Latest news with #decency
New York Times
01-08-2025
- New York Times
A French Beach Town's Plea to Tourists: Keep Your Clothes On
A seaside town in France is clamping down on tourists who venture beyond the sand in their swimsuits. 'A little restraint, please!' Yannick Moreau, the mayor of Les Sables d'Olonne, pleaded on social media last week to the flocks of mostly French tourists who visit each summer. Mr. Moreau said in an interview that the behavior had become more prevalent in recent years: Visitors leave the beach and walk into the town's markets, grocery stores and restaurants in their bathing suits. He has seen enough. 'If you go to a market to buy local food — fruits, vegetables, meat — you cannot be half-naked with hair falling onto vegetables,' he said, adding, 'It's a matter of decency.' In July, officials in the resort town have issued fines to 10 people — all French tourists — of up to 150 euros, or about $171. That's the most fines handed out for the offense in July since the rule was introduced in 2020, Mr. Moreau said. 'I don't know if it's a reflex to show one's muscles,' he said. 'Or to tan more quickly, and not lose an hour of sunlight.' Les Sables d'Olonne, which Mr. Moreau said was one of the first seaside resorts in France, sits on the country's western coast and has miles of beaches. 'It offers a huge space to be half-naked if you want,' he said. Or fully naked, since Sables d'Olonne has a nudist beach, too. Many cities have put similar rules in place in recent years, as European vacation towns grapple with a surge in visitors, including scantily clad ones. In some parts of Spain, it is illegal to wear just swimwear even on seafront promenades and adjacent streets, and fines can be hundreds of euros. On Thursday, the tourism board in Málaga took to social media to remind tourists of the rules, urging them to 'dress completely.' In parts of Italy, including Sorrento, on the Amalfi Coast, tourists can be fined hundreds of euros for walking around shirtless to curb what the mayor described as 'widespread indecorous behavior.' In Dubrovnik, Croatia, officials in 2018 issued a notice to tourists that they could not wander around the city in swimwear. The rule is about respect and hygiene, Mr. Moreau said. When you're shoulder to shoulder with others on the bus to the beach, 'you do not want to be in contact with your neighbor's skin,' he said. Despite his frustration, Mr. Moreau was hopeful that the publicity from his campaign would help turn the town into a more popular destination for international visitors. 'Les Sables d'Olonne deserves to be better known,' he said. 'Come see us, we'll be happy to welcome you.' If you're wearing enough clothes.
Free Malaysia Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Bar on drinking in public areas a sobering decision
For the life of me, I fail to understand those who criticise local council laws that bar the consumption of alcohol in public places, especially parks and other recreational areas. It is indeed shocking to see some netizens describing the move as being racist. True, a non-Muslim has the constitutional right to drink alcohol at a place of their choice but it does not end there. It's also a basic right of others to enjoy some peace, quiet and decency in public places, where safety is important. No one, irrespective of their religious background, should be denied a safe and decent environment. In my opinion, the bar has nothing to do with religion, it's all about decency and negative influence on youths. I would support any move for a national law on this. Many critics say the move by the Negeri Sembilan government to enforce this law in public parks and beaches is not supported by non-Muslims. This is absolute nonsense as many non-Muslims, too, are in favour of this ban. No one can deny that alcohol does impair one's actions and thoughts if the amount consumed is a bit too much. Actually, even two glasses of beer is good enough to make one boisterous and ignore the discomfort felt by others in their midst. The amount consumed has a different impact on different people, depending on their threshold. All Malaysians, irrespective of their religious beliefs, should stop looking at this move with a race-tinted lens. Instead, they should think of it as a step that could stop their own children from being encouraged to pick up the drinking habit, one which has absolutely no benefit. Excessive consumption, which begins mostly from casual drinking, could lead to destruction of the family unit and bring about untold sufferings as we have read and seen. If you need to have a drink, the authorities cannot stop you from consuming alcohol in private places like homes, licensed outlets and other areas where drinking is not prohibited. Some netizens argued that smoking should also be banned in public parks and recreational areas. Well, it has been banned in most such areas. The only problem is that it has not been enforced strictly. Public safety One of the primary dangers associated with consuming alcohol in public areas is the potential for increased incidents of public disorder. The result is that these areas often become sites of disruptive behavior, including littering and vandalism. In some cases, they result in violence. We have seen and read enough reports to show that overindulgence in alcohol has resulted in violence that caused grievous injuries and even deaths in some cases. These disturbances affect families and children who frequent these spaces. The lack of specific laws against drinking in public means that enforcement relies on general nuisance laws, which can be insufficient to deter such behavior. And we have seen quite a bit of this. As expected, some linked this to rising Islamism in the country but I beg to differ. No religion encourages you to get intoxicated through the use of alcohol or drugs. It's just not our culture. Social implications Drinking in public obviously clashes with the values of Malaysia's predominantly Muslim population, where alcohol consumption is outlawed in accordance with shariah laws. While non-Muslims are permitted to drink, public displays of drunkenness can be seen as disrespectful and may lead to social tensions. The etiquette surrounding alcohol consumption in Malaysia suggests that drinking in public places is inappropriate, particularly in conservative areas. This has the potential to lead to cultural and racial conflicts too. So barring alcohol consumption in public places is not a step backward for the rights of non-Muslims but it can instead be seen as a move to prevent ugly incidents that can affect unity. Health risks The health implications of public drinking are also significant. Malaysia has seen a high prevalence of binge drinking, with studies indicating that many drinkers engage in binge drinking behaviour. This pattern of consumption can lead to various health issues, including alcohol-related accidents and long-term health problems such as liver disease and mental health disorders. The normalisation of drinking in public spaces may exacerbate these issues, particularly among younger individuals who may be more susceptible to peer pressure and risky drinking behaviour. Such actions will be misconstrued by the young minds that drinking is okay, at an age when they are too young to understand the long-term dangers and impact of picking up the habit which can get out of control if one is irresponsible. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Prison officers at youth jails 'warned to NOT take TVs away from disruptive teenagers'
Wardens are having to give back TVs they have confiscated from teens for violence or bad behaviour in a 'decency' drive. Officers in youth jails have been left stunned by the instruction - which sees sets returned to lags, including rapists and murderers. An email from the governor of Fetham Young Offenders Institution, in west London, told staff the removal could lead to 'frustration' among the teenagers. In the year up to March 2024 the facility saw 410 violent incidents - a rate of 488 incidents per 100 children. It is considered to be the most violent in England and Wales, with authorities finding 343 weapons in a year - nearly one a day. A source said confiscating TVs is one of the only ways to punish young offenders. 'Now we have been told we can't take them away even if they assault us. Predictably, since the boys have found out, this the place has gone wild,' a source told The Sun. The order is also reported to be being rolled out at institutions in Werrington in Staffordshire, Wetherby in West Yorkshire and Bridgend in South Wales. Just last month justice secretay Shabana Mahmood authorised the use of pepper spray at young offender institutions at Feltham, Werrington and Wetherby. 'If a TV is to be considered for removal, a case will need to be raised to the Deputy Governor,' the email said, as seen by The Sun. 'Leaving boys without a TV is one of the sources of frustration that leads to instability - so will help to drive to safety through decency.' A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told the newspaper: 'Staff cannot remove TVs, but they are encouraged to look at other options.' Last year Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor painted a disturbing picture of conditions inside Feltham A young offender institution (YOI), describing a volatile environment where children aged between 15 and 18 play 'the big man' and have to be kept apart. Housing 84 boys inside a run-down, poorly-insulated building that suffers from frequent leaks, the facility saw a spree of violent incidents in the year to March. Figures suggest six times more violence at the west London site than at HMP Bedford - one of the most violent adult prisons - where a recent inspection found the rate of violence was calculated at 80.6 incidents per 100 prisoners. Over last summer the level of disorder reached such a level that dogs were introduced to Feltham to keep order. One person assaulted 38 members of staff in seven months, according to a separate report published in August 2023. Mr Taylor, who visited in March, said he was 'very concerned' by how the prison had 'deteriorated' since his last inspection, although he praised staff who had 'managed to maintain impressively positive and supportive relationships' with inmates 'despite the violence around them'. A source with knowledge of the jail told MailOnline at the time that Feltham was particularly at risk from violence because it brought together serious young offenders - often with links to gangs - all in one place. In his inspection Mr Taylor found there more than 260 different instructions to prevent children from mixing. Seven inmates had been separated for more than 50 days, while two of them for more than 100. Mr Taylor warned that rather than being placed in lessons with children who had similar abilities and interests, boys were allocated to classes based on with whom they could mix without fighting. In an interview with BBC Radio London, he said many of these orders were to prevent violent gang disputes. 'The danger is, it feeds the sort of grandiosity that some of these kids might have about themselves that 'I'm the big man and I can't mix with anybody',' he said. His inspectors found high levels of violence and rising self-harm when they visited Feltham A in March 2024. Incidents of disorder had 'tripled' since the last inspection, with the latest report detailing the volatile situation the watchdog found behind bars. There had been a 'dramatic increase' in the number of assaults and serious incidents last summer which led to the education block being shut down for several weeks. Reacting to Mr Taylor's report, Mark Fairhurst, chair of the Prison Officers Association, warned 'a tragedy is on its way' and claimed 'brave staff' had been left with 'zero protection'.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The meaning behind Cannes' 'naked dress' red-carpet ban
There's complex etiquette and a rich history behind the French film festival's red-carpet ban of "naked" or "voluminous" dressing. We decipher the "decency" dress code of the Cannes Film Festival in 2025. That most rigid of red carpets just got a little bit more rigid – on Tuesday, the Cannes Film Festival announced that: "for decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as in any other area of the festival." It feels striking because naked dresses have become such a red-carpet staple in recent years, including at Cannes. Last year, for instance, the supermodel Bella Hadid wore a 10-denier Saint Laurent halter neck dress, while over the years stars from Isabelle Huppert, Naomi Campbell and Kendal Jenner have all opted for the oxymoronic trend. Landing at a time when there is a rise in cultural conservatism, it feels in keeping with an uptick in the policing of women's bodies – in this instance, in the name of "decency". "God forbid someone serves a nipple," wrote Boring Not Com, an anonymous account famous in fashion circles, on Instagram – continuing, "the quiet return of conservatism is real". For some, including Rose McGowan, so-called naked dressing is about empowerment. And many observers also pointed out glaring double standards. "Bare skin is banned on the carpet, yet once inside, it's right there on the screen. Almost always female, of course," wrote Boring Not Com. "Let's not forget, this is the same festival that turned women away for wearing flats in 2015. All while still rolling out the red carpet for Roman Polanski [who in 1978 fled the US ahead of sentencing for the rape of a minor]." Other commentators made the wider point that Cannes is home to another famous – paradoxical – rule defining what women wear: the 2016 burkini ban, which decreed that Muslim women wearing burkinis could be a threat to public order. "A woman dressing modestly and covering her head for religious reasons is not allowed and a woman in a sheer dress is also seen as 'indecent'. You need to dress conservatively but not too conservatively. It's a lose-lose situation," wrote Shahed Ezaydi in Stylist. But the festival ban does not stop at nudity, also decreeing that "voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre are not permitted". It strikes at the heart of the question: what is the red carpet actually for? What – or rather who – people are wearing has been an essential question ever since Joan Rivers first framed it as such on the Golden Globes red carpet in 1994. In more recent years, red carpets have been likened to enormous adverts; marketing exercises where celebrities get paid big money to wear a certain designer's work, arguably shifting the focus from the films to the fashion. In many cases – the Met Gala being the most extreme example – they have become a platform for increasingly dramatic sartorial spectacles intended to garner as much attention as possible; big trains, it turns out, do exactly that. Whether that is a good or bad thing is subjective. But Cannes has arguably remained a little different. According to one fashion insider, quoted in the Guardian in 2023, "the main US awards are more heavily financially backed – with fees of $100k+ [£75.4k+] for a red carpet look – so there is so much more pressure". In contrast, "at Cannes, there is less obligation [to wear certain brands and certain things]". Although Cannes is to thank for some of the sartorial freedom, this is perhaps part of the problem, too. The French festival has become an unofficial fashion week. For many, the blockbusting fashion is now almost as noteworthy as the films themselves. For a festival that takes its film very seriously, this must gall. But for others, who perhaps hold a more generous view of the artistry of fashion, that isn't the most salient point. Given the announcement about the banning was made just a day before the festival, when outfits will have been being planned for months, some commentators spared a thought for fashion industry workers. "Thoughts and prayers to all the stylists," wrote style writer Louis Pisano on Instagram. "It is a low blow," said Besovic. "It shows how much you don't respect the people who are attending your festival… especially the stylists… You couldn't have done this two months ago?" Halle Berry, herself a fan of a naked dress on the red carpet, has already fallen foul – she reportedly had a voluminous dress planned that she now "can't wear because the train is too big". However, the US star added: "I had to make a pivot. But the nudity part I do think is probably also a good rule." For some, though, the side of the ban dealing with volume makes more sense than the nudity. As Cannes veteran Pisano described, speaking to Vogue Business, in recent years the carpet has been overwhelmed with influencers intentionally wearing the "craziest, most insane, biggest thing they can find… They take up the most space on the red carpet and," with thousands of people needing to get into the cinemas, "everybody gets clogged up". This is not the first time the Cannes Film Festival has implemented a ban designed to speed things up. In 2018, the festival's artistic director, Thierry Frémaux, banned the selfie, telling Le Film Français magazine that, "on the red carpet, the trivial aspect and the slowing down provoked by the disorder which these selfies create tarnishes the quality of [the red-carpet experience] and of the festival as a whole". So will Cannes really police this ban? While the festival has outlined that "welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red-carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules," it remains to be seen how evenly that will be enforced. Because, despite setting such strict guidelines in the past, it hasn't always been democratically good at applying them. In 1953, Pablo Picasso obtained special dispensation to wear a sheepskin coat in violation of the evening dress code. A journalist the same year was given no such privilege. On another occasion, no such allowances were made for Henry Miller, who, in 1960, refused to obey the code and, despite being a member of the jury, was turned away from the opening evening because he wasn't wearing a dinner jacket. The fact that all of this information is courtesy of the Cannes Festival website hints that there is at least some pride in creating a fuss via a dress code that they know full well a few will choose – and fewer will be allowed – to flaunt. "Rumour has it," according to Style Not Come, that "it won't apply to the real stars of the carpet. The models and brand ambassadors who show up for the photo op, skip the screening and slip out the back. Which, let's be honest, is most of them." More likely is that a few influencers, wearing dresses the size of Citroën cars, will be shown the red carpet off-ramp. If history tells us anything, those who do disobey and get away with it will be judged kindly in the public eye. Because disobeying a dress code considered to be draconian, snobbish or patriarchal has in the past amassed kudos for Hollywood stars who, in that moment, signal their approachability. Take Julia Roberts, who went barefoot in 2016, a year after flat shoes were disallowed. The move won her the title of "America's sweetheart" in Vanity Fair. Then in 2018 Kristen Stewart kicked off her Louboutins on the red carpet, having previously said to the Hollywood Reporter: "If you're not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you cannot ask me either." Will those freeing the nipple – and getting away with it – receive similar praise? -- If you liked this story sign up for The Essential List newsletter, a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
