Jenny Holzer’s “Men Don’t Protect You Anymore” 1983 - 1985
Men Don’t Protect You Anymore, because a part of men protect another group of men, and the rest still dominate women - Fact of 2024. Yes, of course, some men still struggle and question who they are.
Have you ever faced gender discrimination from both straight men and gays if you're a woman? As a female, you dare not to speak up in public since you are isolated.
The 7.5 x 25.5 cm aluminium plaque bearing the words “MEN DON’T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE” is part of the Survival series Jenny Holzer created from 1983 to 1985, it comments on the gender debate as well as the visibility of women in art and public.
Since the 1970s, artist Jenny Holzer (b. 1950) has been experimenting with the use of language in public space. Initially she placed posters of her Truisms – thought-provoking, seemingly accurate one-liners – throughout cityscape. Subsequently she chose increasingly prominent places to display her ambivalent statements on illuminated billboards.
Kurt Cobain/ Photo taken by Stephen Sweet. Manhattan, 1993. Poster possibly used as advertising for audiovisual material.
Women were always amazing, brilliant, enterprising, smart, strong, and attractive in their own special ways. They have been, they are, and they always will be - we hope so. The view of this has changed over time, but it is now an obvious fact in 2024.
This art piece can be interpreted in a variety of ways. For artists, we see it as a warning that women's liberty, at least in theory, entails additional risks and obligations for self-defense.
Undeniably, some women have opposed feminism because they prefer the previous patriarchal agreement, which at best provided sporadic protection from men's violence and poverty but came with severe conditions. Feminists have always dreamed that women, both individually and collectively, can resist the system that made patriarchy necessary for economic and physical existence.
The strength, wit, sensitivity, and readiness to bridge public and private, politic and body are hallmarks of Jenny Holzer's art statements and writings that are displayed on T-shirts, electronic signs, and billboards. By expressing what women could be thinking behind closed doors, Holzer's narrative claims Making The Invisible Visible.
Although some men still feel a paternal inclination toward women, the majority of men these days do not share this desire to protect their women. The idea of a woman's honour is no longer understood. In public, a male can say something really disrespectful to a woman, and no man would come protect her.
We're not arguing women shouldn't protect themselves, women absolutely should stand up for themselves. We're just curious men nowadays don't feel protective towards women. 10 or 20 years ago when a woman was harassed in public, at least one male would come to support her.
An unintended consequence of equality is that women lose their “voice” as the fairer sex. The fight to convince society that women are mentally and intellectually equal to men (and in the ghost-left 2024, even physically equal with the constant news of women defeating men in sports and hand-to-hand combat in modern movies) has convinced many men to stop caring so much to protect women. Women can be men and even more! This concluded that men no need to continue handle women with safety and gentle hands, if women become men and don’t need male guardianship or supervision.
Women now outnumber and exceed males in schools and colleges. There is an increasing trend of gender inclusion in historically male-dominated industries. In many ways, men today are on par with or behind women. Some men ask why I should protect someone who clearly does not need me and may perhaps be doing better than me. This is not gender equality, it's called gender jealousy!
Finally, women are expected to carry the emotional and mental strength to deal with the day-to-day "Cat-walk" - Chivalry is slowly but surely disappearing. And while there is still a stigma against committing violence against women (rightfully so), there is far less societal drive amongst men to protect the women who insisted that they could protect themselves.
The subject of the text art is the truth that Jenny Holzer wishes to provoke; it is not limited to a certain sector, but is mostly relevant to the general audience; she composed it in a narrative style, forceful and simple. The materials she uses to carry her words vary gentle; the only thing they have in common is that they play a competent role in disclosing the texts to the public, which clarifies the body of her work, that is, the text itself, whereas the tangible parts have nothing to do with the texts other than convey the ideas.
There's one work made in a way that jumps out of the concept - Truism - condoms with "Men Don't Protect You Anymore" printed. Condoms, the carrier intervene the body of her work by linking with three words: men, protect and you. This connection between the text and its carrier strengthens provocativity and agitates interactions; however, it could be inflammatory or over-narrative that looses the resilience, eg. a gay man picks condoms(who's protector?)
Remember, if the world never treat you as a gentle-lady, you can always be a gentleman! Boys support boys, women support the world.
Happy Mother's Day!
Kelly Hurd
11:00 AM
Friday, May 10, 2024
Madrid, Spain
Artpendix Press
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