this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2025
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Europe

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Comrades of the European Internet Forum,

enough is enough!

For decades, we have placed ourselves in the cultural shadows - well-behaved, conformist, as if we were the ill-educated child of the great American moral uncle, who must not be too loud, not too naked and certainly not too independent. While half-naked shoulders are censored at high school graduation ceremonies in the USA, heads are thrown around like bowling balls in TV series. All normal, all β€˜entertainment’. But woe betide you if you see a nipple - then the censorship hammer screeches louder than a Trump on Truth Social.

I ask you: What has become of Europe?

We, the continent-born of the Enlightenment, the revolutions, the renaissance of nudity on canvas, in stone and on film - we have allowed a country that bottles cheese in cans, of all things, to tell us what is β€˜moral’!

It's not moral, it's demurely stupid.

Why are depictions of violence in mass media allowed to flow freely like American fracking oil, but natural, aesthetic, tasteful nudity - which has been part of European art and culture for centuries - is algorithmically filtered out, demonetised and labelled with warnings as if it were uranium?

No more prudish double standards!

We need a cultural return to what we have to offer:

  • Enlightenment instead of transfiguration.
  • Pleasure instead of violence.
  • Nudity as an expression of naturalness - not as a moral offence.

I call on you: Banish pixelated prudery! Let's tear apart the corset of American moral dictatorship like a badly programmed DRM protection! Save the freedom of the breast - for Europe!

Stop aligning your films, games and series with a market that beeps β€˜fuck’ five times but completely waves β€˜shoot him in the face’ through.

We are not Hollywood's post office box. We are Europe. We are culture. We are naked! - So, metaphorically. And sometimes literally. And that's okay.

Thank you for your attention!

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[–] Noerknhar@feddit.org 107 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Hell yeah! But actually, what?

[–] diegantobass@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago

I have no idea what I just read, but it sounded like something I should agree with

[–] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 31 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] EtnaAtsume@lemmy.world 49 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ironically this comment implies there's something morally wrong or depraved about that, or that wanting to look at boobs is an inherently sexual thing (to which only an immoral degenerate would succumb), which is exactly the kind of Puritan-derivative "sex bad" mindset that the post is rallying against.

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[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 71 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I took my clothes off I don't know what else is going on but I'm having a good time thanks for inviting me I really appreciate it

[–] punksnotdead@slrpnk.net 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] SorteKanin@feddit.dk 6 points 2 days ago

Username checks out?

[–] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 43 points 3 days ago

Haha written like a pamphlet during the Industrial Revolution. I love every part of this.

[–] Mniot@programming.dev 36 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It's a funny post, but a serious point. The Europe of my childhood was different countries all very different from the US. But over time American media and algorithmic dominance are eroding things toward being America with accents. And what will you get for throwing away that cultural identity? Americans will still sneer at Europe.

I think a trickier question is: if Europe ought to retain its own identity, then shouldn't each European country retain its own identity instead of banding together as "Europe".

[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I find identity tends to be like an onion, in that it has layers.

Also in that picking it apart is an unpleasant experience that frequently ends in tears.

[–] HasturInYellow@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I agree. I like the post and its message, but in general everyone needs to focus less on identity and more on community. People have really lost the plot these days. What are we doing all of this for? So our families will have a good life, right? Everyone the world over is mostly just looking for that.

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[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 7 points 3 days ago

Why stop there? Go back to the breakdown in feudal times! Which duke do you owe fealty to?

[–] Mavytan@feddit.nl 6 points 2 days ago

My view is that it's not necessary to pit regional identity vs European identity. I think it's possible to have them side by side. I appreciate many things in my region that make up our identity, but at the same time as a European I can also appreciate many cultural aspects of other regions

[–] wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io 33 points 3 days ago

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your rears!

We are all ich bin ein wieners now.

[–] KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 2 days ago (4 children)
[–] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Because there is nothing wrong with it.

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[–] hallunke23@troet.cafe 21 points 3 days ago

β€œA reliable way to incapacitate Americans” @GenosseFlosse

collapsed inline media

[–] MudMan@fedia.io 21 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I mean, yeah, we have become more prudish.

I will say that beyond American religious zealotry and aversion to human bodies there's a bit of a practical reason, too. In a user-generated media landscape if you allow NSFW without tags you end up becoming a porn site.

But hey, at least around here there's some NSFW friendliness (and those bits have become a straight up porn site, as expected).

We could definitely bear to be less US-style prudish about nudity in broadcast media again, though. Although I will say that if you think the old school 20th century approach to sex was all enlightened and not full of grubby dudes doing outright #metoo garbage you have some rose tinted glasses going on. Still, we can NOT do that and still not build our tolerance for human bodies on US evangelical nonsense.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 29 points 3 days ago

Counter argument:

The more places ban nudity the more chance the one site that allows it becomes a porn site.

Currently if you want to post artistic nude you pretty much need to do it on a porn site.

The opposite may also be true, if more places accepted it then the amount of nsfw content spreads out, there might be more porn sites overall but with more incentives to specialize and innovate rather then allowing almost all of it and knowing users will come regardless.

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[–] abobla@lemm.ee 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] fikniefnadjofullinn@feddit.is 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It's not gay if the balls don't touch. So they tell me. :)

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[–] dumblederp@aussie.zone 19 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I've been to a bunch of nudist events in Australia, naked bike ride, nude beach, life drawing events, confest hippie festival and some gallery openings. I've also studied anatomy. People need to get their head right about what it means to be naked. Everyone has a body, and should be more comfortable with it.

Edit: Chatting with yanks on deaddit, they largely seem so afraid of nudity that they'll be calling the police if there's an adult naked around a child where in many other parts of the world it's completely normal, eg modest family bathing scenes in anime.

[–] parlaptie@feddit.org 19 points 3 days ago

The nudity taboo is a conspiracy by the textile industry to sell more clothes.

[–] NotLemming@lemm.ee 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm down.. And already naked. While we're at it, let's drop the prepubescent hairlessness.

[–] fikniefnadjofullinn@feddit.is 26 points 3 days ago (5 children)

Let's just let people groom themselves however they prefer. We need to normalise accepting bodies of all kinds instead of pushing people to some particular ideal.

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[–] tflyghtz@lemm.ee 13 points 3 days ago

Genosse spittin' some real facts here

Ftw Europe

[–] TingoTenga@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

Are we the hippies now? ;)

Peace and love, my friends.

[–] cyrano@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)
[–] haakon@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm not your comrade, friend.

[–] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I'm not your friend, buddy!

[–] Shipgirlboy@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] Eril@feddit.org 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] Pandantic@midwest.social 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I’m not your dude, bro!

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[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

europe's mojo has always been there

in fact i think we're leading at the moment

[–] chrisni@lemm.ee 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Trust me, no one wants to see me take my clothes off.

[–] MTK@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I disagree, you were just taught to be ashamed of your body. Just as you shouldn't be ashamed of your face or hair or height, you shouldn't be ashamed of your nipples or butt or genitals.

Nudity is okay, your body is yours, and your nudity is not for others pleasure if you don't want it to be. Just as I wouldn't look at your face and be disgusted that you have a nose, i wouldn't be disgusted that you have other body parts.

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