Judging by the array of pro-rape T-shirts on the market, assaulting and violating a woman makes a fantastic fashion statement.T-shirt slogans promoting rape and featuring semi-naked and gagged women have outraged anti-exploitation advocates.The australian clothing retailer Roger David had just rocked with his latest t-shirt designs on the retail market ,even he was judged a lot ,on the other hand.Despite all the comments, his opinion is that he was doing just art.
“Art is meant to inspire and educate…,and the meaning and interpretation is left in the hands of the viewer-we are here to inspire ideeas ,not meditate or control them.”(Roger David)
The woman in the ‘Annie Hollywood’ t-shirt ,produced by ‘Blood Is The New Black’,looks as though she has been roughed up. She appears disheveled and exhausted, her image reminiscent of a crime scenes photo. The other two women have a strip across their eyes, suggesting a loss of identity and dehumanization. Their semi-naked bodies are pimped through a t-shirt.
Although some might find these as offensive t shirts, the man who designed the shirt on the left,Dan Monick, says there is little to no meaning behind the shot.
“She was wearing a headband and it started to slide down her face and she bit it.The shot is a snapshot from me and Annie hanging out,it is not a premeditated image.Itook 3 frames.If I had put any meaning behind the image it’s more about the messed up aspects of Hollywood silencing individuality and unique voice.It’s about Hollywood silencing the human.”(Dan Monick)
The graphic t-shirts have angered women’s groups while a Facebook group was borned and called ”Roger David: NOT ok to promote violence against women!” And amazingly already has more than 800 members.
Ms Tankard Reist is declaring:”They’re taking messages you would normally find in pornography or the sex industry and mainstreaming them in what was once considered conservative menswear stores,..is this how Roger David likes its women? Is this how it thinks women should be portrayed?”
But it’s not just Roger David mainstreaming contempt for women wrapped up in a tee.There’s others available from online stores , treating rape as a joke .
An Australian website, run out of Los Angeles, allows designers to sell T-shirts with slogans such as ”It’s not rape if you yell surprise”, ”Rape, murder, arson … I like rape”, and ”I want rape”.And surprisingly these t-shirt designs are made for both ,women and men.This is such an irony ,that the shelves from the mainstream stores were, quite quick, almost empty. So ..what do you think ?…Is it a “war “to denigrate women of just the liberty of doing art ?!
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