WARNING. Graphic image/content
The end of this week has left me reeling. How to even describe the latest violence against women horror exhibits? How to name the casual everyday way these mementos from the frontline of the war on women have become normalised in our culture?
First, the tattoo (slightly censored below). This atrocity is the production of local Brisbane tattoo artist Ryan Parsons, who works at Black Throne Tattoo. To design this image of a woman bound, naked, dumped in a wheelie bin for birds to feast on and then to inscribe the violence permanently into a human body – how do you actually do that? And then to laugh about it, to abuse your critics and to claim you care for women because you have a girlfriend and a daughter….like that then absolves you?
The murder and sexual assault of women is so banal it’s to be treated as body decoration now.
So proud was Parsons of his design, he thought it deserved a wider audience. He uploaded a photo of the tattoo to Instagram with the hash-tagged ‘fuck women’s rights’ and ‘bash women’.
Ryan Parsons
Instantly criticised on social media, he responded:
Sheena who blogs at ‘She The Warrior’ received this reply to her complaint:
From: clintsteele68@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Complaint regarding Ryan Parsons
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2014 15:24:11 +1000Hello Sheena,
Ryan will be posting an apology today.
Black Throne Tattoo in no way supports Misogyny or violence of any kind.
The posts put up by Ryan were his own doing on his own social media.
Thanks
Clint
Parsons removed the image, but was hardly contrite. He claimed the image was taken down after a complaint by a ‘homo’ and then uploaded this ‘community service’ announcement (which makes no sense, unless by ‘homo’ he means another lesbian, unless gay men have particular uses for vagisil that I don’t know about).
And here’s Parson’s ‘apology’ on Tuesday July 1. Note it did not appear on his business page or on Black Throne’s website or social media pages. Given that Black Throne claim not to support what he did and asked him to remove the image, surely a more visible apology is warranted?
I am not sure we should take Parson’s word for it on the origins of the tattoo being the design of a woman abused in same-sex relationships. The woman is apparently a lesbian. Parson’s condemns one of the complainants who pressured him remove it as a ‘homo’, which seems odd given his same-sex client. Then above he describes the image as a ‘hooker in a wheelie bin’. So, the alleged client requested an image of a dead hooker whose genitals are fed on by birds to be tattooed on her body. I’m not saying it’s not possible that a woman could make such a request (and even if she did, it is ethical to do whatever a paying customer requests, especially when the artists claims to be against violence against women?). I would just like to see some evidence
I emailed Parsons early yesterday afternoon and asked to be put in touch with his client, to ask her some questions about why she got the tattoo, where it appeared on her body, the comments she may have received for it, and if she had any regrets (I said I would protect her identity, which I would). No reply so far.
Evidence that Parson’s has encouraged more violent attitudes against women is not hard to find. Note the comment of ell_madness in response to another Parson image posted after the apology: #needsmoredeadhookers.
(Images courtesy: She The Warrior)
Of course ‘art’ isn’t the only beneficiary of rampant and endemic women hatred.
Have a look at this latest golf accessory from Dunlop. The ball becomes the ‘head’ which you can smash off during a great day out with your golfing buds.
The golf accessory manufactured to resemble naked, armless and decapitated female bodies.
The “Nudie Tee” (get it – nudity – hilarious yes?) is the golfing tee for the male golfer with a great sense of humour, on sale for a song just 2.99 pounds from Amazon and Ebay (shame on those companies too from profiting from violence against women).
Perhaps these companies and those who buy such products forget that real women are decapitated? Or perhaps they just don’t care. Karen Ingala Smith documents the murders of women on her website ‘Counting Dead Women’ . Six of the women named are UK women who have been decapitated since January 2012.
Anti violence against women worker and advisor to the UK Government Joanne Sharpen has launched a Change.org petition. Please add your name now.
Dunlop are currently selling a golf tee in the shape of a decapitated naked woman’s body.
I work in the violence against women and girls sector and I am so frustrated about these sorts of products as they help to produce a context and a society that normalises abuse of women. I work with victims of abuse and this really can have a huge impact.
In the UK two women a week are murdered by current or former partners andone in four women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes. The mainstreaming of women as sexual objects in popular culture contributes to creating a conducive context in which violence against women and girls (VAWG) is normalised and accepted.
The Sexualisation of Young People Review found there is ‘a clear link between consumption of sexualised images, a tendency to view women as objects and the acceptance of aggressive attitudes and behaviour as the norm’. The devaluing of women in the way they are represented in society is an important factor perpetuating VAWG. ‘Turning to mainstream media, experimental studies among young adults find that males and females exposed to sexualised or objectifying content are more accepting of rape myths, violence-supportive and adversarial beliefs.
