Belgium: Youth theaters complain about 'Muslim prudishness'
Via De Telegraaf (Dutch, h/t NRP):
Jo Roets, artistic head of the Laika threater group, told newspaper De Morgen that prudishness among immigrant youth will be a hot item in the coming years. Immigrant teenagers shut their eyes or avert their heads when it comes to naked scenes.
Theater maker Jan Decorte says that a woman leading a group of children asked before a show whether there would be any nudity "because our Muslim youth may not see naked people." Decorte says it's a form of censorship.
Brussels youth theater Bronks says they've also seen a turn towards prudishness. The theater wants youth to realize that naked scenes are part of storytelling and there's no need to turn one's head away.
"We want immigrant youth to understand that they should look beyond their own convictions, and that such scenes are part of the artistic framework," says Marij De Nys of Bronks. De Nys says that they get more appalled and disapproving reactions compared with a decade ago.
Flemish media recently reported a 'new prudishness' in sports clubs. Boys increasingly prefer to shower after gym class with swimming trucks on, or just skip the shower.
