Painted beside her are the words "Steep mountains, moist valleys" in German. This "Männerparkplatz" is the first of its kind in the Black Forest town of Triberg. The artwork is a contribution to humour in today's society, Triberg Mayor Dr. Gallus Strobel claims.
However, not everyone is so enthusiastic. The new artwork has angered gender equality and equal opportunity officers in Baden-Württemberg. "This type of sexist advertising, which uses a woman's naked body to grab attention and suggests women are a sexual commodity, is both misogynistic and inhuman," they said.
However, Mayor Strobel has no plans to remove the image in the near future. "It's a matter of artistic freedom," he said. "Art is allowed to provoke people, and should do so." As for artist Werner Oppelt, this is a debate he wants nothing more to do with. "I was unwilling to take part in this from the start," the pensioner admitted. "It's simply not my style." For Oppelt, who paints as a hobby, this was a commissioned work, and nothing more.
5 comments:
This looks like mockery of the 'Women's Parking Spaces' thing, to me. The ones where the spaces were outlined in pink, to make it clear they were sexistly allocated for women.
In fact, if you follow this link, you'll see the exact same parking space in Triberg, with a haughty-looking woman 'occupying' it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_parking_space
As far as the misogyny thing goes - that's laughable. It's probably just humour, but even if it's not, it's being sold on the basis of *love* for women - not hate. Sex doesn't sell because humans hate sex, LOL. It would be philogyny - not misogyny!
Allocating parking spaces on the basis of sex, rather than need, is what's sexist - not the wall decorations. Something tells me we should doubt the credentials of these so-called 'gender equality officers'.
in fact allocating parking spaces on the basis of sex and that wall "decoration" are sexist
In Germany, the original impetus for "women's parking places" was the idea that women did most of the shopping and should the afforded the shortest distance between car and shop. This has led to much humor, including several famous Perscheid "The Larson of Germany" comics.
See here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=perscheid+frauenparkplaetze&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB4QsARqFQoTCMODsvietccCFYhyPgodCLECYw&biw=1440&bih=689
In the comic where the matron is looking down the man's trousers, the caption says, "Okay, I'll let that pass."
Lurker111
The mysogynist arguers and the defenders of artistic freedom are both wrong: That badly rendered figure isn't "art". A joke and nothing more.
If women are going to continually objectify themselves (Nicki Minaj, I'm looking at you.) then men will keep doing things like this. I find it offensive. I like the one the truckers have on their mudflaps...similar, but not as offensive. There's one where the naked girl is reading a book. Either way, this is sad.
Post a Comment