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<p>Down with sexual diktats!  There are many studies looking at our sexual activity. But are they really accurate? Can our sexuality be measured in numbers?</p>

Sex in Figures

Down with sexual diktats!  There are many studies looking at our sexual activity. But are they really accurate? Can our sexuality be measured in numbers?

It's hard to understand: one day the G-spot exists, the next day it doesn't. Decried in the 1980s, rehabilitated in the 2000s and finally thrown out in the early 2020s, no female body part has ever been so controversial.

The G-Spot Shuffle

It's hard to understand: one day the G-spot exists, the next day it doesn't.

From Anita Ekberg to Jayne Mansfield to the reality TV stars of the 2000s, large breasts have long been considered an aesthetic ideal to aspire to. But since the beginning of the 2010s and the arrival voluptuous stars like Kim Kardashian the beauty standard has changed: buttocks have dethroned breasts.

Bust your Bum

Since the beginning of the 2010s and the arrival of voluptuous stars like Kim Kardashian, beauty standards have changed: buttocks have dethroned breasts.

The burden for contraception in heterosexual couples falls almost exclusively on women. When will they develop a male contraceptive pill? And why don’t more men have a vasectomy?

Taken Your Pill?

STOP! Leave us the hell alone! In our sex-saturated society some people are turning off and don’t want to have sex anymore.

No Sex

Whatever women wear in public, it always seems to be an issue of debate and never seems to be quite right. From cat calls on the street to clothing bans in schools, dress-code politics are alive and well.

Go Get Dressed!

Whatever women wear in public, it always seems to be an issue of debate and never seems to be quite right. 

Women just want to be left alone in public spaces without creeps harassing them all the time. Does that mean the end of flirting?

No More Flirting!

#Metoo put the spotlight on consent in sexual relations, even within couples. The old-fashioned idea of conjugal duty still lingers and women can feel obliged to have sex with their partners even when they’re not in the mood.

Not Tonight, Love

#Metoo put the spotlight on consent in sexual relations, even within couples. 

It is commonly accepted that classic heterosexual intercourse begins with an erection and ends with an ejaculation. Coitus remains the central act in sex. However, 70% of heterosexual women attest that they do not have an orgasm during penetration, whereas 90% of men do. This is known as the orgasm gap.

Feeling Happy?

70% of heterosexual women attest that they do not have an orgasm during penetration, whereas 90% of men do. This is known as the orgasm gap.

Women are 27 times more likely to be harassed online than men. Social media seems to have made abuse of women worse. And yet very little is done about it.

It’s No Use!

We've been told so much that our fantasies are a secret garden, that we forget that some of them are not so secret after all. The keywords or tags typed into search engines generally say a lot about us.

Tell Me Your Tags

Show me your porn searches and I’ll tell you who you are.

Down with sexual diktats!  In this episode: Have the 50 Shades of Grey novels and the mummy porn phenomenon changed our sexual practices?

50 Shades of Conservativism

Down with sexual diktats!  In a feminist reading of gender relations, why do men send so many pictures of their penises to women they do not know?

The Dick Pic Invasion

Down with sexual diktats!  In this episode: Growing old seems to be the worst thing that could happen for a woman in modern Western society. Can cosmetic surgery help?

Forever Young

Down with sexual diktats!  Liberated deconstructs received ideas and myths about sex. In this episode is sperm really good for the skin?

Man Juice

Down with sexual diktats! In this episode: Anal sex is becoming more normal in heterosexual couples, But not without taboo.

From behind

Down with sexual diktats! In this episode: On top of having to be thin and young, the female body must be smooth and hairless!

No More Hair

Down with sexual diktats!  In this episode: Why don’t tampon adverts use red liquid, the real colour of blood?

Hide the Blood!

Down with sexual diktats!  In this episode: How can women be happy with their bodies when they are constantly pushed unrealistic messages about their body image?

The Fat Issue

Down with sexual diktats! In this episode: How female bisexuality became acceptable because it fed straight men’s fantasies.

