We often connect Press Freedom to freedom of speech. Both are essential human rights and cornerstones of so-called democratic constitutions that permit a few legitimate wars and many others.

The first question will be whether those freedoms were a mirage or still exist.

However, can freedom survive without the right to contradiction?

Is the discourse still viable when ideologies supersede the rule of law?

Could social media be considered as media/press?

Meta was looking to be a significant contributor and even a legitimate press actor, but only the little blue bird that now has an “X” shape, thanks to a strict diet, could be considered an alternative press.

“-But it’s not time to make it too political; let’s speak about another topic.

-Let’s talk about nudity in the press and social media.

-Sorry, it might be too political again.”

Free the ni....pples!!!

I think that we are all convinced that censorship is related to nudity and, more significantly, female nudity. We can also say that the press is off-topic, speaking about nudity as it is not tolerated anymore.

So, let’s speak about the two significant troublemakers who are members of the same family. But perhaps we should first discuss the concept of “voluntary servitude.” Yes, a few years ago, it was possible to see nipples, to say nipples, and many other words that are shadowbanned now.

But, slowly, they start to change the rules. That’s right, but not that right. If we stopped staring into space and faced reality, we would all understand what they were doing. But a few years ago, we all said, “That will be complicated. “No alternative exists.” This was more or less accurate at the time; it is absolutely true today.

But are they the only ones to censor? A lot of photographers still have a hard time making the difference between boudoir, erotic, and porn. We must remember that some are playing with dysorthography to make the word boudoir more inclusive (even if boudoir is a gender-neutral term). So, don’t we provoke this censorship by changing the definition of boudoir and Art, crossing the line for one more click?

Don’t we have a responsibility to change women’s body integrity, removing those nipples that are the new devil? What will be our legacy to the next generation, compared with centuries of feminism? It took us less than 10 years to over-sexualize everything and to push the woman’s body to the shade again.

This job, which gave so much to so many artists and is today inconsiderate and used as a hobby only to provide an allowance for some, will perhaps disappear sooner than expected. The Insta-filters and the social media policy worked fast, but we helped them, too.

In conclusion.

Yes, this text merely touches upon the subject and gives no solutions. This is perfectly right. But it can be the basis of reflection for all of us.

I don’t want to be a demagogue, but it might be time for a round-table discussion to see if we can forget about individualism and restart talking about the collective future of our work and Art. Or we might have the courage to conclude that we must stop celebrating all those freedom days and remove photography from the list of the 3rd art list: «Visual Art.»

The other 3rd Arts members might survive, even if they already have to deal with new traits, like the censorship for paint (even for classic masterpieces), and the new trend of tomato soup splash.

Long life to the Art!