[Les Meehan]

Nudity of any sort, be it of children or adults both male and female, will always be a sensitive issue for people for all sorts of reasons. The fact that we cannot celebrate our own bodies or appreciate others bodies as a thing of beauty is merely a sad reflection of the warped minds of a relatively few individuals.

I for one believe that it is impossible to control what thoughts a person will have on viewing an image showing nudity but that does not mean it shouldn't be displayed publicly as a vision of beauty and of nature. Oh, and before anyone picks me up for the use of the word 'beauty' let me state that I use the word in the context of 'an appreciation of the human form in all it's miriad manifestations' and not in the 'fashion model/sexual titillation' context.

The whole problem with this issue of 'pornography' is who can possible decide what is and what is not to be labeled as pornographic? There are so many factors involved: first and foremost must be the intent of the artist/photographer (which is often only guessed at when it is obviously NOT an overtly seductive image, i.e. kids playing naked in the garden pool on a hot day taken innocently by an adoring parent).

It has often been said that a dirty picture is more the product of a viewers dirty mind rather than the content of the picture and I think this has much value in the current climate, especially in the UK and USA.

It is so refreshing to see the way other Europeans, I live in Spain, react to adult themes and the natural interaction of human beings. I can for instance buy adult DVDs with my groceries from the supermarket without anyone batting an eyelid at the checkout. I also kiss my female friends and their children on each cheek when greeting them. My friends male children also kiss me on the cheek as a mark of respect (this took a bit of getting used to at first because of the way we have been screwed up by UK society telling us that males only kiss when they are gay).

Basically, it all comes down to censorship, either from officials or from 'do gooders' and it is putting a strangle-hold on our ability to be 'normal' interactive human beings. Is it any wonder that so many leave the UK for other countries in an attempt to escape this kind of rubbish.

If the main concern is protecting children then they either have to ban ALL photographs and photography of children, whether for public or private view, and DO SOMETHING SERIOUS about child sex offenders (and ALL sex offenders). Or do both! So where will it end?

Getting myself really p***ed off with this now so better go...

Les