any time or place. Yet, others argued that the male nude body is more accepted, for they can walk around in public with their shirts off and women cannot. Societal norms vary from culture to culture. There are restaurants in Spain where women paint the menu of the day all over their bare bodies, including their breasts, arms, and stomach.

Also religions play a huge role in society on what is accepted as moral / ethical, and what is not. In our group we looked online at the picture of Virgin Mary with elephant dung on it. "Two weeks ago an art exhibit, titled "Sensation," which includes a depiction of the Virgin Mary stained with elephant dung, was planning to open in New York's Brooklyn Museum of Art. The exhibit would be closed to people under age 18 but Mayor Rudy Giuliani, realizing the Brooklyn Museum was funded to the tune of over 7 million dollars a year by NY taxpayers, saw things differently and the battle lines were drawn."