On March 8, 2017 people of all ethnicities, ages, genders, and economic situations around the globe celebrated International Women’s Day. This International Women’s Day felt especially important, given the current political climate in the United States. While there was an array of gorgeous art celebrating women that day, the one that stood out the most was the statued given the name “Fearless Girl.” This statue is located directly in front of the Wall Street bull, staring it down fearlessly. The statue depicts a young girl with her hands in little fists resting powerfully on either hip, her ponytail blowing in the wind. I feel this work of art is celebrated so much because it is inclusive. We do not know the ethnicity, sexual orientation, or
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When I first saw the photo, my first thought was disgust, but then I could not help but think of Kate Millett. Kate Millett believes the root women’s oppression is in heterosexual, intimate relationships between men and women. In these relationships, men completely dominate, forcing women in submission.This anonymous man sees the image of a young girl in power and feels like she needs to know her place. I began to think of it in the context of pornography as Kate Millett describes. He humiliates the image of the girl, there is no consent or mutual pleasure, just domination and his needs being met. He is bigger and stronger, and he felt that he had to prove his “masculinity” to his friends. I also thought of Dorothy Dinnerstein. Her groundbreaking insights of raising children made me think how women’s power played into this incident. Dinnerstein believed that children grow up fearing women’s power. Boys eventually want to control women’s power, and girl’s fear their power so much that they wish to be controlled. This ties into Millett’s philosophy as well, because I believe that it is also why the man humped the statue, not just because he wanted her in submission, but because he fears her power. He saw “Fearless Girl” as a threat to his own power that needed to be
When I first saw the photo, my first thought was disgust, but then I could not help but think of Kate Millett. Kate Millett believes the root women’s oppression is in heterosexual, intimate relationships between men and women. In these relationships, men completely dominate, forcing women in submission.This anonymous man sees the image of a young girl in power and feels like she needs to know her place. I began to think of it in the context of pornography as Kate Millett describes. He humiliates the image of the girl, there is no consent or mutual pleasure, just domination and his needs being met. He is bigger and stronger, and he felt that he had to prove his “masculinity” to his friends. I also thought of Dorothy Dinnerstein. Her groundbreaking insights of raising children made me think how women’s power played into this incident. Dinnerstein believed that children grow up fearing women’s power. Boys eventually want to control women’s power, and girl’s fear their power so much that they wish to be controlled. This ties into Millett’s philosophy as well, because I believe that it is also why the man humped the statue, not just because he wanted her in submission, but because he fears her power. He saw “Fearless Girl” as a threat to his own power that needed to be