Why can't vaginas be shown in R-rated movies?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — This Film Is Not Yet Rated
kellycastlebridge — 16 years ago(February 26, 2010 11:41 AM)
The MPAA has an extremely sexist and unfair rating policy when it comes to nudity which it applies to repress the female body! They allow full male genital nudity to be shown (not just pubic hair but also the testicles and penis) and give it an R rating, but they won't allow a woman's labia or clitoris to be shown in an R-rated film. If a woman's vagina is shown (not just the pubic hair), they give it an NC-17 rating, but a man's penis can be shown with only an R rating. How come penises are passed with an R rating but vaginas are given an NC-17 rating?? Why can't vaginas be shown? Its a sexist double-standard!
The rating policies of the MPAA were all designed by men (mostly religous types) who were more comfortable seeing a penis than a vagina. Many of them thought penises were a normal part of the human body, but vaginas were "ugly" and "pornographic". Consequently, they give any film that clearly shows a vagina, even in a non-sexual situation, an NC-17 rating. Since most theaters won't run NC-17 rated movies, filmakers cannot make NC-17 rated films and hope to recoup their costs. Thus the vagina is essentially censored and can never be seen in mainstream cinema! How ridiculous and unfair is that? The vagina is just a part of the female body, the same as the penis is part of the male body. It is not obscene and should not be rated any more harshly.
This is all part of the age old misogynistic idea of repressing women's bodies and forcing women to maintain greater modesty than males. In Victorian England, for example, a woman could not even expose her ankles without condemnation. In modern society, men are allowed to walk around topless but not women. In oppresive muslim societies, women must be covered from head to toe with burkas.Its all part of the same theme of oppressing the female body and imposing greater standards of modesty on women. The MPAA extends this tradition by repressing what can be shown of a woman's body in cinema. Men are allowed to show everything, even their full genitalia, while women cannot show more than their pubic hair. A woman's genitalia is deemed obscene and off-limits. A man can expose every inch of his penis but a woman must keep her genitalia hidden. Thus, society is given the impression that the vulva is obscene and women should be ashamed of their genitalia. This hurts women's self-esteem and makes them feel disconnected to their sex organs.
I have never seen a clear view of a woman's labia in any R-rated film, but there have been hundreds of films that showed penises and were passed with an R-rating. Clearly the MPAA has a sexist policy when it comes to rating genital nudity. Male genital nudity (penis and scrotum) gets passed with an R-rating but female genital nudity (the clitoris, labia, or anus) is given an NC-17 rating. This hatred and disgust that the MPAA have for the female body must be stopped. Its like in Ancient Greek art; penises were shown in sculpture and paintings but never vaginas. The penis was considered beautiful and a symbol of male power, while the vagina was considered dirty and a source of shame. If society is going to have a more balanced view of women, then the female body should be shown in all its glory and the vulva/labia should not be relegated only to porn. The female genitalia should be allowed to be shown in R-rated films, especially in a non-sexual context, the same way that male genitalia can be shown. The vagina is beautiful, not obscene. It should be normalized. Its time that somebody FILES A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE MPAA for having a sexually discriminatory rating policy !!
The National Organization of Women should investigate the double-standard that the MPAA applies to genital nudity in cinema, and ask the MPAA why male genitalia can be shown in R-rated films while female genitalia is forbidden. -
kellycastlebridge — 15 years ago(August 16, 2010 08:11 PM)
Dudley Mason, let's compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges! A man's full genitalia (pubic hair, penis and scrotum) is equal to a woman's full genitalia (pubic hair, clitoris, and labia). Its NOT difficult to show a woman's meat. Most women nowadays shave their vaginas and their labia is easily visible in many normal positions. Women in the real world, when naked, are often in positions where their labia is visible. A woman can be laying in bed with her legs somewhat apart, can be bent over, could be crawling and viewed from behind, can be squatting down, etc.
Movies like Walk Hard and Bruno showed CLOSE-UP views of the man's penis. We could easily reverse this and show a close-up of a vagina. So don't give me that crap that it would be hard to do. The only reason we don't see female genitalia is because director's take great care to AVOID showing it. This is because of the MPAA's unfair rating policy.