I kissed a Girl

In our era of crises, comic books are tackling the problems of our times head-on. Culture magazine TWIST goes to the International Comics Festival in Angoulême, France.

Comic Books in Crisis Times

Twist

Fisherman Darren Kenyon is from Grimsby in north-east England. Like 70% of the people in the area, he voted for Brexit in the hope for a better deal for the fishing sector. But so far nothing has improved for the industry and the wider region. Former Boris Johnson supporters feel cheated.

Fisherman Darren Kenyon is from Grimsby in north-east England. He voted for Brexit in the hope for a better deal for the fishing sector. But so far nothing has improved.

Re: British Fishermen and Brexit

Why is it so important for some to show that they have money? Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all? We go to the streets of Berlin to talk to the people of the city about wealth, minimalism and freedom.

Become Rich!

Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all?

Streetphilosophy

Allegations against R. Kelly have dogged the R’n’B star for decades. With alleged sexual abuse and child pornography, can we still listen to R. Kelly songs?

TAPE: R. Kelly

Meet Olivier Latry, the organist of the famous Notre-Dame in Paris: one of the most prestigious organist gigs in the world. Join him on an exciting musical and historical journey to the heart of the organ.

Meet Olivier Latry, the organist of the famous Notre-Dame in Paris

The Organ of Notre Dame

We tie knots every day without a second thought, but it's all about context. Tying your shoelaces is nothing special, but that very same movement becomes charged with meaning when it is practised as part of Shibari. This Japanese art of tying someone into a tightly woven mesh of intricate knots and bindings started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Bondage: The Ties That Free

The tradition of Shibari started off as a form of punishment. But it is now a sexual fetish, and a craft, full of precision.

Gymnastics

Reggae emerged in the 1960s and in 1985 Wayne Smith's Under Mi Sleng Teng revolutionised the genre. But the riddim of this famous song didn't come from the island - it was written by a Japanese woman, Okuda Hiroko, an employee at Casio.

Japanese Regqae

The riddim of the revolutionary song Under Mi Sleng Teng was created by a Casio employee from Japan. 

Artist Davina Sammarcelli makes erotic poems out of letters, returning them to their purest state: lines, shapes, and symbols. Two full stops each encased in parentheses can veer away from their linguistic significance, and suddenly take on the appearance of a pair of breasts. A latent sexuality that language had all along, Davina believes.

Porno-graphics (.)(.)

Meet the artist who thinks letters are sexy

Taboo since ancient times, periods are also taboo in art. But thanks to a generation of feminist artists determined to end the shame around menstruation, period blood is making a big splash in the art world - even if social media has yet to catch up. 

The Art of Menstruation

A generation of feminist artists are determined to end the shame around menstruation

Bonuses and Extracts

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Highly influential indie rockers from Boston, famous for such tracks as Debaser and Where is my mind perform in Paris as part of a European tour for their latest album Doggerel.

Legendary and highly influential indie rockers perform in Paris as part of their European tour.

Pixies - Live at the Paris Olympia

Music director of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru takes his musicians on a tour of his homeland, Romania. A tour stopping in Timişoara, his hometown. On the programme: The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms with soloist Simon Trpčeski.

Concert from the European Capital of Culture 2023

Conductor Cristian Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne perform Brahms and Klaus Lang in Romania.

Cristian Mācelaru in Timişoara

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 2,500 documents were leaked from Prigozhin’s servers by anti-Putin hackers, shedding light on this secretive group of mercenaries, a key element in the war in Ukraine.

Data Sources

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

The Prigozhin Papers

At once seductive and dangerous, historical myth and male fantasy, the femme fatale represents both erotic promise and a death trap to the male observer. Conceived at the end of the 19th century in the works of Gustave Moreau, Franz von Stuck and Lovis Corinth, the femme fatale was completely reinvented in the 20th century by many female artists.

Seductive and dangerous, the figure of the femme fatale in art was completely reinvented in the 20th century.

The Femme Fatale in Art

Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

The UK and the EU reach a new agreement on Northern Ireland, a focus on how bad fast fashion is for the environment, and the rise of literary influencers on Tiktok.

