She's Pregnant How Could That Be Offensive? (Part 200)





















Perhaps my Grandad should also have added to his lists of dont's - "don't try and understand foreign cultures - your head will hurt."

The Japanese are a country of confusing signals aren't they? A nation that has 1) a thing for women dressing as schoolgirls 2) for some of the most violent pornography around, 3) an obsession with watersports (sex not boogie boarding) that rivals the Germans and 4) a great cinematic and theatrical tradition.

The recent decision to first ban and then allow the Britney Spears Harpers Bazaar magazine poster campaign, is a great example of the contradictions that live within Japanese society.

Apparently the Tokyo subway company now say they understand the intention is to portray a happy mother, rather than to be sexually explicit. Originally the publishers had agreed to display a version of the promotional poster in which everything below the American pop star's elbow is masked. The censored version would have contained a statement reading: "We apologise for hiding part of a beautiful image of a mother-to-be."

"Our earlier request to cover the photo from the waist down was because of nudity, not because we had anything against pregnant women," said Tokyo subway spokesman, Tatsuya Edakubo.




The censored Version







So there you have it, Britney cupping her breasts was okay but showing her bump was offensive and could be interpreted as being sexually provocative and offensive. I would have thought that it followed the tradition begun by Demi Moore in demonstrating that being pregnant is something that can be embraced by society rather be offensive.

But then I'm not Japanese.