Showing too much cleavage may be risqué in some cultures, but in Thailand it has become downright illegal. At least that’s the case for “underboob selfies,” a social media trend in which women post photos where the lower half of their breasts are exposed, usually taken by women who sport a fashionable gap in their shirts, or by bikini clad females who are lounging on the beach.
Reuters reports that women found guilty posting such lewd images online could be sentenced to a maximum 5- year prison sentence, while Lawyer Thai reported that those found guilty may also be fined up to THB6000 (US$183). Reuters added that such images are in violation of the country’s 2007 Computer Crimes Act, which prohibits photos that “damage to the country’s security or causes public panic” or “any obscene computer data which is accessible to the public”.
The article went on to quote ministry spokesman Anandha Chouchoti: “When people take these ‘underboob selfies’ no one can see their faces. So it’s like, we don’t know who these belong to, and it encourages others to do the same.”