Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2014 7:24:51 GMT -5
I was a bit surprised to see a post on my FB feed from a friend who is a locally-famous artist where he strenuously objected to the idea that the shirt was sexist. Even more surprising to see a few dozen female friends of his (most of whom I would put in the "young/hip/artsy" category) vigorously agree with him.
Years ago when I was on the union's grievance committee at our shop, I had to represent one of our artists who stuck a calendar on his desk that featured a different female body builder each month. His supervisor, a female, complained that the calendar was inappropriate in the workplace, and a couple of other female artists complained, too. He agreed to move it to a less conspicuous area, but the supervisor said it was still visible and the company wanted to discipline him.
His argument was that a) the calendar was "art" and b) he was an artist and c) the female form had long been an inspiration for and a subject of art and d) if the supervisor had a problem with the calendar, it was her problem. I was doing ok at the grievance hearing (my inspiration was The Otter Defense from "Animal House") until I looked at the calendar and got to Miss May, who was naked. The women had a point. I had to explain to him that under the law, his intent didn't matter; all that mattered was how his co-workers were affected. I also told him it was a professional workplace and the calendar had no place in it, "art" or not. At that point, it was a matter of making sure the company followed due process. Can't remember what his discipline was.
The same guy got fired a few months later for smoking dope in a stairwell. He went to a floor nobody inhabited and lit a joint, then tried to cover the smell by spraying some of that adhesive spray artists use. A manager was taking the stairs and smelled a strong petrochemical smell (the adhesive) and followed his nose to the artist.
The Otter Defense: