OK, now I want a pixelated vagina kayak too!
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The statement that you initially âfixedâ was very much about the artistâs stance against the double standard in Japanese society that promote male anatomy while criminalizing female parts, not about her feeling self-conscious. Youâre the one who conflate her artist mission with her self-image issues. The double standard exists regardless of how she feels about her own body: It is not by any means self-oppression.
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Actually, there are two different things going on here. Japan is both incredibly permissive and prudishly conservative and their laws reflect that.
The law that she is accused of breaking says that the production and distribution of uncensored pornographic images is illegal, and that applies to the depiction of both male and female genitalia. However, possession of said images and their display in cultural activities is legal. The reason that the police became involved is that she is accused of selling an uncensored image of her vagina, not just âpenises=good, vaginas=badâ although I appreciate that that might ruin the âomg Japan is like, so oppressiveâ narrative that has accompanied this story.
Simply put, if a male artist were to charge a fee to distribute an image of their genitalia, they could potentially face arrest in the same way. The legal issue has nothing to do with the gender of the depicted genitalia, just the production and distribution of images of uncensored genitalia for profit.
Yes, the laws are regressive and pretty shameful for an advanced nation, but conflating âoverly conservative obscenity lawsâ with âgender oppressionâ is pretty simplistic. Donât believe me? Do a Google image search for âvagina matsuriâ and see for yourself; an entire street festival dedicated to the pagan celebration of vulvas as a fertility symbol. The difference between that and the case in this story is that no one at the matsuri is distributing uncensored images of genitals, just selling candy shaped like vulvas, so theyâre not breaking the law.
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Heya Cynical - Just thought Iâd drop in that both the matsuri are Spring fertility festivals. The phalluses are a much more predominant image, and the party at that festival is wilder, while the vagina festival is a comparatively sedate affair. (Notice that the phalluses are carried openly, while the vaginas are more camouflaged/stylized - in one float, lips become lips.)
Compare these images from the Ososo Matsuri, to this video from a Kanamara Matsuri. While the penis festival isnât a bacchanalia (kids are welcome to the family event), itâs still very clear which one is the raunchier of the two.
Also, Huffpost has posted an article about the recent arrest, and hereâs the link. Iâm providing it because it contains the fundraising video of the artist explaining - in her own words - why she does what she does.
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Time to rename my Rick Astley figurine file and upload it to thingverseâŚ
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Description: Itâs no stranger to loveâŚ
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The way humans (and different socities) treat genitals is really fascinating. Sad, but fascinating. Penis is often respected while the vagina is thought to be vile, or at the very least strange. A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that vaginas are sort of hidden while penises are right there, as well as the higher status of men. I wonder, is there or has there been societies which have specifically âworshippedâ (one way or another) the vagina?
Even among people who are not afraid to admit theyâre very sexual beings, thinking or talking about your vagina is still a bit taboo. I certainly have sometimes felt like my vagina is gross or ugly, even though I know thereâs nothing wrong with it. Iâve heard some other women on the internet admit the same, but otherwise this isnât really talked about.
As a curious teenager, I took photos of my genitals and looked at them through a mirror. Even then, itâs kinda hard to see. 3D models would be a great way to get to really know yourself from the inside. Porn isnât really the ideal way to get a grasp of what people look like, men OR women. While thereâs some variation, mainstream porn stars still tend to be shaved with, small, pink labia and a bleached asshole. There are women who get labia surgery (to make them smaller) because of this insecurity.
I remember seeing this website that had gathered a whole bunch of photos of vaginas. I wish more women would see that. Thereâs all kinds!
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This was in the menâs bathroom in a traditional restaurant in China that I visited with some friends. I took this picture for the benefit of the women in our group, who were a bit upset that they didnât get a similar sculpture and poem dedicated to their own genitals.
There are some European and African traditions where the vagina wards off evil - there are some âSheela na gigâ statues that seem to be for that purpose in Ireland, then thereâs the folklore of women exposing themselves to demons to scare them off.
Iâm not sure if that really helps to dispel the idea that the vagina is ugly though⌠Still, the fact that itâs not that visible may well be a good thing WRT bullying - men get plenty of shame for not having the right kind of penis (see: 70% of email spam content) and women already get enough grief for the parts of their body that are more obvious.
