An image’s moral power can depend on its violation of norms.

Evidence

At the same time, what a hard call to make! This is an immensely challenging image: a vital document of history, so troubling an indictment of humanity that many feel it must be seen—and a graphic and profoundly upsetting image of a fully naked child screaming in pain. Cultural and legal prohibitions against underage nudity are firm across nearly all societies, with little room for debate. And the suffering of these children is palpable and gruesome. It is important precisely because of how Kim Phuc’s pain, and her nakedness, make plain the horror of chemical warfare. Its power is its violation: “the photo violates one set of norms in order to activate another; propriety is set aside for a moral purpose. It is a picture that shouldn’t be shown of an event that shouldn’t have happened.” There is no question that this image is obscenity. The question is whether it is the kind of obscenity of representation that should be kept from view, no matter how relevant, or the kind of obscenity of history that must be shown, no matter how devastating. — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet, 17

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes obscenity of representation from obscenity of history.
• XREF: connects to: Even the iconic war photo was originally censored for nudity. — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet: Platforms,…, 19; Women’s self-display of bodies carries meanings beyond sexualized objectification. — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet: Platforms,…, 429; Images of deviance serve to justify societal norms and values. — Cohen, Stanley, Folk devils and moral panics: the…, 335 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Images of deviance serve to justify societal norms and values. #contradicts (0.85) — Cohen, Stanley, Folk devils and moral panics, 335
• Image and style can override corruption and policy failure in public esteem #expands (0.72) — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, 2055