....Yet Again. Do we live in a democracy or not? Who is not being listened to here? Those who support freedom and find social engineering repugnant in a democracy. One complainant has engineered this whole saga, much as in prior cases of censorship.

The media had it's controversy and made it's money, but now has apparently been instrumental in the outcome here as Henson and others practiced for decades.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/child-art-needs-taste-test-minister/2008/07/23/1216492541130.html

As you may have seen, this comes almost at the behest of the religious, the feminists* and socialist/consevative types who share the ideals of authoritarianism and social engineering of the Australian citizenry.

"The Australian Christian Lobby welcomed the Government's actions to protect children. Its national chief of staff, Lyle Shelton, said the organisation had written to the Prime Minister this month requesting support for such changes."

* moderate feminists may be in denial about their instrumental role in most censorship. here is but one example of what and who really drives feminism today and it's corrosive effect on the minds of many men and women and how it damages society.

This blogger,
http://allecto.wordpress.com/to-men/
writes:
http://allecto.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/brian-hensons-art-is-sick/
(note the tags etc.)

The context here is remarkable. This is what true feminism is and where the power lies. The moderate feminists (and religious) are irrelevant and they are actually enablers with their ignorance.

What is so harmful about non sexual nudity?

Throughout history these regimes have outlawed the nudist movement:

Communist Russia
Nazi Germany

Please help me to expand this list.

There is nothing wrong with nudity at all in my own opinion.

I am generally against censorship except where it protects another from infringement of their own freedoms (such as defamation) or protecting children from sexual exploitation or other forms of abuse.

"This is what true feminism is and where the power lies."

Steel, I don't think that blogger you provided links to is at all representative of the feminist movement. Her approach is much more aggressive and dictatorial than that of your average feminist. I'm not convinced either that radical feminism has any real influence in western society today.

I do support the following statement of hers though and feel it clearly encapsulates the reservations many feminists have over Henson's work.

"What I noticed about his photographs is the fact that all of his models are white. They are pimple-free with glossy hair. The female children sometimes wear make-up. The male and female children are photographed together in sexualised senarios. None of the children are fat, none of the children are happy or playing. They are often photographed in a studio with no or few clothes on, few props and dark lighting."

You forgot to read my last sentence in that paragraph carefully Bronwyn -perhaps you've skimmed over parts of what was linked to or written. You can deny it all you want but as demonstrated time and again, it is happening right in front of our eyes in plain sight, albeit usually behind the scenes and in disguise, much like Radovan Karadzic. You are witnessing a real feminist in action beseeching other extrmist feminists into signing a petition against Henson, presumably to be forwarded to the government as mainstream concern. You can't deny it except as a lie, because it's a fact. This feminist is but one of countless others trained to react to the sexist and extremist ideology and deluded by it.

That quote by the way is specious and emotional rubbish. How does the presence of "darkness" abuse a child? All children who model wear makeup. The child in question hadn't even had the time to develop pimples because puberty hasn't run it's course. You've been played