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To be honest, I'm a leg man myself http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13384854 Monday, 09 February , 2004, 22:59 | ||
| London: Britain and the United States stand shoulder to shoulder in war and peace -- but when it comes to breasts on television, the two cultures are poles apart. When US singer Janet Jackson bared her breast in the Super Bowl special earlier this month, 200,000 television viewers complained about the flash of flesh in her duet with Justin Timberlake. A Tennessee woman has even sued, saying millions of people are owed monetary damages for exposure to lewd conduct. In Britain by contrast, a quarter of the population has been glued to the television for two weeks as scantily clad model Jordan paraded her surgically enhanced breasts in a reality TV show set in the Australian jungle. Even Queen Elizabeth is reported to be a keen fan of "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here" in which a string of D-list celebrities are brought together in a camera-filled camp, to be voted out by viewers one by one. The winner will be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle Monday. The British are amused by Jordan. The Americans were shocked and appalled by Jackson. Why the yawning cultural divide? "You have got to remember there is a long tradition of Americans being a tad more starchy about nudity than the Europeans," said Patrick Tyler, London bureau chief of The New York Times. "There is something 'Mom and Apple Pie' about Super Bowl night. There is a standard adhered to that is particularly Middle America. Janet Jackson undermined that standard with that goofy stunt dressed up as an accident," he told Reuters. "Jordan v Janet: whose breast is best?" asked Zoe Heller, New York columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph who shook her head in astonishment over the Jackson controversy. "America is officially freaked out," she said. The only person to miss out appeared to be President Bush (news - web sites) who fell asleep in front of the television before the flash dismissed as a "wardrobe malfunction." Jackson opted not to appear at Sunday's Grammy Awards. But Christina Aguilera, famed for her raunchy videos, was heartily sick of the furor. "Come on," she said, sporting a pink gown with a plunging neckline she constantly checked to see she was covered. "People are bored at this point to be still talking about a boob. We all have them." Across the Atlantic, that was very much the viewpoint of British tabloid columnist Vanessa Feltz. "Talk about a storm in a D Cup. Janet Jackson's boob popped out at the Super Bowl and you'd have thought Justin Timberlake was doing the Lambada with Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)," she said. "We celebrate cleavage, we've got a sense of humor," she added, citing the iconic status of actress Barbara Windsor for popping out of her bra in the saucy "Carry On Camping" movie. "Now Jordan's gargantuan assets are gamely entertaining all ages and sexes simultaneously. If they accidentally-on-purpose fall out of their moorings, there'll be a massive nationwide cheer." | ||
US, UK poles apart over breasts
by Big Tex 65 Replies latest social entertainment
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Big Tex
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minimus
.....see......The English aren't that dumb, afterall.
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freelife
Nudity is only wrong if you make it that way. We were all born naked I have no problem with nudity. It is bad only because of peoples attitudes about it I just don't see the big deal. Personaly I would not care if they showed each sex naked if i don't want to see it i can turn the channel. People need to be responsible for their own choices on what they see. If someone would have snapped their neck durring the Super Bowl the network would have replayed the accident over and over. If you would ask me I would rather have my child see a breast than someone having their neck broken.
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Simon
America does seem to be really overly puritanical over some things and then have no standard whatsoever with others.
A curious mix !
It's funny though, in Europe, we're considered prudish with our TV - other countries have topless gameshows and the like.
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FlyingHighNow
Edited because I can sound kinda grouchy when I have insomnia and have had the flu.
What I want to know is if women in Britain get arrested for indecent exposure if they take off their shirts and bras and just walk down the street letting it all hang out?
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FlyingHighNow
Okay, here is a link that might clarify Britain's indecent exposure laws and some of the public's attitude toward public nudity.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2004/01/23/news/world/7776921.htm
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Satans little helper
I cannot believe America has been so up in arms about seeing half a tit. You are fine about bombing the crap out of half the world and letting your kids see Rambo or Zombie flesh eaters and get all prudish when a girl show's her breast.
Unbelievable. Get a life!
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FlyingHighNow
You are fine about bombing the crap out of half the world and letting your kids see Rambo or Zombie flesh eaters and get all prudish when a girl show's her breast.
Most Americans are not fine with bombing anyone.
And most of us don't let our kids see Rambo or Zombie flesh eaters either.
It's not as simple as people getting upset over a breast. I think it's more that most people would like younger kids to be able to watch a baseball game or football game without having some celebrity brats simulate sex and expose themselves. I don't know about you, but when I was a small kid I didn't enjoy seeing that kind of thing.I wanted to be kid and I didn't want adults shoving adult things down my throat. That is what people are upset about. Keep adult matters where they belong. Is that being puritan? Or is it just wanting to allow kids to be kids? I am not talking about teenagers. I am talking about little kids.
Heather
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Satans little helper
Several points:
1) If you are so NOT ok with bombing the crap out of half the world then how come so many of the same people screaming about JJ's breast are the bible belt 'christians' supporting the Iraq war and unregulated gun ownership?
2) Yes it is puritanical. It's a breast, get over it! These little kids that people are so indignant about seeing a breast (and not even any nipple) would have been breast feeding a couple of years ago. They would not find anything odd about seeing naked flesh if it were not for the uptight holier than though attitude of the tub thumpers.
3) keeping kids as kids, do you explain to your kids about death or do they believe that grandma is hiding under the gooseberry bush until they are older?
It's all about getting some sort of scale on life. The puritanical repressive attitude of the holier than though crowd is not only hypocritical - your main exports are violence and good porn, it is also damaging. You have much higher per capita figures for child abuse than more liberal European states. So if you REALLY want to keep kids as kids, rather than just getting all hot under the collar about BEING SEEN to be keeping kids as kids then you would engage in some realism and see how rediculous this whole episode is.
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FlyingHighNow
SLH, you are generalizing about Americans. Not all Americans are Bible thumping Christians. I am not a Christian at all. I do not support war and never have. I was abused as a child and I do not appreciate adults being so frivolous with their sexuality around younger children. We are not talking about Janet Jackson breastfeeding a baby. We are talking about Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake simulating sex and him tearing off her clothes.
Not all American parents allow their children to watch any old thing they want on TV. Not all Americans teach their children that it's A-okay to bomb other countries. And the last time I checked Great Britain was involved in the Iraq war, too.