If your social media feeds are anything like mine, you cannot hope to avoid a certain artistic conception of a corpulent, genitally-deficient, fully-nude presidential candidate.
Nude Donald Trump statue removed from NYC's Union Square. https://t.co/hRB03MsY0G pic.twitter.com/uCyZAxztm7
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 18, 2016
11 nauseating photos of NYC’s naked Trump statue https://t.co/91maNl9o0P
— I vote blue 💙 (@Brasilmagic) August 19, 2016
#AllErectionsMatter, no matter how small. https://t.co/pwZ9DONRPu
— 💙A. Denovir💙 (@Adenovir) August 19, 2016
That’s just a sampling, of course. You are free to search for more, at your own risk.
Without reading the artist’s backgrounder, what do the statues convey to you?
From where I’m sitting (in my living room, at a reasonably safe distance) the statues send a number of deeply negative messages.
- It is okay to shame people for being old
- It is okay to shame people for being overweight
- It is okay to shame people for having unusually-sized genitals
- If someone is ugly on the outside, this reflects their moral character
- Testicles are an apt metaphor for (moral) courage
- Penis size is a good proxy for manliness
None of these messages strike me as particularly conversant with humanist values. The last two are borderline misogynist and misandrist, respectively, and anti-humanist as such.
Lest you believe that I’m simply being prudish, it must be noted that I’ve no problem whatsoever nudity as art in general or as political satire in particular. Here is an example of what the latter looks like, when done well:
Hillary Clinton Appears Before Rally Completely Nude In Bid For Authenticity https://t.co/FDuKL1Fwv3 pic.twitter.com/0XAOcQLG4A
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 19, 2016
The satirical message is clear enough: Clinton has trouble coming across as relatably human, even though she tries (way too) hard to be likable. If there is a similarly on-point message radiating from these monstrous Trump statues, I am simply not seeing it. I’m open to correction, though, if you’d like to leave a comment below.
