The selfie made it possible for people to 3D print the woman's private parts

Jul 16, 2014 15:02 GMT  ·  By
Artist in Japan is arrested after taking a selfie of her private parts, sharing data allowing people to replicate her anatomy
   Artist in Japan is arrested after taking a selfie of her private parts, sharing data allowing people to replicate her anatomy

An artist identified as Megumi Igarashi has recently been arrested by authorities in Japan after taking a selfie of her private parts and then sharing data allowing folks to replicate her anatomy with the online community.

The selfie that this woman took and then turned into data that was later distributed online was intended for people who own a 3D printer and who aren't shy about using it to creature replicas of human body parts.

The artist, who is also known as Rokudenashiko, reportedly shared the controversial data with about 30 people who had all helped her raise funds to complete another art project: creating a kayak modeled after her privates.

Based on this 3D data that the artist obtained when snapping the selfie, the lucky 30 individuals whom 42-year-old Megumi Igarashi emailed would have been able to create 3D replicas of the artist's genitalia.

Whether or not somebody actually used the vagina selfie information to print a copy of Rokudenashiko's private parts is still a mystery. What is known is that authorities in Japan did not take lightly to this stunt.

Thus, The Guardian tells us that, shortly after sharing her selfie with the online community, officers located the woman and took her into police custody on the grounds that she had violated obscenity laws in the country.

Despite claims that she did receive money in exchange for the selfie-based information, Megumi Igarashi maintains that this was not the case, and that she willingly distributed the data for no benefit of her own, be it financial or otherwise.

What's more, the artist is quite convinced that she did nothing wrong, and that her actions did not in any way contravene Japan's current obscenity laws. Consequently, she says that officers had no business arresting her.

By the looks of it, authorities in Japan are still having trouble seeing things from this artist's perspective. As a result, the charges against Megumi Igarashi have not yet been dropped, and the woman is expected to soon make an appearance in court.

Talking to the press, the artists lawyer explained that, if found guilty, Rokudenashiko risks being sentenced as much as two years behind bars and also being made to pay a fine of £14,300 (€17,994 / $24,500). Hopefully, this will not be the case.

Commenting on this incident, a women's rights activists in Japan by the name Minori Kitahara wished to stress that, were the artist a man, the selfie would not have landed her in this much trouble. Simply put, Megumi Igarashi's arrest is a clear case of discrimination against women.