Dear Galway First,
I am writing in response to a letter published last in the Galway Advertiser from Aedine Wallis about the window display in the Bold art gallery. Following her argument, I would ask her how women expect to be taken seriously if they can't distinguish between art and "sex objects". We have plenty of examples of the latter, with many television ads, billboard displays, movies, magazines etc showing us in stereotypes that we would rather see long gone. And I am not going to go into some type of pornography.
But do you think Rubens’ "The Three Graces" or his "Venus at the Mirror" portray women as sex objects? Or Goya's "The Nude Maja"? Or Ingres’ "Le Grand Odalisque" or his "Turkish Bath"? There is nothing degrading in these and many other instances where women are shown naked because there is nothing wrong about showing how beautiful and sensual a woman's body can be. It has nothing to do with showing a leather-clad, man-eating woman to advertise a car.
Extreme feminism does not help anyone.
Yours etc,
A bold art lover,
Name and address with Editor.
