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| Man Ray, Venus Restored (1936) |
The Pontifical Council for Culture has
now posted the Outline
document for its forthcoming Assembly on Women's Cultures, to be held in
Rome from 4th to 7th February. The image shown here is the image chosen by the
Council.
We congratulate the Pontifical Council
for selecting such an important theme for its Assembly. However, if these
discussions are to be rooted in the realities, visions and insights of the
lives of women around the world, then they will be enriched by opening up a
space of dialogue and exploration around the issues addressed in the outline
document, which is available to download at this
link.
If you would like to add a perspective,
a question or a contribution that will help to contribute to an informed
dialogue that represents the diverse insights of Catholic women around the
world, we invite you to post a comment here. We encourage people to post on
behalf of others who might not have access to the internet but
who would like an opportunity to share their opinions. Please keep comments to
less than 300 words, and please help us to ensure that this is an informed and
respectful channel of communication that makes a genuine contribution to
dialogue and debate. While we do not wish to discourage robust debate, comments
that do not maintain acceptable standards of courtesy and respect or that are not relevant to the topic under discussion will be
deleted.
If you would like to contribute a more
substantial piece (500 to 800 words), you might like to write a blog on these
issues which which we are happy to consider for publication here. Please send
your blog to Catholic Women Speak at sophie.ecclessia@gmail.com (note the
unusual spelling of ecclesia, for the purposes of the email account).
In
order to stimulate reflection and discussion, Tina Beattie has
downloaded the outline document and inserted some questions and observations in
blue. These are not intended to provide an alternative account of 'woman', but
to call into question some of the generalisations and assumptions that seem to
be operating in the document. If you would like to download a PDF file of this
annotated version, please click
here.
Why not join the Facebook group, 'Catholic Women Speak'?
Why not join the Facebook group, 'Catholic Women Speak'?
I am deeply disturbed by the image chosen to illustrate this Vatican document on Women’s cultures.
ReplyDeleteIt is Venus Restored (1936), a work by male artist Man Ray. It is a plaster cast of a fragmented female torso tightly bound with rope. A woman without head/face,with no arms and no legs and in bondage.
Like many other male Surrealist artists, Man Ray tended to objectify women and define them as subordinate. As targets of male desire, women were the subjects of disturbing fantasies and erotic violence.
Man Ray had a strong interest in Sade and sadism and there is a recurrent sadistic streak in his artwork, as well as in his relationships with women, characterised by domination and aggression. Man Ray photographed women wearing implements of bondage and enacting scenes of torture. He also helped others, like William B Seabrook realise in real life his fantasies of women bondage.
What is behind this choice of female bondage image by the all male Pontifical Council for culture? Is it the choice of the group of women behind this document? (Who are they?they are nameless) What message exactly does it seek to convey? Is that how women are perceived and treated in the catholic church?
If women were deacons,priests,bishops,cardinals,would such an image have been chosen? The one image the Vatican cannot show is that of a woman presiding at a Eucharist.: "This is my body"...So instead we have this mutilated woman's body in bondage,a symptom of the real disease at the core of the institution.And still...Women rise!
Soline Humbert,Ireland..Feast of the Presentation.