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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Please advise: re porn on walls at college

29 replies

Eowyn · 09/02/2012 17:58

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.

OP posts:
chrissie9 · 15/02/2012 12:06

So many girls and women are simply frightened of being called prudish etc so they don't take a stand against this sort of thing. I feel it is just impolite and insensitive to display anything, whether it be porn, racist material etc if people are offended. Never mind freedom of this , that and the other, what about the basic human right to feel comfortable and welcome in somebody elses company?

Nyac · 15/02/2012 14:04

How about putting some feminist posters about the place. Shake 'em up a bit:

www.guerrillagirls.com/posters/index.shtml

NormanTebbit · 15/02/2012 14:14

What point was he trying to make? It's all a bit sixth form yawn isn't it? The pics wouldn't exactly bother me but I do think it's a rather hackneyed.

NormanTebbit · 15/02/2012 14:16

But exploring these images in a feminist way would be interesting and instructive - the ideas about these women being passive, dead looking etc

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