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Staten Island School Bans Pro-Consent Artwork For Showing Female Student's Back
By
Miranda Katz
Published May 7, 2016
Modified May 7, 2016
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By
Miranda Katz
Published May 7, 2016
Modified May 7, 2016
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When sophomores at Susan E. Wagner High School were asked to do a project that combined a social issue with photography and visual arts, Meghan Callahan Scarcella and Andrea Gonzalez were thrilled: here was an opportunity to bring the school's attention to rape culture and consent. Gonzalez volunteered to pose with her back bare of clothing, and instead covered with phrases such as "MY BODY MY RULES," "NO MEANS NO," and "YOU DON'T OWN ME," and Scarcella took a series of photos. The resulting artwork was briefly displayed in the high school's lobby—before being removed by administrators, as the Staten Island Advance reported.
The art was removed because it showed Gonzalez without clothing covering her back, students said, and because it could potentially offend some students because of their religious beliefs. Administrators said that they were concerned about the artwork because Gonzalez, 15, is a minor.
"I was so excited and I wanted people to see this," Gonzalez told CBS. "I wanted people to be aware of consent and the rape culture that is in our society."
Like many high schools, including another on Staten Island, Wagner has a strict dress code that primarily targets female students, deeming tank tops, halter tops, sheet tops, midriff-exposing tops, and "revealing" shorts or skirts to be inappropriate. It's not clear whether the school would have removed the artwork had it featured the bare backs of male students.
"The whole point is that girls are always sexualized," sophomore Grace Hall told the Advance. "If it was a photo of a guy's back, no one would object."
Gonzalez and Scarcella have reportedly agreed to revise the work and put it back up in the lobby—this time, the words will be written on t-shirts.
In a statement, Wagner principal Gary Giordano said that "we encourage and welcome the artistic expression of our students. The piece was addressed across art classes sparking meaningful conversations among students and teachers on a host of themes around social consciousness."
When the art was first banned, students circulated a petition to have it reinstated—but now that Scarcella and Gonzalez have reached an agreement with the school, that petition has now been amended, and is now intended to spread the original image as much as possible. As of Saturday afternoon, the petition had garnered 1,266 signatures.
Tagged
consent
dress codes
rape culture
staten island
susan e wagner high school
Miranda Katz
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