What’s the taboo?

ISSUE: VOLUME 44.04 WINTER 2015

What's the taboo?

Why breaking down social barriers matters

Throughout history, taboos have been established to limit and control society, and help to retain a status quo. “Best not mention it” is the nodded instruction to put something off limits in the family living room. In the 20th century, in the UK, societal disapproval would be rained down on those who ate something other than fish on Fridays, or children who played outside on a Sunday, or an adult who didn’t wear a hat to church. And in the US today the Westboro Baptist Church tells its female followers that it is forbidden for them to cut their hair. But why? Who decided these were the rules, and how do they change?

Editorial

Talk does not cost lives, silence does

Societies often endanger lives by creating taboos, rather than letting citizens openly discuss stigmas and beliefs. Index on Censorship magazine editor Rachael Jolley introduces our taboo-themed issue, which looks at no-go subjects worldwide, from abortion and mental health to the Holocaust and homosexuality

Winter 2015

Contents

A look at what’s inside the Winter 2015 issue

Magazine Launch Event

Do taboos still exist in society today? Are taboo subjects still brushed under the carpet instead of being faced head on? Is comedy a perfect platform to tackle these issues?

China’s XXX factor

China tops the global charts for viewing porn despite strict laws cracking down on its use. Jemimah Steinfeld discusses upcoming restrictions on reading about sex and a drive to get women to cover up their cleavage

Magazine Extra: Interview

Fifty years ago, Chilean author Ariel Dorfman wrote down the seed of a story, which he then lost in his years of exile during General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Recently he revisited the idea and realised how to develop it into his new short story, All I Ever Have, which is published for the first time in the latest Index on Censorship magazine.

Airbrushing racism

Should racist words and stereotypes be edited out of old films, television programmes and books? No, says Kunle Olulode, however uncomfortable they feel, they provide an insight into the past.

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Why breaking down social barriers matters

Talk does not cost lives, silence does

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