As for a boner, that's graphically sexual. When a man is erect, he is in a PENETRATABLE state. The only equivelant would be showingg a woman in a penetrated state (penetration) or a SPREAD-OPEN VAGINA. How many spread vaginas have you seen in an R-rated movie? None. So there shouldn't be any erect penises either. But flaccid penises have been shown in several R-rated films in close-up detail; thus, vaginas that aren't being spread-open or penetrated should be shown clearly too! -
LittleMissDysthymia — 15 years ago(September 11, 2010 10:19 PM)
Most women nowadays shave their vaginas.
Hardly. Very few women shave their labia and nobody shaves their vagina because that's one of those inside parts of a woman. Unless you're wearing a skimpy bathing suit it's a complete waste of time and leaves very irritating stubble between shaves.
Witty closing remarks have been replaced by massive head trauma and severe hemorrhaging. -
LittleMissDysthymia — 15 years ago(September 11, 2010 10:20 PM)
I've never seen a boner in a film.
Fight Club. Tyler Durden splices a 'frame' (actually it's longer than one frame so that the audience can see it) of an erect penis into the film at least twice.
Witty closing remarks have been replaced by massive head trauma and severe hemorrhaging. -
Dubz1300 — 15 years ago(July 26, 2010 07:36 AM)
"IN the movie Basic Instinct, you get a full, head on shot of Sharon Stone's open legs. They show the entire vagina. Although the shot is fairly quick, the whole thing is on display.
In other words, your argument is a FAIL."
nah, you fail ya lil punkhe made a good point, so shut up! -
kellycastlebridge — 15 years ago(August 16, 2010 07:50 PM)
No My Name Is Pussy Galore, you are WRONG! You do NOT CLEARLY see her vagina. You get a brief flash between her legs , but the actual labia/clitoris CANNOT be seen. Can you describe to me what Sharon Stone's vagina looks like? Can you honestly say you've seen her clitoris? There are several movies (such as Walk Hard,Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bruno, etc.) which showed very clear, long, lingering, detailed views of the penis. If you've seen Bruno, you know exactly what Sach Baron Cohen's penis and scrotum look like. Not only that, his penis became erect and pointed at the camera. No type of FEMALE nudity like this has ever been seen in a mainstream film that was passed with an R-rating. Learn to compare apples to apples, DUMB-ASS!
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MNLPGuy — 15 years ago(October 24, 2010 11:36 PM)
- no one wants to see a vagina in movies. they are scary and look the sand pit thing from star wars episode 6.
- your a perv. every single post ive seen has been about this same topic with the same arguments. do you not have anything else to talk about?
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kellycastlebridge — 15 years ago(August 16, 2010 08:18 PM)
No. My Name Is Pussy Galore, you are WRONG! You do NOT CLEARLY see her vagina. You get a brief flash between her legs , but the actual labia/clitoris CANNOT be seen. Can you describe to me what Sharon Stone's vagina looks like? Can you honestly say you've seen her clitoris? There are several movies (such as Walk Hard,Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bruno, etc.) which showed very clear, long, lingering, detailed views of the penis. If you've seen Bruno, you know exactly what Sach Baron Cohen's penis and scrotum look like. Not only that, his penis became erect and pointed at the camera. No type of FEMALE nudity like this has ever been seen in a mainstream film that was passed with an R-rating. Learn to compare apples to apples, DUMB-ASS!
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sektionproductions-654-897545 — 15 years ago(August 25, 2010 05:12 AM)
I would have to see the movie again but when I saw it the first time I thought I could see some labia in Paul Veerhoven's Black Book in the scene where she is dying her pubic hair. I have not seen this film but so I don't know if this was discussed but is there an exception to media within media-for example in the movie Clerks when Randall flashes a porn mag to the customer I believe that is an extreme close-up that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.
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kc_6201 — 15 years ago(September 25, 2010 04:53 AM)
Dude, you're totally obsessed. 99% of your posts are about female nudity. You don't have anything else to comment on about films? Also, before you call someone else a dumb-ass, maybe you should learn the difference between a vulva and a vagina.
The Pick Of Destiny", an R-movie, had one.