Please advise: re porn on walls at college

[Eowyn]

I'm doing an art degree & a fellow student had lots of v explicit shots, mainly women, on his wall. I didn't like this but before I could work out how to approach him, it transpired that someone had complained & he'd been told to take them down.
This has caused outrage amongst the other students who fully believe that anything goes in art & that it is a terrible & old fashioned thing to object to porn.

I mentioned that I didn't like the way it objectified women, but my view was that if it wasn't in such a public place I could ignore it... however, absolutely no other female sees anything wrong. There have been some horrible comments on FB & I'm on my own being against it. Surely it isn't a good thing from a feminist point of view, & art-history-wise there has been the issue of "the gaze" ie everything being from a male point of view, women seen as passive etc.

Anyway, I really don't want to be the spokesperson for the anti-porn viewpoint, being a mature student will undoubtedly be dismissed as old & fuddy duddy anyway. But I wonder if anyone can advise me of any simple & succinct points I can make that might help some of the others to see that having pics of women lying splayed open on the walls in full view of all, is not a good thing.
Any ideas appreciated, it's not my area of expertise at all. Thanks.

What has been the female response? and what sort of age are they?

This is a classic difficulty, is a painting of a naked woman displayed in a university dining hall ok, where a photo would not be, is a painting ''safer'' than a photo , and is where it is on display a matter of concern too.

I remember some stories about religious groups objecting/removing paintings of life studies in shared halls, may not be relevant to this but there is an interesting discussion around this to be had

I think that the "its art" line is often pulled out and dusted off in order to defend porn.

It is sad that the other women in your group aren't able to see the difference either, but i don't think you can force common sense into people.

What would happen if you put up very explicit shots of men? (I'm curious, not stirring! I have a very vague recollection of their being a law about displaying erect pictures of penises?)

Pictures of erect penises, not erect pictures of penises

You could put up posters of Golliwogs and the Black and White minstrels and if anyone objects to them say right back 'Anything goes' in art. or slogans such as you can't touch racism but you can objectify women.

Or you could put up pictures of real women's vulva's and breasts all unshaven with underarm and leg hair too. This really peeves off the 'empowered'

There's also a brilliant youtube video of real women doing model poses outdoors, in busy peopled areas. I'll see if I can get the link.

Have gorgeous edgy music playing such as Adaline and Ani defranco, Kinnie Star (Come).

Most of the students are young, 19-20 but a few females are in 30's & all take the "anything goes" line. The irony is that I do a lot of life drawing myself, it isn't an issue with nudity at all, the pics were mainly women lying down, legs open, playing with themselves. There was also one of a woman giving a bj, so featuring a large erect penis. There have always been massive pics of genitalia of both sexes there, it seems to be something they have to get out of their systems.

I think it was the passivity - woman as orifice/receptacle kind of image that I thought objectionable.

I felt I had a duty to state my case (not knowing who had officially objected) & am surprised everyone else is so keen on it. Didn't expect to be in this position, I'm more live & let live...

x-posted... it's a dangerous approach retaliating, would be nightmare if I ended up labelled racist for eg.
people have already been putting up biro-ed vulvas, hoping to shock the complainant. it's rather juvenile...

Heres the link to the video, it's called Poses by Yolanda Domingeuz.

www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yolanda-dominguez

The college sounds like a horror show and you're right to object to the passivity women as a collection of holes. Hate that.

www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yolanda-dominguez

No wonder lots of women put up and shut up; it's much more comfortable to not rock the boat. The suffragettes had the same problem. Try
www.object.org.uk/the-buzz

Thanks for the links, useful info.

Dworkin: 'Or you could put up pictures of real women's vulva's and breasts all unshaven with underarm and leg hair too. This really peeves off the 'empowered''
There's making a point and there's making a point but nobody wants to see pictures of real women's vulva's! Even Mr.Lollygag insists on having the lights off these days.And what do you mean by 'unshaven breasts'? I've got a lot hairier over the years but my breasts aren't hairy! - well not very.

Rion Sabean takes photos of men in stereotypical pin-up style poses. Perhaps you could do something like that?

Great video, Dworkin. Shows the ridiculousness of the poses that female models are made to do: passive, vulnerable, almost dead.

The artist (Yolanda Dominquez) writes "I feel that when you can laugh at something you can get rid of it." and I think that's the best approach OP. You're an artist yourself so why don't you take this as a challenge to come up with a comeback that's humorous and intelligent and that exposes this porn/art for what it is: unoriginal and boring, with nothing new to say whatsoever.

As for the accepting female colleagues, it could just be a survival mechanism. I was like that for a while. Accepting it, even embracing it, is sooo much easier than the stress of challenging it. Besides, if they're under 40 they probably can't remember a time when porn wasn't part of the everyday landscape so to them it seems to be the norm.

