Obscenity and sexually explicit content are said to be contextual. What is explicit in some cultures and contexts is not necessarily so in others.
The Kerala High Court has, in a debatable observation, opined that the nudity of the female upper body should not be considered sexual or obscene by default. "The autonomy of the male body is seldom questioned. On the other hand, the women's body agency and autonomy are under constant threat in a patriarchal structure," the court said, adding that the women are "bullied, discriminated against, isolated, and prosecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives."
The observation is eliciting a range of takes. A Netizen wrote that it is time to celebrate Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality. Playback singer Chinmayi Sripada called the judge a rockstar for giving the "progressive" verdict. Music director Vishal Dadlani, too, welcomed the verdict.
However, columnist Surajit Dasgupta feels that the verdict shows that the court is weak at biology. "The Kerala High Court is not well-read in evolution either. Regardless of societies that considered a topless woman in public places okay or taboo, they all considered breasts sexual because human breasts, unlike those of other mammals, are sexual," he wrote.
