Comments on: Well gee, I think I’ll go get that pap smear after all

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:52:26 +0000

“Venus represents more than beauty and fertility – she can also represent love, sex, motherhood, spring, even power (a famous Bronzino painting shows Venus kissing Cupid as she simultaneously disarms him).”

Wow! A woman using her sex appeal to distract a man, allowing her to steal from him? What a revolutionary and empowering image!

By: div

div — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:52:43 +0000

“normal looking woman div? Can you define what that is? I’m pretty sure some women who have bodies like the “sexbots” you mentioned have perfectly “normal” bodies for them.”

Sorry Dan, I didn’t see this until now!

Actually, “normal” was the word he used, and I realize now that it’s not an appropriate term.

What I meant by that inappropriate term was that as citizens of this world we are taught what “normal bodies” mean – skinny yet curvy with perfect this and that, etc. What “normal” should represent is not this select picture. My interpretation of “normal” is “average.” Venus was quite normal in those terms. Not as many women have perfectly flat, rock hard abs (Venus’ lack of which my fellow students seemed to focus on).

Plus, how many of these women are 100% naturally “sex-bot” in shape? How many work out for hours and hours to achieve that look? How many undergo surgery? With the “normal” spectrum of “looks” there can only be a small percentage of people for whom that look is actually “normal” without external factors (normal in this case being “natural”)

By: Strideo

Strideo — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:49:16 +0000

It’s funny. I understand the concept behind the humor and while it may not have been well thought out I don’t think any harmful message was intended.

By: amandaw

amandaw — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:12:47 +0000

You’d be able to retire the entire damn Feministe crew, is what you’d be able to do.

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:59:18 +0000

As a side issue, how is the “Veus as a man” image offensive and a little girl with an apparent gun in her hand (re: feministe’s image) inoffensive?

New life plan: I’m going to put $1 into a savings account for every person who complaints about Gun Girl. Bet I’ll be able to retire by 30.

By: amac

amac — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:39:01 +0000

Thank you Natalia – well said. As a side issue, how is the “Veus as a man” image offensive and a little girl with an apparent gun in her hand (re: feministe’s image) inoffensive?

By: Natalia

Natalia — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:39:24 +0000

If they couldn’t find a famous enough painting that shows women as having worth outside of sex and baby-making, they should have come up with a better ad concept.

I can think of one off the top of my head right away – the Mona Lisa. Ambiguous, not overtly sexual or non-sexual either way, and people can gaze at her for hours.

Although I would disagree with your assessment of Venus, Meg. She has played, and continues to play, various important cultural roles, and I wouldn’t want to diminish that one bit, personally. Venus represents more than beauty and fertility – she can also represent love, sex, motherhood, spring, even power (a famous Bronzino painting shows Venus kissing Cupid as she simultaneously disarms him).

If you live in a culture that teaches you to be ashamed of nudity in all of its forms, or of even the contours of your own body, Venus can be a kind of guiding light, particularly for artists.

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:00:56 +0000

Amac, the problem with this image isn’t that they’re riffing on artwork (I think everyone got that right away — it’s a pretty famous painting), but the particular painting they chose. Venus is “important” because she’s a mythological figure of beauty and fertility; therefore, the ad implies that the world needs women for their beauty and fertility. We’re worth more than that. If they couldn’t find a famous enough painting that shows women as having worth outside of sex and baby-making, they should have come up with a better ad concept. It’s not like this concept was so amazing in the first place! Venus is a piss-poor example of a woman the world needs, considering she never existed and we’re still here. So the tagline doesn’t relate that well to the image, and neither relates that well to the point (get a pap smear). Offensive plus nonsensical equals a poorly-thought-out ad, at least as far as my tiny lady brain can figure.

By: Miriam Heddy

Miriam Heddy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:06:19 +0000

As evidence that the world does not need women (fat or thin) in order to produce fine nude studies, check out Rodin’s 1892 Nude Study of Balzac (with arms crossed):

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/rodin/rodin_nude_balzac.jpg.html

Rodin’s nude study of Honore Balzac features a body quite similar to the body in the pap smear ad, further demonstrating that fat people can be powerful, erotic subjects in art.

By: tina

tina — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:10:23 +0000

I saw this poster outside a walk in clinic a few days ago.

There was a note at the bottom that said something like “drop in for your pap test today” that struck me as exceedingly odd.