[Edit: the last picture is an illustration from a 17th century book and is in no way related to C. S. Lewis fanfiction]
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Now thatâs unfair. Hereâs the âgreat wall of vaginaâ, for all us ladies:
'The Great Wall Of Vagina' Is, Well, A Great Wall Of Vaginas (NSFW) | HuffPost Entertainment (NSFW)
Hah. Iâm not sure whether that means vaginas have some awesome holy powers or that theyâre so scary/gross that not even a demon wants to see it.
From Wikipedia (about Sheela na gig):
âWeir and Jerman also argue that their location on churches and the grotesque features of the figures, by medieval standards, suggests that they represented female lust as hideous and sinfully corrupting.â
Well, thereâs our answer. There area also theories that they are supposed to represent a pagan goddess, âa lustful hagâ. Not much better.
I wonder if I could ward off drunks or someone whoâs trying to rob me by dropping down my pants and spreading my âevil eyeâ wide open. It might at least confuse them, but then again, they might take it as an invitation.
Edit//
I suppose youâre righ, in a way. The thing is, even though itâs not visible, thereâs still so much shame involved. At least with penises, even though thereâs a lot of insecurity, men know that a 13-inch member is not the norm. Itâs talked about so much that âSize doesnât matter, itâs how you use itâ is a meme on its own.
Women, on the other hand, donât really know whatâs ânormalâ. Even if you havenât seen your vagina or donât think it looks wrong, it can feel gross and sticky and hairy and messy. The hair thing is especially weird; there arenât many people who expect men to shave (their genitals, that is, facial hair is another thing - though many people find it sexy, me included), even though it can get in the way as well. Luckily, not all people think that women must be hair-free. Though sadly, some of those people, in the name of defending a natural bush, have gone on to say that shaving shouldnât be done at all and makes a person look like a little girl. Itâs kinda how some people defend curvy women by calling skinny women gross or ânot real womenâ. Gee, thanks. You just canât win!
Anyway, I think itâs safe to say that the beauty expectations for both women and men are all messed up. No one wins in that game.
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Thanks. Iâm aware that the vagina matsuri is much more low key and, if I recall correctly, was set up in response to the penis matsuri rather than on its own cultural merits but my post was getting too long already and diverging into an explanation of the relative cultural importance of each seemed to detract from my original point, which was that framing Japanese anti-obscenity law as explicitly anti-female is false and feels like a wilful attempt to shoehorn in oppression where it doesnât in fact exist.
There are plenty of reasons to get offended by patriarchal attitudes in Japan (spousal abuse was only made illegal in 2003 and is still largely regarded as a property crime, while human trafficking is both widespread and an accepted part of the fuzoku industry, to take two examples) but it seems the artistâs comments have been largely taken out of context and used to explain her arrest as if itâs only the display of vaginas that is illegal when thatâs not the case at all.
Thereâs a longer discussion about their possible meaning(s) here; apparently they were also borrowed by women in labour to help provide an easier birth and may have had a connection to earlier Celtic beliefs. They may have been used to warn against sexuality, but could also have been used by the Irish to celebrate it. They donât seem to have the image of shaming women nowadays from what I gather, and have been appropriated by Irish feminists as part of their identity (possibly not in line with their original purpose, but itâs still pretty interesting). One Sheela na gig was stolen from a church not too far from where I lived in 1990; it was a pretty big deal at the time and the dad of one of my friends* was commissioned to make a replica to put in its place.
*who is easily the coolest historian Iâve ever met: he was a fascinating traditional storyteller who also built his own house and lived on the diet of a famine-era Irish peasant for a year before allegedly running for president.
I donât think Japan is weird, in fact I think similar biases are at play right here in North America, albeit in different ways. I just donât think itâs outlandish enough for this woman to grow up with body insecurities as to completely dismiss her message as baseless and her concerns as inventions (which is what seems to be implied in some comments). Sheâs in a better position to make a social commentary about the cultural biases she grew up with and how they affect her than any of us.
