I didn't read Ulysses, and I didn't see the comic. I also don't know the machine behind the iTunes Store and the ratings and approval stuff etc.
But isn't it basically okay to prevent minors from viewing nudity?
I'm not prude, I like looking at naked people (women, preferrably), but lately it has struck me as rather bold to see boobs and asses all over the place. I turn on the TV (here, in Europe) and between shower-gel commercials featuring naked women in waterfalls I see tabloid-style TV shows where the only topics are celebrities, plastic surgery and what party island to go to to get all the sex you want.
Then when I go outside I see billboards on buildings (i.o.w. HUGE!) advertising "art" and "culture" with paintings such as
this one,
this one, or
this one.
I used to basically ignore this kind of public display of nudity, but having become a dad 2 years ago obviously did something funny with my brain and I look at things with different eyes.
Why is it okay to print huge, gigantic pictures of absurdly deformed naked bodies that are considered art (I consider it just totally disgusting, looking at Schiele's paintings makes me want to hurl)? Just because the guy is famous? Weren't paintings such as these the Hustler/Penthouse mags of the 1800s or whenever the guy lived?
Hey, how about Mapplethorpe? I'd really like to see his self-fisting photos (all aesthetically very pleasing, oooh, the lighting is just so amazing, how it accentuates the rawness of the male body) on display in front of the local museum when I take a stroll along that route with my son.
There's that.
Then again, anyone who's willing to enter a museum that displays stuff like that, or buys a book about Mapplethorpe (the photos are amazing), they should be able to do that without jumping through hoops to get them, or peel off censorship-stickers.
Just let the porno-Ulysses get a rating of 18+ in the app store and tha's it. Who's 18? Maybe anyone who has a creditcard.