Messy - very much agree: it has indeed all been done before - yet they think they are being so radical...
& I do feel they won't stand up for anything that might be perceived as uncool.

I don't want it to be a big deal, but there is talk of having a big group discussion on Monday. I've had a nice chat to the original perpetrator who is being very reasonable, it's everyone else that has got very worked up.
I may just write myself a few notes cos I am not used to confrontation & don't want to fall out with anyone, but neither do I believe in not standing up for something...

Funnily enough I am quite into painting nudes that could certainly tend towards the sensual - I think suggestion is far more interesting than the completely gynaecological.

Eowyn, I think you should continue making a stand and hope that at least a few people might, at least, deep down, have a re-think.

I am also a mature student, we discussed pornography within feminism for an essay topic recently, I would say the room was divided in opinion. But about half of those people, after doing the research needed for the essay, had a change of heart when they realised the damage pornography does.

Painting nudes is a different thing entirely, that is more about appreciating the human form, not abusing it. It's even been proved that people react differently to 'erotica' than they do to pornography.

Personally, I would use this opportunity to educate. I think a lot of them are just trying to be cool by defending 'art'. But even if it were the case (and it isn't!) there is a whole world of art that this student could have chosen from, but he was obviously deliberately trying to provoke or get attention.

Sorry, I realised I wasn't really answering your question. You might want to watch a documentary called 'Hardcore' (I think it's on you tube) and also Shelly Lubin, an ex porn star talks about her personal experiences on you tube. The gritty and awful reality would be enough to make anyone realise that calling this 'art' is such an insult and its carrying on the abuse. Would they put pictures up of war victims being tortured and call it art?

When you say an art student had it on 'his wall'... do you mean you're allocated some public display space or it is a wall in his study area/accommodation? You see, I'd go for direct action on this one and quietly remove the pictures I found offensive when there was no-one around. If anyone objected I got caught I would say it was performance art.... :)

The person who has these things on the wall is presumably trying to draw attention to themselves by being deliberately controversial. I suppose that alternative strategy is to ignore them.... no point being controversial if the reaction is 'meh... grow up'.

We all have a bit of wall space in a large classroom so it's ours for the duration but everything can be seen.
The pics are gone & everyone feels sorry for him, he is adamant he wasn't trying to be controversial or getting off on them, is apparently making an important point... which is fine & I personally have no issue with what he's creating, it was just the prominent display of the photos.

All I would really hope to achieve, should discussion be insisted on, is making some of the girls think a bit about what they are supporting.

I don't know if whoever complained will admit it!

I find it really sad that you have no support. Dont let that stop you. The only reason that you are not ok with it is that you know more about porn than they do. Hope the OBJECT website gives you some ideas. Maybe you could do a chat around the website with the females who call porn art. I agree that alot of people are ok with it because they dont want to think about the harm etc. Its the 'if I ignore it it isnt happening' syndrome.

CAn't you complain upon the grounds of human rights/sexism. Can't you look at your college prospectus and see what it says about freedom of the individual. Can't help thinking if you were wearing a veil your requests would be adhered to...

Good on you for talking about it. I had many issues with this when I was younger but would never dared have vocalise them. It's getting me to shut up that's the problem now..! Hope something constructive comes out of the discussion.

Has the person who had the pictures up on his wall explained what the important point he was making actually is? Without explanation it is a collection of pornographic images on the wall in a public building-even if it is an art college.
You are quite right to complain. I would have thought that an art student would have been dismissive of images like that as they are dull, uninspiring and repetitive. I work in a school so the policies are obviously different but I know that at a University where a friend of mine works, to display such images would be contrary to the harassment policy. Being an art student in an art department doesn't allow anything to go. Blatantly racist or religiously intolerant images wouldn't be allowed so why this?

I think the problem so many women have with porn is that they don't want to appear prudish. They see acceptance as indicative of an ultra cool, liberal persona. I think they way to get round this is to get them to think about what those images represent, rather than what they actually show.

Could you turn the tables on this a little and have a seminar about pornographic photos and what they represent? Then you can throw in the facts that some 85% plus of porn stars are trafficked, coerced and abused and are not enjoying the pose they are putting on, and that research has shown a link between porn and sexual violence.

You could even bring in ethical porn as a means of showing that it's not the naked body or even sex on screen/photo that is offensive, but the manner in which it is done and portrayed.

You could take the line that Object (the anti-porn organisation) does, where they say "We are not anti-sex, anti-nudity or linked to any religious or moralistic stance". That makes it clear that they aren't approaching it as prudes, but that they "challenge sex object culture" as they say in the next sentence.

www.object.org.uk/about-us