Mark Sayers posted a really insighful post on his blog a few days ago called ‘Boundaries vs Meat Bikinis’:
Last week Lady Gaga incensed animal rights activists by appearing in an Italian magazine wearing a Bikini made of raw meat. This was the latest effort a long line of media attention grabbing stunts in which various cultural, religious and sexual boundaries were crossed by her Gaganess. However the obsession with pushing boundaries and crossing lines in not restricted just to Lady Gaga, paradoxically it is tradition within modernity…However boundaries are essential to human life. Distinctions and separations are key not only to human life, but to the whole of creation. The piercing truth of this reality was brought home to me recently as I accidentally opened the unlocked door of a plane bathroom to be greeted by the shocked face of a woman – how shall I say? – not expecting to be disturbed. This moment of embarrassment reminded me that boundaries offer us dignity, they make us human.
Read the full article here.
Deliberate Disciple 
Interesting. I’ll leave a comment here since Mark doesn’t appear to allow them at his blog. What the article doesn’t dwell on is that boundaries have also been used throughout history to subjugate and oppress the vulnerable: men can vote and women cannot; these seats are for white people – blacks must stand; heterosexuals can marry, homosexuals cannot. Etc.
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David – I will pass your comment onto Mark and you never know he might come and reply here 🙂
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Thanks Martin. Having said all that above, there are other examples of fundamental limits/boundaries that humans don’t like and cannot exceed – I’m thinking particularly of natural resource/capacity limits. Our current way of life is driven to exceed these boundaries (through the ideology of endless growth at least in the west) but in doing so we are undermining the natural systems upon which we depend. In this respect, I certainly see a resonance in Mark’s point about ignoring limits and dehumanizing ourselves.
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