By developing this awful product featuring decapitated naked women’s bodies, Dunlop are helping to perpetuate violence against women and girls. Of the two women a week murdered in the UK this year, two were decapitated. Every time a golfer hits a ball from one of these tees, they are effectively condoning abuse and making a mockery of the women who are assaulted on a daily basis as well as those who do not survive.
‘It is likely much easier to harm a women when she is perceived as more animalistic and less human’
The UN Commission on the Status of Women Expert panel made the following relevant recommendation:
Strengthen regulatory frameworks with regard to media, advertising imagery, texts, games and other popular culture mediums which portray women or girls in a discriminatory, degrading or stereotypical way.
We cannot understand the reasoning behind this product and call on Dunlop Sport to recognise the devastating impact of such items, to remove the product from sale immediately and to donate profits from this awful item to a domestic violence charity.
5 Responses
Wonder who are benefitting/profiting from this endless mass male hatred/dehumanisation of women? It is men and as usual this rampant male created hatred/contempt/dehumanisation of women and girls is being dismissed by men as ‘humour!’
Imagine if the situation were reversed and it was men who are the ones being subjected to pandemic female hatred/contempt/ promotion of female sexual violence against men. Men would become hysterical and demand action be immediately take to make promotion of male hatred a crime. Men would be lobbying their male political leaders and demanding immediate action be taken because man (sic) has certain fundamental rights which includes man’s right to be accorded dignity and respect.
Imagine if the tatooed image was that of a naked male positioned in a garbage bin as if he were disposable rubbish and his penis was visible. This wouldn’t happen because men do not routinely dehumanise other white men. Men dehumanise non-white men but not because their sex is male. Racism is real because it affects men whereas pandemic male hatred of females because their sex is female isn’t real according to mens’ illogical thinking!
Women and girls aren’t human according to men which is why there continues to be mass male hatred/male contempt/deliberate male dehumanisation of women and girls. Because men continue to believe it is their innate right to dehumanise women and girls.
Do not fall into the trap of using gender neutral language which reinforces mens’ lies that there is symmetry between pandemic male violence/male hatred of females and vice versa. The report entitled ‘The Sexualisation of Young People’ is deliberately misleading because it is not young men who are being systematically dehumanised – males are the ones dehumanising/promoting mens’ lies that women and girls are dehumanised sexualised objects.
Mens’ hiding tactics commonly use gender neutral language because men do not want pandemic male hatred/male dehumanisation/male contempt for women to be accepted as happening.
Collective and individual male hatred propaganda is not ‘harmless or humorous’ it is happening because men know dehumanising women and girls is very effective because man (sic) cannot harm beings who are not human. The Nazis used the same hateful propaganda to justify their fascist hatred of Jewish women and men and other groups who opposed their political aims.
Speak out and name the agents who are creating/promoting/condoning this mass male created war on women and girls. Name men as the ones profiting from their vile women hating propaganda. Demand that immediate action be taken to hold malestream media; corporate organisations and individual males responsible for promoting/colluding in male hatred of women.
Men eagerly passed legislation criminalising male hatred of non-white men and homosexual males because racism and homophobia affects men and therefore is a real and important issue but pandemic male hatred of women and girls is a non-issue because males aren’t the ones affected and females are supposedly ‘non-human!’
Do not fall into the trap of using gender neutral language which reinforces mens’ lies that there is symmetry between pandemic male violence/male hatred of females and vice versa. The report entitled ‘The Sexualisation of Young People’ is deliberately misleading because it is not young men who are being systematically dehumanised – males are the ones dehumanising/promoting mens’ lies that women and girls are dehumanised sexualised objects.
Do not repeat mens’ lies that males and females by viewing vile male hating images of women and girls supposedly impacts young women and men equally. It does not – such images reinforce and normalise male belief in their innate (sic) male sex right to female bodies. Womens’ and mens’ lives are not identical – men continue to oppress women and girls with impunity because society continues to be a Male Supremacist one wherein socio-political power continues to be male dominant.
Mens’ hiding tactics commonly use gender neutral language because men do not want pandemic male hatred/male dehumanisation/male contempt for women to be accepted as happening.
We constantly come across images of dehumanized, objectified women and violence becomes a big laugh for men. Women don’t do that to men, we don’t see that from women. I’m starting to wonder how any woman can go out with a man anymore in an environment where these things are common jokes. This parson guy has a girlfriend. How can women tolerate that? Don’t they see how much they are hated, why do they still believe men like parson when they say they love women and are against violence towards them? Actions speak louder than words. How can people be so oblivious in front of strong woman hating?
This is a disgrace. Stop popularising violence against women. Women are not objects or disposable commodities. Your product promotes both- violence to women justified through objectification.
I’m disgusted with this depravity!
His poor daughter.