# Uh, thanks, but I'd rather not see pics of your newborn's genitalia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178 "2013-08-26T03:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/61 "2013-08-27T13:00:07Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > A lot of people have assumed that the OP thought there was something sexual about a naked baby. They probably need to consider where their mind is at if they automatically think “pervert”. What other complaint would there be, if not some vague unease because genitalia are sexual? No one is suggesting the OP got aroused or is a pervert. Even the OP said he wasn’t a “prude”, a term usually reserved for people who are sexually uptight, so it seems like tge sexual nature of genitalia is exactly what the OP was concerned about. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/62 "2013-08-27T13:02:56Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Nothing wrong with a naked baby. Out of consideration for the future grown up, I would think those would be better in limited circulation - family and close friends, not everyone in the address book. Very good point- privacy is changing in dramatic ways, and this is an example. Naked baby pic in family album on a shelf, no big deal. Naked baby pic shown far and wide, potentially a problem later. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/63 "2013-08-27T13:07:28Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Out of consideration for the future grown up, I would think those would be better in limited circulation - family and close friends, not everyone in the address book. So, if a picture of President Obama (or Bush, Clinton, Whoever) as a bare-assed newborn surfaced it would be an embarrassment? Really? Guess I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/64 "2013-08-27T13:12:32Z")
“Could” vs “would” is a key distinction, I think. A pic like that could be utterly charming. Or the complete opposite. Hard to tell 35 years in advance. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/65 "2013-08-27T13:26:11Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > “Could” vs “would” is a key distinction, I think. > > A pic like that could be utterly charming. Or the complete opposite. Hard to tell 35 years in advance. But it would never be offensive or somehow disturbing. Naked newborn baby pictures, by definition, are innocent. Seriously, there is nothing peverted, obscene, immoral about them. They might be charming, or giggle-inducing, but what adult would seriously be horrified at a typical newborn naked baby pic? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/66 "2013-08-27T13:32:59Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My nieces are 12 and 13, and I’m sure they are very aware that there exist topless pictures of them on the Internet. Of course, they were babies, but still. Still what? I find this attitude sick in a baffling sort of way. Little girls need to cover their tops now? Where does this end? How about people who have pets, specially large dogs, naked around the house when they have visitors? A large dog that comes and smells your crotch and then sits and flaunts its huge penis while it licks its balls. I mean, this is an adult, sexually mature and active dog. Really, can’t they put pants on the poor thing? It’s not like we are living on the veldt any more. I’ve even been to a farm where the goats where totally naked and force to go around with their huge tits just dangling about. I mean, how about a bra? That would be more considerate for the goat and for the poor visitors who are forced to view the spectacle and might have their passion stirred by the unexpected view. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/67 "2013-08-27T13:33:08Z")
Agreed there. But there’s pics and there’s pics. The classic bare butt on a bear rug mentioned above is an artistic portrait- birth pics are frequently just graphic (and undignified). And imagine some pic of Young Bill Clinton with Little Willy visible- it would have been everywhere. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/68 "2013-08-27T13:34:47Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Agreed there. But there’s pics and there’s pics. > The classic bare butt on a bear rug mentioned above is an artistic portrait- birth pics are frequently just graphic (and undignified). > > And imagine some pic of Young Bill Clinton with Little Willy visible- it would have been everywhere. ☹ The fault would be on the people sexualizing the baby pic. I think most people woud have gotten that. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/69 "2013-08-27T13:37:13Z")
Assigning fault doesn’t change the fact that thing would have been in our faces 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/70 "2013-08-27T13:38:22Z")
