Graham,
Me thinks your lecturer wants her cake and eat it too.

There are so many cameras around today that one can be photographed in any public, and private, place at any time. There all types of surveillance cameras at work 24/7, in businesses, public carparks and all manner of places. If you don't want to be caught on camera doing something you shouldn't or that may later embarrass you, then do it inside your own home.

Instead of costly patrols by police on some beaches. How long before it is more cost effective to survey the beach by camera and I bet those monitering will have the ability to zoom in on any situation of interest? So if madam wants nice tanned breasts, she had better sunbake at home if she is worried about cameras.

The likelyhood of having cameras banned in some public places is plain silly and as for asking permission, a good zoom lens would mean she may never know her picture was taken.

Sylwia, it seems like the law on this issue is as hairy as dog’s breakfast !!

But then, I’m not surprised. Over the last few years, one of my developing concerns has been just how out of whack the law is with accepted practice and common sense…and why there isn’t an imperative to reform laws and make them as clear as possible, whenever there is any vagueness or ambiguity evident. It seems that all manner of laws could so easily be straightened out. Doesn’t the community deserve the right to know exactly where they stand with the law, as far as is possible, without having to do a law degree??

Alright, I’ll get off my high horse over that issue!

“No doubt the police would arrest a woman who did it and refused to put her top on, but that doesn't make it unlawful”

I dare say you are right. And doesn’t that open up a whole nuther can of worms….the police arresting people for things that are not illegal I mean!

.
“The likelyhood of having cameras banned in some public places is plain silly and as for asking permission, a good zoom lens would mean she may never know her picture was taken.”

Yair Banjo, of course it is going to be virtually impossible to stop people taking pictures in a surreptitious manner. But there is still merit in prohibiting brazen in-your-face photography, for obviously dodgy reasons.

In my last post, ‘soul’ should of course been ‘sole’ (:>)

BD, "Hmmm now is this 'his' fault or hers :) ? " - maybe it does not have to be a "fault" thing. I know your religion has some stuff to say on the matter but for many of us we don't need to have fault or guilt attached to enjoying the look of a well formed human body.

That idea has probably had it's use at some time in our distant past but I think body taboo's and fault/guilt about the wrong things are causing more harm than help nowdays.

Silvia and Ludwig thanks for your informative contributions to this discussion. Sylvia your points about the law have been very interesting.

R0bert

Further to what others have said, if Al Hilali had engaged Boaz as his speech writer, then perhaps Hilali could have expressed basically the same sentiments, but in a way which would have been more acceptable to many Australians.

And as GrahamY has said [and I said in a previous thread], surely we are not like the primitives who allegedly believed that if someone had their photo, then they held some kind of mystical power over them.

Basically, the problem lies with people being brainwashed into thinking that various parts of their bodies are obscene, offensive and automatically taboo, and the religious/political control freaks who write this nonsense into law. I am not suggesting that nudity could or should be acceptable anywhere, we are no longer a nomadic/hunting/pastoral, well spread-out society. But on a beach, for goodness sake, what is more normal, natural, healthy, comfortable and convenient than being nude?

As I stated on Sylvia's nudity topic, my very wise mother gave me some very good tips on body acceptance when I was first becoming body-conscious as a young boy. And then I, and others who take a rational view of this, have to put up with illogical moralising from those who did not benefit from this kind of sensible upbringing.

Yes, we're now in a technological age. Many people are intrusively ill-mannered, either to satisfy their own unpleasant desires, or to make money. And there's probably little we can do about it. But it's not so long ago that navels, midriffs, knees, thighs and other feminine attributes were generally "off-limits", but now no big deal. Time marches on, that is unless the natural progressive relaxation of unnecessary taboos is artificially interfered with by the aforementioned control freaks.

We're now experiencing some good weather and already we can see girls and women who are branding themselves with an assortment of unsightly strap-marks from bathers, which spoil their appearance when they are wearing off-the-shoulder and backless dresses etc. None of my business of course, but how many of them really want to look like that?

Rex it was interesting that nobody tried to argue against the point of Sylvia's topic. BD made some points but did not seem to support prohibition, others remained silent. All the while most of our politicians find clothing optional beaches are in the too hard basket.

Is it one of those issues which could play havoc with the reputation of any politician who championed it? I guess the media could have fun at the expense of politicians who took the issue seriously.

R0bert

“Basically, the problem lies with people being brainwashed into thinking that various parts of their bodies are obscene, offensive and automatically taboo, and the religious/political control freaks who write this nonsense into law.”

Absolutely Rex.

“But on a beach, for goodness sake, what is more normal, natural, healthy, comfortable and convenient than being nude?”

What indeed!

It is one of the silliest and sickest aspects of our society, that nudity per se should be considered offensive or taboo. We can’t even wander around our own back yard, or in our own house, if there is any chance of being seen by neighbours, for fear of them taking offence and dobbing us in for conducting illegal activities or shunning us for being a pervert. I mean how crazy is it?

[now, let me just reread this about 20 times… and see if I can actually put up a post with no bloody missing words!! !! !!]