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

No More Hair

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

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: Why don’t tampon adverts use red liquid, the real colour of blood?

Hide the Blood!

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?

Sex in Figures

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

Human beings are covered in body hair, but ever since antiquity, painters and artists have depicted completely hairless bodies. The Origin of the World, which depicts pubic hair, caused a huge scandal. 

Perfect Bodies

Human beings are covered in body hair, but ever since antiquity, painters and artists have depicted completely hairless bodies in their works

Gymnastics

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.

Paris in the Belle Epoque

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

Austere face, dark looks, tormented psyche: at first glance, Nick Cave is a gothic hero. But the king of indie music and the world of darkness have more of a love/hate relationship.

TAPE

Nick Cave

For better or worse, fear is part of our lives. Ronja von Rönne finds out what scares Berliners the most. Fear is often distressing but can it be a positive emotion?

Have No Fear!

Ronja finds out what scares Berliners the most. Fear is often distressing but can it be a positive emotion?

Streetphilosophy

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

In Ukraine, long-distance love is the new normal. Indie pop icon Ingret Kostenko had a meteoric rise to fame until the Russian invasion forced her to flee to Germany. The man she loved was a soldier at the front and she went home regularly to see him. This separation is the inspiration for Ingret’s music.

Love in Wartime

Ukrainian Indie pop icon Ingret Kostenko is in a long-distance relationship with a soldier, the inspiration for her music.

Tracks East

A simple hut on the Côte d‘Azur shows all of Le Corbusier’s architectural genius.

Le Corbusier and his Cabin

Conductors can gesticulate wildly when they conduct an orchestra. But have you ever wondered what exactly they are doing with their hands? And why do they use a baton?

Why Do Conductors Use Batons?

Bonuses and Extracts

Discover more

France’s President Emmanuel Macron forced through an unpopular reform of the country’s pension system – and the French aren’t having it. We travel to Romania to find out about a possible law to ban gambling adverts, and look at how to protect Europeans from addictions.

France’s pension reform / Gambling / Photography

Protests erupt across France in response to the government’s pension reform bill, and we explore gambling across Europe.

ARTE Europe Weekly

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

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 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

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

Many governments and organisations are wary of their employers using the social media TikTok. Does the Chinese company really serve Xi Jinping’s regime?

TikTok: A Chinese Threat?

Mapping the World Essentials

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating over the breakaway region of Transnistria, an investigation on how prepared Europe is for another summer of wildfires, and a report from the Dissident Club in Paris.

Tensions in Moldova / WildFires in Europe

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating with street protests and controversy over Russian secret documents.

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 first glance, it's an image of innocence. A motherly milkmaid pouring out the milk in a kitchen, preparing snacks from our childhoods. But there's actually far more to her than meets the eye.

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A famous image that at first glance looks totally innocent, but is in actual fact full of innuendo

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

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

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

A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Water

 A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Good News From Our Planet

Trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Fred Hersh perform from their album, The Song Is You, at the Italian Piacenza jazz festival.

Piacenza Jazz Fest

Trumpeter Enrico Rava and pianist Fred Hersh perform from their album, The Song Is You, at the Italian azz festival.

Enrico Rava & Fred Hersch

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 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.

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

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,

Mustafa is 28 years old and grew up in the Ratingen-West district in Düsseldorf, his “hood”. It’s an area with high unemployment rates and is home to people from many different nationalities, both a melting pot and socially deprived. Mustafa now runs a kiosk in the middle of the district, on Berliner Platz. Between high-rises, friendships and poverty, we discover his life.
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 kiosk owner in a socially deprived area of Düsseldorf, Germany.

Hard Life – I work in the middle of the ghetto

The new Windsor agreement between the EU and the UK is hoped to improve relations and solve the Northern Ireland issue.

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!No More Hair

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