(Image source: Twitter)
Warning: links may go to NSFW material.
Spencer Tunick, a New York-based photographer who is well known for staging nude photoshoots, organized an all-naked "protest" at the Republican National Convention.
The event, called “Everything She Says Means Everything,” was meant to combat “the sexualization, objectification and prohibition of the woman’s nude figure.”
I am all for women being confident with their bodies, but I think this rated-R demonstration was far from constructive for various reasons. Not only is it illegal to be in public in only your birthday suit, but if I were a convention attendee, a protestor, or simply a Cleveland resident going about my business, and I walked by a group of approximately 100 exposed women holding up mirrors I would be rather perplexed and a little concerned. But overall, the random person would be completely ignorant of their intended message from their demonstration.
Maybe I’m unaware of how to go about organizing a constructive protest, but I think it’s vital to have your message clearly and effectively delivered to your audience, and that is far from what happened here.
From the Huffington Post:
In May, Tunick called out for volunteers to participate in his vision, to interrupt business as usual at the RNC with a flood of nude bodies. The only requirement: be a woman ― whether Democrat, Republican, or any other political platform. Tunick hoped the work would serve as an act of peaceful protest, combatting the hateful rhetoric Donald Trump and his followers have directed at women, through the simple power of collective creation.
Sorry to break it to you Tunick, but I don’t think you and your whiny army of unclothed ladies disrupted “business as usual at the RNC.” But I’ll give you half a gold star for your effort.
Tunick reportedly has claimed the topic of women’s bodies is one of the most controversial subjects in the 2016 presidential election. I don’t know what debates or candidates he’s been paying attention to, but I think we can all agree that our country has bigger fish to fry.
Additionally, he expressed in an interview with Esquire Magazine that he feels “like the 100 women lighting up the sky of Cleveland will send this ray of knowledge onto the cityscape. I think it will enlighten not only the delegates but set the vibe of the weekend, set a tone.”
In reality, however, it’s done absolutely nothing.
Over 1,800 women alledgedly signed up to participate in this unproductive foolishness. Each applicant expressed her reasoning for wanting to pose unclothed on a patch of grass in the middle of Cleveland.
The Huffington Post reports that one woman wanted to “remember her body during pregnancy” and another woman was hoping it would help her emotionally after being sexually assaulted. Some were hoping that they would spread a good message for their daughters.
So was this supposed to be some sort of spiritual/memorable journey of some sort, or a legitimate protest? Can someone please clarify for me.
But, of course, pure idiocy never goes unrecognized. People took to Twitter to express their support.
I have an awesome idea, why don’t you all stop prioritizing your desire to walk around half naked in the United States of America and focus on elevating women in Middle Eastern or Central American countries who have not even close to half the rights that you have?