Statue to honour Wollstonecraft

There is a crowdfunder for a new statue of Mary Wollstonecraft:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/statue-for-mary-wollstonecraft

One of the committee basically admitted they chose the Hambling entry over the other (clothed) entry by Martin Jennings because Hambling is a woman.

In other news here's an "empowered" Medusa turning the tables on Perseus; presumably achieved because she wasn't encumbered with those pesky restrictive things known as clothes.

thecritic.co.uk/the-mirror-of-metoo/

I absolutely loath it. Was there really a public vote on this? Begs the question of who decided to vote, all the MRAs.?

Haven't RTFT, but I agree with this

The statute was the unanimous choice of the Mary on the Green committee.

The public could express an opinion on the 2 entrants but the decision was made by the committee.

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/16/maggi-hambling-picked-to-create-mary-wollstonecraft-statue

My elderly DM calls her lady parts her Mary. Sometimes known as hairy Mary.

Well now there is a hairy Mary on the Green.

My husband is saying that Mary was responding to things that had just happened (especially the thinking of the radical dissenters in whose circles she moved) and had no idea what she might be deemed the “mother of” later.

He has been teaching a Mary course to undergrads this year and there was consensus that. Mary would be no-platformed for about six different reasons nowadays :)
That’s the fun of history surely -she didn’t live to validate us and our opinions.

Incidentally he is not notifying his students about the statue controversy because of the nakedness etc. He would feel creepy emailing them a link.

"I'm just fucking incandescent with rage over this shitty statue and the assorted twats and morons who thought it was a good idea"
Same.

I've found a model for future male statues. It seems to have scope for genital modifications to be fitted if a massive bush is more appropriate.

That's perfect. How about John Stuart Mill? An entirely respectful treatment. Not a statue of him, it would be a statue for him.

Msflibble says it well.

'We, fully paid academics in cushy jobs, are looking for other people to provide content for free. We will then add this jolly cobbled together zine to our professional CVs. A note: do watch your thinking is suitably conciliatory when it comes to males - we wouldn't want to jeopardise any chances of future funding.'

I just read this about Mary Wollstonecraft and felt it rather poignant:

"There is in some quarters a vague prejudice against the Rights of Woman as in some way or other a reprehensible book, but readers who go to it with this impression will be surprised to find it eminently serious, severely moral, and withal rather heavy" - George Eliot

Well doesn't this sound familiar.

I am going to start a thread in FWR about women's experiences of abuse within left wing communities- I realise it's super niche, but I'm sure I'm not alone. I don't want to discuss right wing group experiences especially though, if that's ok? I've been dithering about it for a few weeks. I don't need permission, I know.

The sad thing is I think if you start such a thread, it will turn out not to be super niche, but distressingly commonplace. Remember the scandals involving rape cover-ups in the SWP, for example.

Certainly, low-grade common-or-garden misogyny is more or less de rigeur on the left, as far as I can tell.

We state this as we note that frequently a nude female form is..

yada yada yada

A naked female form is male exclusionary by the fact that it represents nothing but female biology.

A statue of the actual person being celebrated for doing what she did in life and the difference she made would be far less so.

I don't know if solidarity would still be extended to me by the same people - my views on womens and trans rights have u-turned this year

Also surely we should all have solidarity with any woman who has experienced rape or sexual violence. Regardless of their views on trans rights or anything else.

@Butterer that does sound like a nightmare.

Please do start the thread you're talking about. I've not experienced abuse from the left wing community but was in an abusive relationship with someone fairly well known and so can relate to the struggle between trying to just erase it from my memory and wanting others to know what happened.

In genuine feminist solidarity

There's going to be tons of inclusive fighting isn't there. Why should a white woman statue represent a white woman when there's so many less privileged identies that need raising up. In fact it's best we chuck white women statues in the rivers sharpish.

Absolutely predictable response from the ivory towers above.

"We're looking for ideas to rethink the statue of the radical feminist thinker Mary Wollstonecraft. But nothing too radical please. Nothing disrespectful. Nothing that might offend anyone or go against the accepted mantras. And don't you dare try to make any kind of connection between a female body and what constitutes a woman. Oh and only go and visit the statue if it's safe!"

Oh bore off. Revolutionaries you ain't.

Arabella

'in feminist solidarity' - snort.

At work today, chatting about the statue, I found myself telling a colleague who was looking at the statue on her phone, "zoom in on the pubes" which is not something I thought I works say at work.

Butterer

Butterer