New Northern Ireland Agreement / Fast Fashion in Europe

The UK and the EU reach a new agreement on Northern Ireland and a focus on how bad fast fashion is for the environment, plus literary Tiktok,

ARTE Europe Weekly

In El Salvador, gangs have terrorised the country for decades. But when Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, becoming the youngest head of state in Latin America, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

El Salvador: The coolest dictator in the world?

When Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

ARTE Reportage

The Greek government is under intense pressure to explain how February’s tragic train accident happened. The crash has sparked widespread anti-government protests. We take a broad view of the state of gender equality across Europe and find out about a pioneering law to help menopausal women in Spain.

Greece train crash / Gender equality / Photography

Massive protests engulf Greece after a deadly train crash, with the public pointing fingers at the government.

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot show another side of Israel. One with high-levels of social deprivation and strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s controversial judicial reforms.

Sderot - The Other Israel

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot is a different Israel with strong support for Netanjahu and high levels of social deprivation.

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants and changed the course of European history.

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants. 

The Defenestration of Prague

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years. Their sperm is smuggled out of prison to be used in IVF with their partners.

Israel-Palestine: Secret Babies of the Intifada

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years.

One aspect of the war in Ukraine is being played out in the shadows. Our reporter met partisans in the Kherson region, which was occupied by Russian forces until last November. These Ukrainian civilians have set up resistance networks in Russian-occupied territories.

Ukraine: Resistance in Occupied Territories

Our reporters met partisans in the Kherson region, which was occupied by Russian forces until last November. Ukrainian civilians there have set up resistance networks in Russian-occupied territories.

Working her way out of poverty as a sex worker all while supporting her family in Romania. That’s Andrada’s goal. She speaks confidently and openly about her work in a red-light district in Germany’s Ruhr region.  
This programme by German channel ARD is part of The European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.

Portrait of a sex worker in the Ruhr region, Germany.  

Hard Life – I sell sex for money

With all the religious wars, the 17th century was a tense time in Europe. And in art one theme caught everyone’s imagination: the Virgin Mary.

Assumption of the Virgin - Nicolas Poussin

Look But Don't Touch

Lyubov, which means love in Russian, is 80 years old and lives alone on the shores of Lake Baikal. She bears witness to this wonder of nature and possesses and unbreakable bond with the world’s deepest lake in Siberia. Her life here is hard, especially in winter, but she would not live anywhere else.

On the shores of Lake Baikal, an old woman lives alone in a beautiful place that is dear to her heart.

The Old Woman and the Lake

Cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular in Europe and the world. We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

We talk about the plastic surgery craze with French plastic surgeons Mauricio de Maio and Oren Marco and philosopher Heather Widdows.

Crazy for Plastic Surgery

To celebrate 50 years of French radio station FIP, Sting gives a special performance in the monumental surroundings of the Pantheon in Paris.

50 Years of FIP Radio

Sting at the Pantheon in Paris

Less than 40 kilometres separate the French coast from England at Calais. The crossing seems easy to many, although in reality it is highly dangerous. Smugglers have recently been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life.

Children of Calais

Smugglers have been launching more and more small boats from the French beaches crammed with young people in the hope of a better life in England.

Piano/electric duo Grandbrothers perform at Cologne Cathedral to celebrate the 700th anniversary of its consecration, in a spectacular show featuring their ‘augmented’ piano and light show.

Grandbrothers from Cologne Cathedral

From an incredibly varied selection of 19th century postcards, the Paris of the Belle Epoque (1871 – 1914) comes to life. Street-photography captured Parisians from all walks of life and conveyed the optimism and elegance of the period.

From an incredibly varied selection of 19th century postcards, the Paris of the Belle Epoque (1871 – 1914) comes to life.

Liberated!

Liberated!

The G-Spot Shuffle

Liberated!

Bust your Bum

Liberated!

Taken Your Pill?

Liberated!

No Sex

Liberated!

Go Get Dressed!

Liberated!

No More Flirting!

Liberated!Sex in Figures

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