Breast fixation

William Fisher worries that Americans' civil liberties have suffered as a result of the Patriot Act. He also observes that Americans' civil liberties are under attack in general, citing this example:

In the Macomb County, Michigan suburb of Roseville, North of Detroit, artist Edward Stross was convicted by a six-person jury last month and sentenced to prison for his mural depicting a bare-breasted figure on a building. The artist was ordered to serve 30 days in jail, do two years of probation and pay a fine of $500 for his variation of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man,” illustrating a half-naked woman. Stross was also mandated to alter the fresco, which he painted on the outside of his art gallery in 1997. The mural depicted a woman’s breast and the word “LOVE,” as does the original Michelangelo work.

Fisher sees the Christian right as responsible for such acts of oppression and he may well be right. If I had my way, breasts – and I mean real breasts – would be on view everywhere. So, I don't support breasts in artistic works being covered.

What's interesting about Fisher's opinion piece is that it's in the Arab News. Think about that, a newspaper based in a country that doesn't allow a woman to wear clothing that might reveal an outline of her figure is worried about whether or not Americans are allowed to look at breasts. Odd, no?