"French feminist group are demanding that a giant statue of a sailor kissing a nurse- based on an iconic photo of a kiss in Times Square at the end of WWII- be removed from a war memorial site in Normandy because it allegedly depicts a sexual assualt."
The feminist group Osez le Feminisme (Dare to be Feminist) launcheda petition that's gathered over 700 signatures for the statue to be taken down and to be returned here to the U.S., where it was made. They say "The sailor could have laughed with these women, embraced them, asked if he could kiss one of them with joy. No,he chose to grab them, with clenched fists, to kiss them. It was an assualt."
A womean named Edith Shain, who claims to be the nurse in the photo, says she happily let him kiss her because "he fought for our country." While an Austrian woman, who also claims to be the nurse, says she didn't find it "romatic".
Should the sculpture be taken down? Or should it stay on the war memorial site as a symbol of celebration?
Well, one of the women is obviously lying. And I wouldn't find it surprising if neither of them were the woman in the picture. And while I can see how this could be considered assault, I think it is such an iconic moment and it is symbolization a happy time that it doesn't need to be taken down.
Different gestures in different regions of the world mean different things. He was obviously not assaulting her according to Americans, but having that much physical contact with someone - engaging in a kiss - can be seen very differently elsewhere. I think it would be appropriate for us to remove the artwork and return it to the U.S.
I think that the statue should stay up, especially since we don't know the true story because we don't know who the real woman is. It also seems that only the feminists have complained about the sculpture being a symbol of sexual assault. In addition, in the original photograph, it does not appear that the woman was struggling or fighting back, which is what someone who didn't want to be kissed would have done. Everyone else sees the sculpture as a symbol of celebration.
This is silly and will ultimately hurt this extreme feminist group. This is too far. The woman from Austria is probably lying, just a hunch. There is also a very similar if not identical statue in San Diego by the USS Midway. For that particular statue/photo, I've seen the woman interviewed and she said that she was overcome with joy on VJ-Day and it was a great moment. It shouldn't and probably won't b taken down.
the statue should stay up since it's based on the iconic piece of art that marks a celebratory time. It expresses the joy the American people at the time felt after hearing that the war was finally over and that we had won. The accusation that the statue is sexual assault is particularly ridiculous and even taints the definition of feminism, making anyone who advocates women's rights/equality look bad. On the other side, like Dylan said, interpretations on physical contact are different based on certain cultures, however i don't see a real reason to ship the artwork back to the US if someone is saying they should because it promotes sexual assault.
I personally don't think the statue should be taken down and while reading the article I was upset that they would think it needed to be taken down for what they see it as. What this feminist group sees it as and what it actually is can be 2 completely different things. Even if they get alot of signatures, I don't think it would be taken down as it shouldn't. It stands for celebration and victory not crime or injustice.
Like I said earlier, I believe the art piece will be perceived in different ways around the world. It is a very iconic painting that many Americans love while man foreigners dislike its depictions. We like it, they don't. To prevent the art work from being tarnished or defaced, I say we take it back into the United States where it can be appreciated. You don't see Americans plastering naked statues everywhere. Everyone has their own taste. :)
I think the sculpture should remain there because I don't really see a problem. We don't know if the nurse wanted the sailor to kiss her or not but it's "just" a kiss and I don't think that this is actually an assault.
I don't think there is anything wrong with this statue. It is honoring our soliders in a way and it should stay at the war memorial. The woman said she happily let the solider kiss her because he fought for our country and I think that should be the attitude towards this statue. The complaints aout the solider's clenched fists seem a little ridiculous to me.
