Triumvir, you're new around these parts so I want to be gentle, but I'm pretty irritated by this thread.
First, a small point, but it seems to me that it really more properly belongs in the Art & Design forum, not the Headshop, and I believe moderators should move it there.
Second, let me be the first to explain that the term "politically correct" is not so straightforward as you seem to think it is. And, as that link shows, we've discussed it a lot on Barbelith.
Short advice: READ THE LINKED THREAD CAREFULLY and then just don't use it. Longer advice: READ THE LINKED THREAD CAREFULLY, and then use it only if you really can demonstrate that "p.c." has actual meaning beyond a kind of whining grievance about having to think about other people's reactions to things you might wish to say or do.
Third, madhatter, your response has some worthwhile ideas in it, e.g., the notion that the context of an exhibit matters. If I read your conclusion correctly, you seem to be suggesting that we don't have to think about these controversies in terms of "censorship" vs. "free speech." That it's important for curators/galleries/editors, etc., to think carefully about how to contextualize and present artistic works that may be working with/against stereotypes or ideas that historically have been used to oppress certain persons/groups. And, in your scenario, creating a space for informed critique and dialogue about those works is critical to actually allowing the art to have its fullest effect. So, far from "censoring" the paintings, the decision to move the paintings seemed to open up better discussion. Is that what you're saying, essentially?
However, is your post--perhaps unintentionally?--meant to imply that the perspective of the women who found the art viscerally oppressive and just another iteration of the same old same old sexism, writ large, was not a legitimate perspective? For me, the delegitimizing of their perspective is suggested by the use of scare quotes and perhaps also by the context created by this thread and its use of "politically correct." Not having seen the art in question, I obviously can't fully comment on their p.o.v., but I admit that I'm wary of the hint in your description, that the women were clearly just "oversensitive" (?) or just not "smart" enough (?) to "get" the complex message of this art, which you and other "smart" people seemed to understand without difficulty...Did you mean to imply that?
You should realize that there's a long history of delegitimizing women's voices, one that we have been discussing quite a bit lately, in Feminism 101 in particular, but other threads as well. I am interested in hearing any clarification you might offer. |
