sexual_harassment_poster.jpg

一見、熊系のゲイビデオのパッケージ？と思わせるこの写真は、岩手県奥州市の黒石(こくせき)寺で行われる伝統行事の蘇民際(そみんさい)のPRポスターです。市がこのポスターを駅構内に掲示しようとしたところ、JR東日本が拒否したそう。その理由は、『男性の裸に不快感を覚える客が多い』ということらしい。JR東日本の販売促進課副課長は『セクハラが問題になる中、公共の場でのポスターの掲示の基準は厳しくなっている。単純に裸がダメというわけではないが、胸毛などに特に女性が不快に感じる図柄で、見たくないものを見せるのはセクハラ。』ということで、貼るのを見合わせたそう。確かに基準が難しいですね。きっと、この写真の男性が、爽やかなイケメンだったらこのような事態にならなかったんでしょうね。プロの写真家がこの写真を撮って選んだそうですが、他の写真はなかったのでしょうか。胸毛とかが苦手な女性にはやっぱりキツいんですかねぇ。

Article From Mainichi Daily News

OSHU, Iwate -- East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has rejected calls to stick up posters promoting a local "naked festival," saying there are many women who aren't comfortable seeing men naked.

The Oshu Municipal Government had sought permission from the Morioka branch of JR East to display the posters advertising Kokuseki Temple's Somin Festival at stations, but JR East said the posters could not be displayed unless the images were changed.

"As sexual harassment becomes more of a problem, the standards for displaying posters in public spaces are becoming stricter," a representative of the Morioka branch of JR East explained. "It wasn't just that it was out of line because there was nakedness; the pictures showed things that were particularly unpleasant for women, such as chest hair, and it was decided that showing them things they didn't want to see was sexual harassment."

In the festival, crowds of men wearing nothing but loincloths participate in scrambles using sacks called sominbukuro. The festival, which has continued for about 1,000 years, is held in the hope of warding off plagues and producing bumper crops. This year, it will be held between the evening of Feb. 13 and early Feb. 14.

The poster in question combines three photos, showing a close-up of a bearded man with a hairy chest, and men in the background wearing loincloths.