Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s
Mother Goose Controversy
1937: I don't know how Khrushchev would have felt about the Mother Goose mural painted on a wall at the Glenn Dale Sanatorium outside Washington D.C., but health officer Dr. George Rhuland felt it was "grotesque" and ordered it painted over. I think he was eventually overruled.I'm not sure what he found objectionable about it. Perhaps he didn't like the modernist style.
Meanwhile, the Glenn Dale Sanatorium has since become an abandoned relic, which remains standing, rather than being torn down, because of the asbestos remediation costs.
North Adams Transcript - Nov 19, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 12, 2022 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1930s
Hidden images in comic books
In Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954, Fredric Wertham accused comic books of corrupting youth. One of the specific ways they did this, he alleged, was by concealing images of naked women in seemingly inoffensive panels. He helpfully reproduced one of these hidden images in his book.The image in question originally appeared in Jungle Comics #98, Feb 1948.
via Legends & Rumors
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 25, 2022 -
Comments (4)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Comics
Jazz Emotions
The Rock Island Argus - Feb 8, 1926
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 24, 2022 -
Comments (2)
Category: Babies, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Music, 1920s
Polygamy Porter
Yet another banned beer, to go alone with Alex's batrachian brew. Article here.
The brewer's site, where you can purchase their t-shirt
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 18, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Fashion, Marriage, Alcohol
Manly Bosoms Indecent
1934: Coney Island police continued to crack down on male bathers who adopted the new fashion of topless bathing suits.As for the female bathers:
"But if it's indecent we won't allow it," he said.
Windsor Star - May 15, 1934
Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 05, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Fashion, Swimming, Snorkeling, and Diving, 1930s
Liquid Dividends
What else could you do with your inventory on the eve of Prohibition?
Source: Fall River Daily Evening News (Fall River, Massachusetts) 14 Jan 1920, Wed Page 7
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 04, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Freebies, Come-ons and Loss Leaders, 1920s, Alcohol
Infinity Kisses
The artwork Infinity Kisses, by Carolee Schneeman, consists of multiple self-shot photos of her kissing her cat. (See video below). She worked on it from 1982-1988.After she completed this work, it evidently didn't receive much attention from the art world, because in a 1991 essay, published in Art Journal (Winter 1991), she complained of its neglect:
As it turned out, Infinity Kisses was acquired and put on display by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1993. So, that was good news for Schneeman.
But now I'm thinking that the art world has been unfairly ignoring my pictures of my cat. This might be censorship!
My cat, Pumpkin
Posted By: Alex - Tue Sep 08, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Cats
Indecent Apes
McAllen Monitor - Nov 19, 1993
The offending cover. It's true, you can see a dangly bit there, as well as some naked ta-tas.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 29, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1990s
Go Topless Day: August 28, 2016
Needless to say, bare chestal areas of XX-chromosome carriers in video and at homepage.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 28, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Body, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, Holidays, Parades and Festivals
Elvis and the Hollywood Vice Squad
I wonder what the Hollywood Vice Squad of 1957 would make of many a modern pop music show?
Original text here.
Original text here.
Original text here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 18, 2016 -
Comments (5)
Category: Celebrities, Censorship, Bluenoses, Taboos, Prohibitions and Other Cultural No-No’s, 1950s, Dance
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |