The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has done a 180 on its nudity ban, reversing the resolution which previously forbid models and beauty queens from taking nude photos and disseminating them on the internet.
The ban, which was approved in April, stipulated that artistic performers and beauty contest winners were forbidden from “taking photos or recording personal videos without costumes or with costumes which are objectionable”, according to Thanh Nien.
However this decision was met with opposition from both performers and photographers, who argued that the line between inappropriate nudity and artistic photography is subjective. Vu Khanh, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Photographers, told Thanh Nien the ban was unfair to artists.
“Nudity is not encouraged in Vietnam, but it has never been banned,” he told the news outlet.
Director Hoang Minh Thai of the Ministry's Department of Legal Affairs confirmed over the weekend that the ban will be lifted, reports VnExpress, however the regulation is still awaiting further amendments.
Though the circular has been in effect since April, no violations have been reported. Thai noted, however, that any new cases which arise will still be subject to the regulations listed in the circular until further amendments have been approved.
[Photo by Linh Van Dinh via Viet Designer]
