American Idol’s Antonella Barba - Newsworthy Nudity?
Antonella Barba, a contestant in this season’s American Idol competition, has been flashed all over the Internet, TV, and tabloids. The controversy is over photographs of Barba, posted on the Internet by a “friend”, while she is involved in activities typical of a 20 year-old college student.
These pictures have even come to the attention of media watchdog Rosie O’Donnell, of The View, claiming racism because Barba, who is white, has been allowed to stay, and former Idol contestant Frenchie Davis, who is an African-American, was ejected after it was revealed she had worked for a porn web site. Can a rebuttal by Donald Trump be far behind?
In a comment about Barba’s pictures, Idol Judge Simon Cowell said “I think it’s disgraceful that so-called friends would sell these pictures, It’s private property. I really, really have a problem with that – big problem.â€
The most revealing of these is nothing more than a group of friends on a beach, topfree, with hands covering their breasts. In a more enlightened society, their hands would not be needed for modesty. Nudist and Naturist Beaches are commonly found worldwide. In Europe, these pictures might be found unusual only because of the false modesty provided by the covering hands.
In Miami Beach, in several US States, and in Canada, Topfreedom is legal. In most of Europe, it has almost never been an issue at all, never having been prohibited.
From the setting of white sand and shadows of palm trees in this picture , they were probably in Miami or the Caribbean, where such things as bare breasts are commonly accepted.
Why make a big deal out of it? If our society was not so obsessed with sexualization of the female breast, these pictures wouldn’t be newsworthy at all.
Many of this generation will post revealing photos on MySpace or YouTube, or will occasionally flash some skin in bars with no thought of embarassment. It has become obvious through the recently reported activities of Miss Nevada, Miss USA, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and many more from this generation, they seem to think that occasional simple nudity is a non-threatening and acceptable behavior.
While these young women probably aren’t card-carrying nudists, a topfree trip to the beach or skimpy clothing could indicate that a large number of the younger generation just don’t have many of the same hang-ups about nudity as the older generation and are future visitors and members of nudist and naturist clubs and organizations.
