This week's Babe, Is this Sexist? examines the artist's William Murai's re-make of the famous feminist symbol "Rosie the Riveter".
And yeah, sorry people who are digging on this "Rosie" redo. This picture is sexist, for two very good reasons.
- THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS PICTURE IS ANTI-FEMINISM! The artist created this image for the Brazilian Alfa Magazine to accompany an article about the End of Feminism. "The idea was to remake the famous feminism symbol "Rosie the Riveter" a lady who is giving up on her duties and trying to look sexy again." So purpose is sexist, ideas about women and feminism also sexist.
- "But what if we divorce it from artist intent?" It's still sexist. It's dismantling a famous feminist picture. Even if you want a new feminist icon that is "more sexy and feminine" (which agree to disagree about "Rosie" as sexy and feminine) that doesn't make it acceptable to co-opt an already feminist image for the very purpose to dismantling it (not to be confused with the "Rosie's" of color). Find a "sexy" and "feminine" feminist image that isn't about a serious and hard working outside the home women stopping those things. It creates a false dichotomy of sexy and feminine vs serious and physical labor/working outside the home, that only exists in the Patriarchy.
Damn, I thought the new Rosie was cool until I read this, it seemed like a celebration of overt femininity (which I liked) while still affirming ability (which I also liked). *Sigh* damn it.
ReplyDeleteThis is disappointing yet makes a great statement at how far off the wagon we women have fell since the original Rosie The Riveter days. I once said that the Baby Boom was a direct result of GI's coming home to see their wives doing their jobs. Both sexes right now are completely brainwashed, sure. But when there's an app available that allows one to use GPS and public record to locate local sex offenders while other men do awful creepy shit with emerging technologies (i.e.--Creepshots) who will never be considered true sex offenders, it's REALLY disturbing seeing such an icon revamped--especially by a man--so we can be reminded that we can do our hair. The biggest problem I STILL foresee in the overt rampant over-sexualiztion of females is this: the stage is being set for lesbians to take over. Biology dictates adapt or die. If men do not start adapting to women's real live ultra-contemporary needs (i.e. playing less video games, drinking less, etc. and actually helping out with housework chores, child rearing, and being providers) ya'll are going to be left in the dust. Evolution dictates that. So the longer males hold on to an outdated, outmoded, frankly dangerous way of thinking--you will have no sons to carry on your last name. This isn't a threat, it's a warning. And it is up to intelligent free thinking women to educate the minds of women who have been enslaved to be unfaltering caregivers, believing that the ultimate purpose of their existence is selfless servitude as wives and mothers because there's more to life than that. Husbands die, boyfriends leave, children grow-up into autonomous beings. Too many men are just another child to raise and too many men are just another potential danger to a female child/elder/adult. We can do it? I just did it.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the link to the original article that supports the claim made in the opinion piece? For all I know this could be stolen off of someone's DeviantART and intended as a project for some digital design class calling for a redesign of a famous political symbol.
ReplyDeletelinks to your evidence please, others would like to see for themselves. Cite evidence, does no one learn this in school?
ReplyDeleteThe link has been fixed, originally it lead to an interview, now we're linking to William Muri's page.
ReplyDeleteWe'd like to thank our dedicated and scholastic fans who of course knew we'd want to be informed our citation was no longer working.