Liberal college “feminists” develop the vapors over nearly-nude male statue
And they say conservative women are fainting couch prudes? Via the Boston Globe (bolded emphasis added by me):
A realistic-looking statue of a man sleepwalking in his underwear near the center of Wellesley College has created a stir among the women on campus, especially as more than 100 students at the all-womenβs college signed a petition asking administrators to remove it.
The statue, calledΒ Sleepwalker, is part of an art exhibit featuring sculptor Tony Matelli at the college’s Davis Museum. The exhibit,Β New Gravity, features sculptures that are often reversed, upended or atomized.
However, the statue of the sleepwalker — which is hard to miss in a high-traffic area by both pedestrians and drivers near the campus center — has caused outrage among some students in just one day after its Feb. 3 installation. Zoe Magid, a Wellesley College junior majoring in political science,Β started a petition on Change.orgΒ with other students asking college president H. Kim Bottomly to have the statue removed.
“[T]his highly lifelike sculpture has, within just a few hours of its outdoor installation, become a source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault for many members of our campus community,” says the petition. “While it may appear humorous, or thought-provoking to some, it has already become a source of undue stress for many Wellesley College students, the majority of whom live, study, and work in this space.”
Davis Museum director Lisa Fischman wrote onΒ Wellesley College’s official websiteΒ that the sculpture was meant to evoke response.
[…]
However, Magid said over the phone Tuesday that Fischman’s response failed to address students’ concerns.
“We were really disappointed that she seemed to articulate that she was glad it was starting discussion, but didnβt respond to the fact that it’s making students on campus feel unsafe, which is not appropriate,” Magid said. “We really feel that if a piece of art makes students feel unsafe, that steps over a line.“
Really. The pearl-clutching over this at Hillary Rodham Clinton’s all-girls Β alma mater Β is hysterical. Β I thought feminists were supposed to have thicker skin than this? Β It’s a statue. A tacky one, but a “piece of art” all the same. Β What is it that makes them feel “unsafe”? The fact that the statue is nearly naked or … gasp … that it’s a reminder of Β the dreaded “patriarchy”? Either way, grow a pair, ladies. Β There are actually much more important, pressing things going on in the world that you might wanna tackle before waxing indignant over a harmless male sculpture.
Just sayin’.
Related – via NRO’s Kevin D. Williamson: Β The Feminist Mystique