On July 12, Japanese police arrested artist Megumi Igarashi on obscenity charges for encouraging people to print 3-D replicas of her vagina, to raise money to make a vagina-shaped kayak. (She was released almost a week later, but still faces possible jail time). On Thursday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart puzzled through why Japan would react so harshly to yonic art — and how it justifies such a gross double standard when it comes to obscenity. "On the Japanese pervometer, the vagina boat is practically a Disney World ride," Stewart said.
Stewart finds his answer, sort of, in an annual phallus-themed parade in Kawasaki, and in the Japanese folk legend behind it. "Look, Japan, I don't want to tell you how to run your country," he said, "but just think about it this way: America has a long tradition of allowing its female artists to express their innermost thoughts — and as a result, we don't spend 51 weeks a year storing a giant steel dick in our garage." --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why some people remember dreams and others don'tUnder The Radar Age, attitude and weather all play a part in dream recall
-
The Week contest: Hotel sealPuzzles and Quizzes
-
New FBI Director Kash Patel could profit heavily from foreign interestsThe Explainer Patel holds more than $1 million in Chinese fashion company Shein
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
