Hara‑Kiri n°134 (Novembre 1972) takes aim at one of the era’s most heated moral debates: obscenity, censorship, and the policing of bodies. Rather than shock through excess, this cover uses elegance and restraint to make its point.

The image shows a ballerina in classical pose, dressed in a white tutu and pointe shoes, arms raised in a refined, almost academic posture. The provocation lies in the contrast: visible body hair disrupts the idealised image of classical beauty. Against a deep red background, the headline asks plainly:

“Le poil est‑il obscène ?”(“Is body hair obscene?”)

The question is rhetorical. Hara‑Kiri exposes the absurdity of moral outrage by placing it in a context traditionally associated with purity, discipline, and high culture. Nothing in the image is violent, explicit, or aggressive — yet it was precisely this type of detail that triggered censorship and scandal in the early 1970s.

The cover critiques how society selectively labels bodies as acceptable or unacceptable, revealing how obscenity is culturally constructed, not inherent. The dancer’s calm expression and controlled pose reinforce the irony: refinement remains refinement, regardless of imposed taboos.