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Youâre welcome, and thanks for not getting mad at me!
Technically, she probably didnât sell anything. It was the distribution of the 3D file as a level reward for donation to the boat project that made authorities descend on her. She never sold it separately. As an artist, she asked for donations to a project that was not for later sale. At one level of donation, she offered to provide the 3D image as a reward. That was her criminal act.
You might want to think about it this way, would you consider PBS to have completed a âsaleâ if they took a donation, and in return gave a reward of a DVD? (They do sell DVDs outside of fundraising drives.) Rewards are initiatives to drive higher funding rates, but typically arenât interpreted as sales. They arenât taxed.
So, it seems like the Japanese authorities may be trying to shoehorn the artist into having performed an illegal act. I hardly know any Japanese laws, and donât know if what she did really was/not legal according to the law that is being called upon. Also, the law probably needs to be read in the native tongue to get their interpretation.
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That kayak needs more clitoris.
In Japan, the woman failed to ward off the demon. 
The penis festival, Kanamara Matsuri, is all about that story. It centers around myth which starts with woman who canât get rid of a demon. Sheâs pretty, and it wants to scare off other suitors, so it takes over her vagina, giving it teeth (yep, early vagina dentata story). A few guys try her out, but sheâs got a toothy issue, so they take off. Then, a blacksmith happens by, and likes her. She tells him about her problem, and he thinks about it. He comes back with a weapon - an iron penis. He pops that inside her, tricks the demon into chomping down on some iron, and all the teeth break. The demon flees, and the couple live happily.
The penises currently included in the parade at the festival are:
⢠A wooden one, the represents real men
⢠An iron one, for the story
⢠A pink one, that gets carried by drag queens - because the festival, once only about fertility, now also is about HIV and AIDS awareness
Absolutely we have similar biases. I was in my car yesterday, and the Sublime song âWrong Wayâ came on to KROQ. Only one word was bleeped in it. âTitsâ. This is a song that starts:
Annieâs 12 years old
In two more sheâll be a whore
It was also perfectly fine to say:
Seven horny brothers and your drunk ass dad.
Give it a listen. See if you can tell me why they bleeped âtitsâ.
Ladies, always check the genus of the demon before practicing anasyrma and remember to take an expert with you when you try this in a new area for the first time!
-
There are relatively few really dangerous species. If you know and
avoid these, then you shouldnât be able to do yourself any lasting
harm. -
Donât assume that all demons you find together are of the same
species; different species can be found together. Check every
specimen. -
When youâve discovered a demon to identify, examine its surroundings.
Make a note of what the demon is growing on, and note the location. A
GPS locator is an excellent tool here! -
Observe all identifying characteristics. Color: Be careful. Demons
can change color upon drying or exposure to sunlight. If possible,
note the color both before and after drying of all parts, including
the stalk, the top of the cap (both in the middle and near the
margin), the gills (which change color in age for most species!), and
the flesh, or context, inside these parts. Because colors can change
so dramatically, they are NOT to be relied upon. -
How does your demon smell? Generically fungal? Phenolic (like antiseptic bandages?) Almondy? Like green corn?
-
Remember that a species that is easily identified in one region may have a dangerous lookalike in another region! For example, Volvariella speciosa, a popular species in North America and Europe, can be easily confused with Amanita phalloides, a deadly poisonous species in Asia. If in doubt, ask a local expert!
-
If you believe you or someone you know may be suffering from vagina dentata, seek metallurgical help immediately.
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Maybe she very well could have, but perhaps sheâs not the type to go on the internet and Google âvaginaâ.
Have you EVER looked for âvaginaâ on the internet? And come up with things that werenât weird and gross or mainstream porn? Do you think looking at and comparing your vagina to those in mainstream porn is the healthiest way to figure out whether or not your own vagina is weird?
Go google âvaginaâ with safe search off and get back to me.
I also bet you donât have a vagina yourself, and yet you seem to think you know that one can just go online and look at vaginas and suddenly realize yours isnât actually âweird.â
Youâd be wrong. And as someone with an actual vagina, maybe you should just listen to me.
How about looking at a biology book, or a medical book? They have them in libraries.
