I started this year with the wish, “May nudity return to purity in 2013″, and if my recent facebook ban is anything to go by, it seems that it is not yet the case.
I posted a beautiful photo of a sculpture of an indigenous woman by Jayne Skipper three days ago, and within hours received a message from facebook informing me it violated facebook policies, and that I am consequently blocked from posting for 30 days.
"BE, I thought. Because, I sought.
I knew that when I could actually be, I was at my ultimate."
Sidonie Bouchet - Alleluia
I was referred to Facebook’s Community Standards, and assume it belongs in the Nudity and Pornography section – “Facebook has a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and any explicitly sexual content where a minor is involved. We also impose limitations on the display of nudity. We aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo’s David or family photos of a child breastfeeding.”
After reading the above, I have to admit I was unclear exactly what I had breached, especially the latter part regarding facebook’s aspiration.
I wondered whether it was a racial issue perhaps, because let’s face it an aboriginal woman wearing a shirt to go out gathering seems somewhat strange. I also asked myself whether it would have been pulled off if she had had pert youthful breasts, as I have regularly witnessed far more sexually explicit content and nudity of the perfect body on facebook.
Whatever the reason behind this ban, it is very apparent that as a society we still have a long way to go before we return to the purity of nudity in the Garden of Eden.