Babies are fine and I don’t have a problem with them but I don’t need to see them nude, either. It’s not sexual and to me, it’s not even cute. It’s just stupid. Let’s show off our little baby naked to all and sundry! Yay! It’s not offensive or horrifying. We don’t scream and clutch our pearls. We even take care of naked babies. We just have no real interest in seeing babies’ naked bodies. I guess what I am trying to say is, that shit is _not_ cute to us. Personally when I see a naked baby one of the first things my mind goes to is “Hope she just pooped, or there’s going to be a righteous mess everywhere.” Second is, “Why are they showing me a naked baby? Like I care.” It doesn’t evoke warm gooey feelings of motherhood in me, it just makes me roll my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/71 "2013-08-27T13:52:03Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Babies are fine and I don’t have a problem with them but I don’t need to see them nude, either. It’s not sexual and to me, it’s not even cute. It’s just stupid. Let’s show off our little baby naked to all and sundry! Yay! > > It’s not offensive or horrifying. We don’t scream and clutch our pearls. We even take care of naked babies. We just have no real interest in seeing babies’ naked bodies. > > I guess what I am trying to say is, that shit is _not_ cute to us. Personally when I see a naked baby one of the first things my mind goes to is “Hope she just pooped, or there’s going to be a righteous mess everywhere.” Second is, “Why are they showing me a naked baby? Like I care.” It doesn’t evoke warm gooey feelings of motherhood in me, it just makes me roll my eyes. Sure, but that could be someones attitude to just about any kid picture. Little girls in tutus? Halloween costumes? Naked newborn pics aren’t a special category of roll-eyes. Any kid pic is fair game for someone to think it’s not cute. I like kids and there are plenty of pics other people like that I think are stupid. For me it’s any pic of a preadolescent girl that’s too overtly “sexy”. Bonus points for comments about how dad better get his shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/72 "2013-08-27T15:04:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, if a picture of President Obama (or Bush, Clinton, Whoever) as a bare-assed newborn surfaced it would be an embarrassment? Really? Guess I just don’t get it. Well, with Obama the issue would be seeing Mount Kilimanjaro out the delivery room window. _Obviously_ I’m joking. Mount Kilimanjaro’s in Tanzania. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/73 "2013-08-27T15:34:10Z")
The rush to get clothes on a newborn infant is bizarre. I can see wrapping it up in a blanket to keep it warm, but why is dressing it such a high priority to anyone? Of course I don’t understand the uproar about adult nudity either. I wear clothes for physical comfort. How are people getting emotional or mental benefits from them as well? Is having genitalia really a reasonable source of shame that can only be coped with by hiding them? Most of us have them in one form or another, so I’m certain it has to be okay. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/74 "2013-08-27T17:28:58Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Considering how many people have gotten in trouble for taking film in to be developed that had pictures of naked babies, I think many people would be cautious about having pictures of unrelated-to-them nekkid babies on their hard drives. Yup. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > You can buy postcards here featuring hilltribes. In some hilltribe villages, the children are often running around buck naked, and some of the postcards capture this. It’s all rather innocent really, but still, one time when the wife wanted to buy a couple to send to friends in the US, I nixed the idea. I said someone in the postal service might alert the authorities to “child pornography” being distributed through the mails. Yup. The issue to me here isn’t “OMG! Naked baby!” it’s “OMG! I’m getting arrested for child porn because some idiot sent me a picture of his naked baby!” The laws regarding child pornography and computers/internet don’t seem to be very flexible or forgiving (and I don’t imagine a lot of the people in this thread want them to be). > [@sailor](#): > > \ > I’ve even been to a farm where the goats where totally naked and force to go around with their huge tits just dangling about. I mean, how about a bra? That would be more considerate for the goat and for the poor visitors who are forced to view the spectacle and might have their passion stirred by the unexpected view. How about the naked lady sheeps? Those are some startlingly human-looking genitalia they have there! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/75 "2013-08-27T17:58:07Z")
