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Feminists upset over statue of man and woman talking
BY ASHE SCHOW | MAY 28, 2015 | 12:28 PM
)
Scene: You're a woman, sitting on a bench reading a book. Your male friend sees you on the quad and comes over to say hello and talk. You put down your book, lean back against the bench and smile. He doesn't sit next to you; instead, he puts his foot on the bench and leans over his knee.
So sexist, right?
That scene is depicted in a statue at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, and despite no sign of distress or physical assertion, some women have decided it is a statue of "mansplaining" — a term used to describe men condescendingly explaining something to a woman.
Seriously. Here's the actual statue and the claim of misogyny:
That tweet went viral over Memorial Day weekend. It all started when Ash Hernandez saw the statue on her way to take a teacher's certification test. She was so outraged that she ran back to her car to get her phone to snap a picture.
"The sculpture just screamed mansplaining," Hernandez told Women in the World, a New York Times affiliate.
Hernandez sent the picture to her friend Cathy de la Cruz, who tweeted it out. The tweet went viral, prompting other Twitter users to post photos of statues they found sexist.
If you didn't see the sexism in the statue, you're not alone (and probably a sexist by these standards). If you instead see two friends talking on a bench, then congratulations, you understand art better than you think.
Because that's what the statue is actually depicting.
"It was two students visiting, talking … implying nothing beyond that," the sculptor, Paul Tadlock, told WITW. In fact, that's Tadlock's daughter in the sculpture. And the reason the male student has his foot up on the bench? It's not because he's talking down to the woman. It's because Tadlock wanted "to add a little more character to the scene."
Tadlock also said he wasn't that upset over his sculpture being misinterpreted. He didn't even know what mansplaining was until it was explained to him, in which case he agreed it happens.
"Because guys, young guys particularly, love to tell everything they know to impress the girls, and the truth is most of the girls know it already," Tadlock said.
For its part, the university also denied any notion that the statue depicts condescension toward a woman.
"The statue has long-symbolized the friendship and camaraderie that develops among students as they attend UIW," school spokesman Carl Myers told WITW. "We are deeply saddened that this image of friendship has been misconstrued as a symbol of sexism on social media. Nothing could be further from the truth."
But who cares what reasonable people would think the statue depicts, this is patriarchy we're talking about!
"I feel like we've all been guilty of [mansplaining], males and females alike," said Hernandez, the woman who took the original photo of the statue. "But it's just less palatable when a guy's up to it 'cause, well, he's still on the right side of oppression."
Note to future sculptors: When trying to show men and women talking as friends, don't. There's just no way you can do so without offending modern feminist sensibilities.
BY ASHE SCHOW | MAY 28, 2015 | 12:28 PM
)
Scene: You're a woman, sitting on a bench reading a book. Your male friend sees you on the quad and comes over to say hello and talk. You put down your book, lean back against the bench and smile. He doesn't sit next to you; instead, he puts his foot on the bench and leans over his knee.
So sexist, right?
That scene is depicted in a statue at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, and despite no sign of distress or physical assertion, some women have decided it is a statue of "mansplaining" — a term used to describe men condescendingly explaining something to a woman.
Seriously. Here's the actual statue and the claim of misogyny:
That tweet went viral over Memorial Day weekend. It all started when Ash Hernandez saw the statue on her way to take a teacher's certification test. She was so outraged that she ran back to her car to get her phone to snap a picture.
"The sculpture just screamed mansplaining," Hernandez told Women in the World, a New York Times affiliate.
Hernandez sent the picture to her friend Cathy de la Cruz, who tweeted it out. The tweet went viral, prompting other Twitter users to post photos of statues they found sexist.
If you didn't see the sexism in the statue, you're not alone (and probably a sexist by these standards). If you instead see two friends talking on a bench, then congratulations, you understand art better than you think.
Because that's what the statue is actually depicting.
"It was two students visiting, talking … implying nothing beyond that," the sculptor, Paul Tadlock, told WITW. In fact, that's Tadlock's daughter in the sculpture. And the reason the male student has his foot up on the bench? It's not because he's talking down to the woman. It's because Tadlock wanted "to add a little more character to the scene."
Tadlock also said he wasn't that upset over his sculpture being misinterpreted. He didn't even know what mansplaining was until it was explained to him, in which case he agreed it happens.
"Because guys, young guys particularly, love to tell everything they know to impress the girls, and the truth is most of the girls know it already," Tadlock said.
For its part, the university also denied any notion that the statue depicts condescension toward a woman.
"The statue has long-symbolized the friendship and camaraderie that develops among students as they attend UIW," school spokesman Carl Myers told WITW. "We are deeply saddened that this image of friendship has been misconstrued as a symbol of sexism on social media. Nothing could be further from the truth."
But who cares what reasonable people would think the statue depicts, this is patriarchy we're talking about!
"I feel like we've all been guilty of [mansplaining], males and females alike," said Hernandez, the woman who took the original photo of the statue. "But it's just less palatable when a guy's up to it 'cause, well, he's still on the right side of oppression."
Note to future sculptors: When trying to show men and women talking as friends, don't. There's just no way you can do so without offending modern feminist sensibilities.
