Can the experience
of feeling unfairly excluded be an enlightening one for someone who is part of
the dominant group? What do you think
about women (or other groups who have been excluded historically) creating their
own exclusive spaces? Did Lau fall into Kaechele’s trap by suing her? What do you think about the fact that she turned
the trial into a kind of performance art?
Friday, March 22, 2024
No toilets in this ladies’ room (not even a urinal by Duchamp)
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To be honest I would say I very much agree with the author Kirsha Kaechele's message of the art room where men have no access to it. It may not be a traditional form of art but it highlights the problem with discriminating against certain groups in our society. And yes, nowadays the American and European society are both more accepting of women than in the past but I think it is important to focus on the past too so we as a society do not make the same mistakes. A lot of women feel discrimination even today because of lower paychecks and not being trusted/hired in a male dominated field of work. From my perspective, the only way for somebody to understand the struggle of discrimination is to go through it themselves. I think this piece of art is pretty harmless but at the same time it does its job at making men feel the same way that women do or have in the past. People may argue that it is contradictory to what the feminist movement is trying to achieve but I think that this piece of art actually helps men understand what it is like to be discriminated against. I think that once a person knows how the other group feels they are not only able to understand but are also more likely to help the discriminated group.I do not agree with discriminating against somebody just because of their gender, which is why this artwork is bizarre to me. Nevertheless the bizarreness is what I like about it. In my opinion it is a perfect mirror of the patriarchal society we live in and provides an opportunity of reflection for those who think that men and women are treated equally. For instance, when I imagine that there would be a room for only men where women would have no access to and a woman would sue the artist, I feel like it would be considered an overreaction but when a man does it, it seems to be a valid response to discrimination.
ReplyDelete- Mária
Majka, I fully agree with the last sentence of your comment. Because women are just so emotional, a woman suing an artist would definitely be an overreaction, as women obviously can’t control their emotions, but as we all know, men are simply too rational to overreact to anything. A man suing an artist must, therefore, have a valid reason to do so. This was, of course, a very sarcastic exaggeration and I doubt there are that many people who are so sexist, but double standards still exist in our society. I believe that most people don’t even realize that they condone double standards because they tend to be subconscious. They are just part of society at large, so if we want to fight these double standards, we have to do it collectively as a society. The first step is finding the double standards which we, usually unknowingly, condone. The best way is to ask yourself whether you would look at a certain situation differently if the gender of the person involved was different. I can only hope that more and more people will become aware of these double standards so that they won’t be a part of our society anymore.
Delete- Sofia
I think this article shows that art is much more than just some old painting – it’s an experience. In this case, the experience of not being allowed to enter the ladies’ lounge, if you are a man, and having to wait outside while the ladies inside get pampered by male butlers, as the author of the article points out. At first glance, it looks like the artist, Kirsha Kaechele, was just discriminating against men to get back at them for the discrimination they have perpetrated against women. But that is not what Kaechele was trying to do, as her point was to make men think about how they might be discriminating against women. By doing this she actually made art that includes the viewer in it, which I think is an incredible feat. In fact, I think it’s entirely possible that she wanted someone to sue her, as that would mean that her art did what she wanted it to do – make people understand what it’s like to be discriminated against. And then she managed to turn the trial itself into a piece of performative art by carefully choreographing the ladies she brought with her, as the article mentions, which is absolutely ingenious on her part, as the media coverage of the trial helped spread her message.
ReplyDeleteBut that is not all Kaechele was trying to tell us – she’s also shown us the importance of women’s spaces. There aren’t many places like the ladies’ lounge – places where women can speak their mind freely without feeling the need to conform to societal expectations. They can find people who can relate to and understand their situation in life, which does not happen as often in other spaces. Sometimes spaces which include anyone become dominated by men’s voices, which can unfortunately lead to women’s voices getting ignored. Of course, separating all spaces by gender is certainly not beneficial, but sometimes it’s nice to have a place where people feel like they belong.
- Sofia