This article seems almost prescient (in its tone, if nothing else), despite being merely a summary of particular trends. It’s also highly relevant for showing the rare value to society of an art history degree.
There is much to appreciate in it, and too much of it would be ruined – or at least its value would be lessened – by removing it from its context. However, I can’t close this post without some teaser to get you interested in the article, if its title “Gleeful Mobs Of Women Murdering Men In Western Art History” wasn’t enough on its own. So I’ll leave you with this quote:
The Difference Between A Good Friend And A Best Friend:
A good friend will hold your scabbard while you use your short sword to murder a male stranger.
A best friend won’t have any hands free to hold your scabbard because she’ll be too busy grabbing him by the cloak and jabbing him with a stick.
And, finally, I’ll take this moment to note that I’m working on a longer piece in response to the rampant right-wing rhetoric that #MeToo has gone #TooFar. Spoiler: although #MeToo has not gone too far, I concede that gangs of gleeful women roaming the countryside with their breasts exposed and falling upon solitary men in murderous joy, killing them with a combination of blunt and pointed objects, then ripping them to pieces and scattering their limbs and organs across the countryside would almost certainly have reached the point where I would agree they have gone #TooFar.
BONUS ARTWORK: Not included in the original article is this lovely piece of Timoclea dumping her rapist down a well in a response that is arguably more anti-male than asking that an attempted rapist not be confirmed to SCOTUS:
Oil painter Elisabetta Sirani takes on the woman revenge-murdering her rapist theme curiously neglected by a large number of her contemporaries.
I don’t think that whoever painted that had a lot of observational experience of throwing people into wells. Or putting an angry cat in a cat-carrier, even.
First you use a hammer to render the about-to-be spelunker unconscious, then you tip them into the well.
Anyone looking for some anti-rapist catharsis, google “judith and holofernes” for decapitations galore. The article is cool for me because it has some I’ve never heard of.
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A woman and her BFF (well, maidservant) at work: Judith and Holofernes, by Artemisia Gentileschi.
Great minds, I guess…
Great American Satan @2: Strictly speaking, the painting isn’t about rape revenge. Judith seduced Holofernes so she could kill him before the city he was besieging capitulated.
Oh huh, I had heard otherwise, but I never read the source, of course.
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We can always look at the various “Judith with the head of Holofernes” for inspiration.
Oops, bad link at #3. Try this.
This is positively delightful. Now i feel a strange urge to find a snake (no chance of a leopard or even a jaquar here) and a sickle. The amazing hair and blue robe I hope are optional, but look how much FUN they are having! Wow! Who knew?
I think we could totally do this.
I love the look on her face.
Well, I’m sure I could come up with some sort of “look how men are being abused #TooFar” comment if I could just stop giggling at all those pictures and the wonderful captions, darn it all.
… gangs of gleeful women roaming the countryside with their breasts exposed and falling upon solitary men in murderous joy, killing them with a combination of blunt and pointed objects, then ripping them to pieces and scattering their limbs and organs across the countryside …
Uh, will somebody who pays attention to Twitter pls post a notice here if you see “#maenads too” trending?
@Pierce R. Butler:
#NotAllMaenads
Throwing your rapist down a well isn’t anti-male. It’s anti-rapist.
@2 GAS, I love the Klimt. They’d look great on my bedroom walls.
@Raucous indignation:
I don’t believe it is anti-male, and i do believe it is anti-rapist, as you said. However, my original statement was that it’s arguably *more* (as a relative thing) anti-male to kill a guy who rapes than to simply fail to give him a spot on SCOTUS.
It was intended as ironic understatement. But i suppose it’s not bad that you spelled it out for future readers who don’t get the references.
Oh, I’m pretty sure I knew what you meant. I followed the links and then other links and then went down the internet timesink and by the time I returned I was a bit off topic. [shrugs]