Episode 3 of Girls: Prosthetic penis edited out of Foxtel’s broadcast

WARNING: SPOILERS. TV viewers are no strangers to full frontal nudity, so why was this penis edited out of last night’s episode of Girls?

Lena Dunham and Matthew Rhys in Episode 3 of Girls Season 6. Picture: HBO

WARNING: SPOILERS

Yesterday we brought you the story of the much-talked about scene in Episode 3 of the final season of Girls, which aired last night on Foxtel’s Showcase.

During the version that aired in the US on HBO, and on the media preview episode that news.com.au watched, we were treated to some full frontal male nudity, starring a prosthetic penis.

Here’s how it went down. Chuck (Matthew Rhys, from The Americans) is a critically acclaimed author who confronts Hannah (Lena Dunham) about an article she wrote about him for a niche feminist website.

She accuses him of sexually assaulting several college students, and so Chuck invites Hannah over to his very nice apartment to discuss the allegations.

The episode’s most shocking moment arrives at the end, when Chuck and Hannah lay down on his bed together, fully clothed. Then Chuck just whips it out and lays his penis on Hannah.

After a couple of long, awkward seconds, she touches it. It’s a creepy power play, made clear by the camera lingering on Chuck’s smug, sinister smile as Hannah leaves the room, mortified and angry.

But in the version that aired in Australia on Foxtel last night, the prosthetic penis was edited out of the scene.

Instead the shot shows the pair just from the waist up. You can tell what’s going on, but the impact of the scene isn’t quite the same.

(If you want more details on the prosthetic and how it was chosen, read this).

Hannah, don’t do it! Picture: HBO

Well, she did it. Picture: HBO

Hannah’s reaction makes it perfectly clear what has just gone on, so viewers are not left in the dark.

“Oh my f**king God, I touched your dick!” she yells. “You pulled your dick out and I touched your dick! What the f**k? And now it’s still out! You didn’t even put it away! I can see your d**k! It’s right there!”

So why didn’t Foxtel show the full scene when full frontal male nudity has appeared before on Game of Thrones.

And when Episode 1 of Girls aired on Showcase just two weeks ago, we saw Hannah and Jessa (Jemima Kirke) fully naked — bearing pubic hair and all.

Foxtel is not bound by the same broadcast guidelines as free-to-air networks, because it’s pay TV.

They don’t have “time zone” restrictions, which mean certain scenes and themes cfannot appear in early timeslots, because they might influence children.

Foxtel must adhere to the Subscription Broadcast TV Code of Practice, put in place by ASTRA, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association.

The code states that a “major distinctive feature” between subscription and free-to-air television is the “direct contractual relationship” between the networks and viewers.

“This voluntary relationship between the provider of a retail service and a subscriber to that service provides subscribers with freedom of choice along with the capability and responsibility to select the programs they wish to receive,” the code states.

“In this sense, Subscription TV is in the nature of an invited guest, brought into the home in the full and prior knowledge of the guest’s character.”

Matthew Rhys as acclaimed writer Chuck in Episode 3 of Girls. Picture: HBO

Basically, that means they’re allowed to be a bit more liberal with their content because you signed up for it.

According to the MA15+ rating guidelines, which is how Girls is rated, the “treatment of strong themes should be justified by context”.

The code says that “sexual activity may be implied” and “nudity should be justified by context”.

Discussing the show, Girls director Richard Shepard explained the final scene was a pivotal part of the episode.

“We had a lot of discussion, up to and including the idea of whether she would touch his penis or not. For me, it was deeply important that she do that,” Shephard told Vulture.

“It complicated things in a very real way — this idea of power and what people are supposed to or are expected to do, and how that can be manipulated in such terrible ways.

“For me, it was very key that she does touch it. Society has brought up people to think if this presents itself, this is what you’re supposed to do. She almost falls for it, and then, of course, realises this.

“In my mind, his character’s doing it not so much to be pleasured but to prove that he can do it. Which is why he’s got that smile on his face in the last scene when his daughter’s playing the flute, because he’s won.”

A Foxtel spokeswoman said some programs aired on Showcase are rated MA15+. “Sometimes content needs to be edited for it to conform to the MA15+ classification,” she said.

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