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Bikinis and mini-skirts may be commonplace in the Western world, but the Middle-East is a slightly different story. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran enforce strict modesty laws on women in keeping with Islamic tradition, and prohibit any skin other than the face and hands from showing. These restrictions even apply to Britney and Madonna, as it turns out.
Wearing sexy, revealing clothing is a great way to sell pretty much anything in North America. When these steamy images make their way into Islamic territories via media and advertisements, however, they're required to be toned down before they can be released to the public. In most cases, religious police in charge of censorship - known as mutaween - just take a big old Sharpie to Mariah's midriff or Shakira's shoulders. Recently, however, they've started to get a little creative with Photoshop, and even made headlines last week for replacing a woman in a pool ad with a beach ball. A+ for effort!
Check out the best, the worst, and the funniest edited images for sensitive audiences below, and just try to tell us that J-Lo isn't totally rocking those permanent marker pants.
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#1
Christina Aguilera - Lotus
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#2
Mariah Carey - #1's
#3
Pool Ad
#4
Shakira - Oral Fixation
#5
Justin Bieber - Purpose
#6
Britney Spears - Oops!...I Did It Again
#7
Christina Aguilera - Stripped
#8
Lady Gaga - Do What U Want
#9
Nirvana - Nevermind
#10
Miley Cyrus - Bangerz
#11
Mariah Carey - Butterfly
#12
Britney Spears Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
#13
Jennifer Paige - Jennifer Paige
M O'Connell 8 years ago
At least it's done better than many of the others. And it's a legit style. I probably wouldn't have noticed.
#14
Rihanna's Perfume Ad In Kuwait
#15
Lady Gaga - Artpop
#16
Riana Grande - My Everything
#17
Censored Floaties In Saudi Arabia
#18
Lady Gaga - The Remix
#19
Gisele Bundchen's H&M Ad Campaign Censored For Middle East
#20
Madonna - Hard Candy
#21
Toni Braxton - More Than A Woman
Bianka Nagy 8 years ago
More than a woman, less than a man, apparently... go ahead, give me all the thumbs down :)
#22
Mariah Carey - The Art Of Letting Go
#23
Kylie Minogue - Light Years
#24
Geri Halliwell - Scream If You Wanna Go Faster
#25
Jennifer Lopez - On The 6
#26
Melanie B - Hot
#27
Shakira - Shakira
#28
Mariah Carey - #1's
#29
Back Cover Of Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now'
#30
Gloria Estefan - Abriendo Puertas
Zenozenobee 8 years ago
Come on! the original one was way less provocative than the Lady Gaga remix cover after they added strips!
#32
Katy Perry - One Of The Boys
Vickie Martin 8 years ago
No kidding...she can kiss a girl and like it but not be seen in shorts ahahaha
#33
Toni Braxton - The Heat
#34
Clarks Ad In Kuwait On The Left (It Is Allowed To Show Knees And Women Without A Headscarf) And In Saudi Arabia On The Right (It's Not Allowed)
#35
Sex Pistols - Flogging A Dead Horse
#37
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey
#38
Shakira - Laundry Service
Kate Brannan 8 years ago
Strange that women in the music business have to get their baps out and show this much skin when thr same isnt expected of men. Not saying skin censorship is the way, however. We need to ask ourselves, why? Oh yeah, sex sells. And i thought that it was the music which spoke for itself. Obv im muchos wrong, wrong, wrong xx
#39
Mariah Carey - Rainbow
#40
Rihanna - Unapologetic
#41
Britney Spears - Britney
#42
This Huge Advertisement With Blurred Woman's Face In A Mall Of Jeddah
#43
Shakira - She Wolf
#44
Censored Marie Claire Magazine In Saudi Arabia
#45
Solid Harmonie - I'll Be There For You
#46
Tlc - Unpretty
Kate Brannan 8 years ago
This is the first iv ever heard about this Sharpie form of fashiom. Maybe its cos... As long as the records are getting sold, no artist actually really minds. Lesson learned= money is the real religion of the masses x
#47
Demi Lovato - Demi
#48
Mariah Carey - Emotions
#49
Hasna - Bamba
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What do you think ?
MidS 8 years ago
This is interesting. I've lived in Dubai all my life and this never happens here. Our tabloids are filled with pictures you'd deem 'westernized'. I find the title misleading. Not every Middle East country is like this.
Jkcanewton 8 years ago
I see the covers, but what about the lyrics? They are just as bad sometimes. I'm really surprised that some of these are even sold there.
Adam Havlík 8 years ago
Hanzo, all I meant was that the English lyrics might not be considered as offensive as these images because English isn't a first language there. Most of the world sings English-language songs they don't necessarily understand - I see it here in the Czech Republic every day...
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Cindy Martinson 8 years ago
Although i don't agree with such a degred of censorship it does remove some if not most of the objectification of woman. The objectification of any living creature is disgusting.
Rivkaka 8 years ago
One of the women is literally morphed into a beachball. A beachball = a woman seems like the literal definition of objectification....
Load More Replies...
MidS 8 years ago
This is interesting. I've lived in Dubai all my life and this never happens here. Our tabloids are filled with pictures you'd deem 'westernized'. I find the title misleading. Not every Middle East country is like this.
Jkcanewton 8 years ago
I see the covers, but what about the lyrics? They are just as bad sometimes. I'm really surprised that some of these are even sold there.
Adam Havlík 8 years ago
Hanzo, all I meant was that the English lyrics might not be considered as offensive as these images because English isn't a first language there. Most of the world sings English-language songs they don't necessarily understand - I see it here in the Czech Republic every day...
Load More Replies... Cindy Martinson 8 years ago
Although i don't agree with such a degred of censorship it does remove some if not most of the objectification of woman. The objectification of any living creature is disgusting.
Rivkaka 8 years ago
One of the women is literally morphed into a beachball. A beachball = a woman seems like the literal definition of objectification....
Load More Replies...
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