#Metoo movement monument

With over eight million people living in New York City, roughly 52.3% makes up the female population; however, only 5 out of 150 public statues are dedicated to historic women. Although there are more women in the city, only five figures represent women. Moreover, there are statues, including The Statue of Liberty, that do not have a name and are used as an archetype. There is not much of a difference from the ancient world and presently with the lack of monuments dedicated to women. The images of women are constantly sexualized and objectified by the male gaze. Through the ‘me too’ movement, I would like to build a monument to honor the brave women that fight for the end of sexual violence and harassment.

The female body has been continuously sexualized and objectified throughout history. The few monuments that depict women discovered from the ancient world are closely linked to sensuality. Firstly, the Aphrodite of Knidos was an ancient Greek statue sculpted by Praxiteles of Athens around the mid-fourth century BCE. The original sculpture of Aphrodite in nude reaching for a bath towel while covering her private part no longer exists, but there are many copies influenced by Praxiteles’ work. Aphrodite’s statue was one of the first representations of the female nude in Greek history. In Other ‘Ways of Seeing’: Female Viewers of the Knidian Aphrodite by Mireille M. Lee, it is stated that the image of Aphrodite was so realistic that it aroused men sexually leaving stains.[1] The original purpose of the statue has been lost due to men’s libido. On the other hand, graffitis and frescoes were left by the prostitutes or lupas and customers on the brothels in Pompeii.[2] The graffitis have explicit content on the sexual exchanges that have happened in the brothel. Although some lupas were there voluntarily, there were still a good amount of slaves forced into prostitution. In modern times, there are abundance of statues around America that may look the same all thanks to Audrey Munson. Audrey Munson modeled for Adolph Alexander Weinman’s Civic Fame, a handful of the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition sculptures, and more. Be that as it may, not a lot of people were aware of who she was. Aundrey Munson was forgotten by the public and remembered solely for her nude body. From then and now, not much have changed with the obsession and sexualization of the female body eventually forgetting who the person is underneath the body.

Following the same ideas as the ‘me too’ movement, I would like to propose a monument built for the ‘me too’ survivors and supporters. This monument would not only represent the brave survivors, but also give strength to other victims still struggling. Instead of making the monument about a certain historical figure, I wanted to create an opportunity for all the courageous survivors to be represented. At first, when looking at posters for the ‘me too’ movement there was an image that stood out to me: three raised fists of different people of color with red nail polish. The raised first, a symbol of solidarity and support, is an image closely related to the Black Power Movement. With that in mind, I decided to create a monument of a raised hand. The raised hand will be in pink and a projector will showcase the survivors and supporters name from the ‘me too’ movement. The hand will be on top of a black marble platform and have a plaque that gives information about the me too movement. The monument will be placed at Columbus Circle next to the USS Maine monument. This location is the main stage area for the women’s march in New York City. The monument will have an interactive portion by informing people on the plaque that they can put their name through a website accessed through a QR code. When on the website, people will be able to input their name on the screen and ask to donate to support the ‘me too’ movement. I would involve local communities in the decision-making process by asking them to fill out a survey and reach out to feminist organizations and the ‘me too’ movement. I am hoping that this monument will bring more awareness to the sexual violence and harassment people go through every day.