Statues of women

[GOSBTS]

Hi all,

The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (now the Public Statues and Sculpture Association) last year highlighted a gender disparity of public statues in the UK. They calculated that statues of men outstrip those of women by about 5:1. They counted about 170 statues of women, although half of these are to unnamed female figures (think Statue of Liberty in the USA).

My question: are there any statues of women in your town/city?

Colchester is currently campaigning for a statue of the Taylor sisters, poets who wrote Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. More about that on this video: and link to contribute to the cause is here: gofund.me/16f7783e

I’ll start off: in Colchester alone we already have two of Boudicca, one of St Helena of Constantinople and two to unnamed female figures.

[Velvetbee]

Winchester has a fab new bronze of Licoricia, described as the most important Jewish woman in medieval England. She loaned money to the crown and is shown holding the hand of her youngest son.

[Deadringer]

In Dublin we have the Tart with the cart, the Floozi in the jacuzzi, and the Hags with the bags.

[BluerThanRobinsEggs]

And she's got clothes on!!

[BluerThanRobinsEggs]

Just reminded of this thread as the new statue of Ethel Smyth is unveiled today in her home town of Woking - it's been wrapped in a massive green, purple and white flag during the speeches: www.facebook.com/watch/live?ref=watch_permalink&v=648463829561296

[PlanktonsComputerWife]

You can't name a single famous monk, yet you post as coherently as if you'd just downed a jeroboam of Dom Pérignon.

[Brefugee]

utter piffle. I can't even begin to want to explain.

[ozzyfroggy]

Aren't most old statues honouring the person who paid for something such as a hospital? I couldn't care less about the sex of a statue. The fact is men are higher achievers on average than women, they're also more likely to be in prison. Celebrating mediocre women over great men is just driven by ideology. To say great women, fewer though they may be, aren't celebrated
because they are women is dumb. Most notable men from history are forgotten, most people are forgotten about. Most well known monarch - Victoria or Elizabeth, most well known pharaoh after King Tut, Cleopatra, prime minister - Thatcher is up there, the church - mother Theresa, don't know any famous monks. Anyway, we all benefit from greatness so who cares the sex of the person.

[Brefugee]

Great that she has a statue but blimey it's up there with that awful Ronaldo one

[Bluebellbike]

I live in Bury. Victoria Wood statue in the town centre

[Brefugee]

Yes, I cannot stand this re-writing of history. It has such echos of 1930s book-burning in Germany that I find it really sinister

What does this even mean? Utter tosh.

The actual rewriting of history is the lack of ststues/memorials to the women of history.

I remember the campaign to get the Women of Steel statue, and it really opened a lot of people's eyes to how much women contribute and always have contributed to and in society.

Women have always been there and finally they are (slowly) taking their rightful, visible, places.

[willowtree66]

We have a statue of a Fisher Wife in our town on the Moray coast.

[Hazelnut5]

This one in Italy really takes the biscuit. They managed to turn a statue of a woman at work in the fields into a sexual object. www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sapri-italy-monument-sexism-allegations-1234605053/

[JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon]

She's actually not too much of a cliché en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derby_War_Memorial

[GoGoGretaDoll]

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon

Derby must be very forward thinking.

One of our most prominent statues is of Florence Nightingale, we also have Queen Victoria and The Virgin Mary.

I was back in the local Catholic Church that I was more or less brought up in as a young girl recently and had completely forgotten that their very 70s stained glass window of Mary has her both with blonde hair and blue eyes AND a 16 inch waist. Must see if I can find a pic.

[WitchButNotTheFunKind]

There’s one of a girl with a swan in Reading

pottsvctrust.org/P8411.pdf

[JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon]

Thinking further afield in the county we also have Mary Queen of Scots.


And Google tells me that the university of Derby has a bust of Dame Margaret Beckett.


In fact Google tells me that Derby actually has three statues of Florence Nightingale (we are VERY proud of her). The other two are on the façade of buildings rather than free standing.

[JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon]

Derby must be very forward thinking.

One of our most prominent statues is of Florence Nightingale, we also have Queen Victoria and The Virgin Mary.

[CuddlyDudley71]

My daughter lives in Bury, there;s a great statue of Victoria Wood just opposite the Fussiliers Museum and Art Gallery.

[GOSBTS]

Very good point! Less baffling with classical/Victorian-era statues, but very bemusing with contemporary sculptures.

Love the discussion this has provoked. Keep it coming! If any of you have felt inspired/impassioned as a result of this, please do consider helping contribute towards the Taylor sisters Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star statue. They’re fully clothed too! gofund.me/c1bfae10

[Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow]

We have this lovely one of Emmeline pankhurst

images.app.goo.gl/qKJsL6HTLpJqj2eq6

[Maireas]

Yes, her life story would have made an interesting film. I suspect that she was expoited, although seemed to revel in her notoriety in the 60s and 70s.

[Rhannion]

I liked that Diana Dors she was underrated as an actress and didn’t take herself too seriously. It’s a hell of a lot better than the crap one of Victoria Wood who deserved better.

[Maireas]

An enduring mystery, @KayKayWat, similar to the number of female nudes in art galleries.

[KayKayWat]

@Maireas

Mary Wollstonecraft statue.
Just no.

Why do most of the statues in this thread feature women with their kit off. 😂

[MrsFin]

Bet the fellas love this statue. 🤣

She is certainly very buxom!