Your (general you) baby’s junk isn’t sexual, but I still don’t want to see it on my FB feed any more than I want to see its loaded diaper, or your epesiotomy/c-section scars, or the cracks on your nipples from breastfeeding, or what you did with the afterbirth. These things are not sexual or disgusting or upsetting in any way. What they are, or at least what they’re supposed to be, is _personal_. Intimate. I do not, by and large, want that sort of intimacy with you. Having that sort of intimacy thrust upon me unilaterally is off-putting in the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/76 "2013-08-27T18:17:29Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Your (general you) baby’s junk isn’t sexual, but I still don’t want to see it on my FB feed any more than I want to see its loaded diaper, or your epesiotomy/c-section scars, or the cracks on your nipples from breastfeeding, or what you did with the afterbirth. We could have an entire dialogue about things we don’t want to see or hear on FB, but naked baby pictures would be waaaay down on the list. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/77 "2013-08-27T18:46:08Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Naked baby pic in family album on a shelf, no big deal. Naked baby pic shown far and wide, potentially a problem later. I understand how posting a picture of yourself naked at 20 could end up causing problems later, but how on earth could a naked picture of yourself as a baby be a problem??? Besides showing that you used to be a baby, I’m not sure what the issue could be. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/78 "2013-08-27T18:46:13Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > We could have an entire dialogue about things we don’t want to see or hear on FB, but naked baby pictures would be waaaay down on the list. _Your_ list. Why is this problem so endemic on the Dope? That because some people are fine with something, everyone must be? News flash: Some of us feel differently from others and _that’s ok_. Naked baby ass is pretty high up on my list of things I’d not care to see! And I really feel for the kid. I never liked any of my naked baby pics being flashed around, and none of mine showed genitalia. I think it’s just awful that parents feel like this is a fine thing: show your naked baby to your coworkers or any stranger. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/79 "2013-08-27T19:24:43Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > _Your_ list. Why is this problem so endemic on the Dope? That because some people are fine with something, everyone must be? News flash: Some of us feel differently from others and _that’s ok_. > > Naked baby ass is pretty high up on my list of things I’d not care to see! And I really feel for the kid. I never liked any of my naked baby pics being flashed around, and none of mine showed genitalia. I think it’s just awful that parents feel like this is a fine thing: show your naked baby to your coworkers or any stranger. The first part of your post doesn’t fit with the last sentence. Sure, I get - from reading this thread - that some people have a subjective dislike for naked baby pics. Nothing wrong with that - as you say, “that’s OK”. How does that reverse itself into suddenly it is “not okay” to feel fine about showing them? Why does the dislike of the minority get to dictate what is okay? To my mind, there is a step missing here - a reason why, beyond subjective dislike (which is fully understandable), showing a naked baby is somehow “wrong” such that those who do it ought to restrain themselves. So far, all the reasons I’ve heard do not really hold up. 1. You should not show them because some people don’t like them. Well, people don’t like lots of things - some, for example, don’t like women who are not fully covered because that’s immodest. Should I not have a pic of my wife’s naked face because of that? Life is too short to take into consideration all of the possible idiosyncratic dislikes of the world’s population. Why should the fact that this particular one isn’t catered to, make anyone upset, let alone find it “sad”? 2. You should not show them because the kid will grow up to be embarrased by his naked babiness shown all over the place. Really? Why exactly should a grown-up be embarrased by a pic of him or herself as a baby? Does not compute. 3. You should not show them because people will get arrested for child porn. I simply cannot believe that having a naked baby pic will get you arrested for child porn. Has this ever actually happened in reality? 4. It’s TMI, like a pic of an appendectomy scar, a birth picture, or one’s own nipples. Well, no, it’s a pretty major and accepted part of human society and interaction to be happy at having kids and wanting to show them to other people. The issue is whether they ought to be dressed up in little outfits to cater to said people’s squeamishness about nudity in any form. In contrast, while one may well be happy about surviving an operation, it is pretty well accepted that no-one wants to see pics of the operation, other than doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178/80 "2013-08-27T19:35:36Z")
Honestly, I don’t care that much. The thread came up, so I posted my views. Don’t like them? Fine. I don’t really expect you to care. Flash naked baby ass everywhere if you choose. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uh-thanks-but-id-rather-not-see-pics-of-your-newborns-genitalia/667178.md?page=5)