Comments on: Pissed On: Woman as Urinal

By: Gender Focus | The Round-Up: June 14, 2011

Gender Focus | The Round-Up: June 14, 2011 — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:23:01 +0000

[…] Sociological Images discusses a dress you can get on Etsy that transforms a woman to look like a […]

By: Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:01:46 +0000

[…] I know it’s only June, but I found this year’s halloween costume. […]

By: dan

dan — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:03:11 +0000

Art reference? Who cares? Out of context, I can use this as evidence of how men feel about women!

By: Lilac

Lilac — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:43:38 +0000

It’s only “clearly” a takeoff if you know Duchamp’s art.

By: Damon

Damon — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:21:58 +0000

It does warrant a critical analysis — the problem is that a critical analysis inherently involves understanding the context, and if someone actually doesn’t recognize “Fountain” (which sort of amazes me) then they can’t possibly perform a critical analysis of a work based on it.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:36:19 +0000

Yes, I recommend Thierry de Duve’s “Mary Warhol/Joseph Duchamp” article for reading Duchamp’s “Fountain” in terms of gender. An absolutely fascinating (and funny too) read which argues that Duchamp’s fountain was genuinely liberating and that women could be taken seriously as “real” artists in a way that they were not before. He also explores several women who have in some way addressed Duchamp’s “Fountain” in their own work.

By: Treefinger

Treefinger — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:07:41 +0000

A better use of a post involving Regretsy could have been:

a) The big brouhaha post a while ago where Helen Killer made fun of people being offended at the use of the word “retard” despite the fact that racist and homophobic slurs aren’t exactly welcomed with open arms at Regretsy;

b) The recent post with a girl with pit hair where the comments expressed the inane belief that it’s “unclean” and pretended they find it just as offensive on a man.

I love Regretsy but like all websites sometimes it makes me reach for the bourbon.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:33:15 +0000

“Taking the piss” is a British expression meaning making fun… as in, “I’m just taking the piss out of you” = “I’m just busting your chops.” I would assume the tshirt is a reference to that idiom.

By: laura Wong

laura Wong — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:19:33 +0000

Put the pope, or some person that YOU think should be respected in this dumb dress and then decide if you think is is all OK…

By: Some Chick

Some Chick — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:02:26 +0000

I would wear it. Probably. Like, a little miniature crucifix in a tiny jar of piss dangling from a rope. Best necklace.

The only downside is the possibility of it breaking.

Then, well, ew.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:41:17 +0000

Just for the record, that’s not an actual PETA ad, it’s a fake. Although I’m not exactly sure where it’s from.

By: :(

:( — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:34:19 +0000

However, in light of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRaVeGErjQ

Where the theme seems to be “Not taking the piss!” and what seems to be a satire of obsession with “shiny sequin dresses,” I’m almost positive this context shatters the “women are something to be pissed on” interpretation.

By: :(

:( — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:31:14 +0000

There are actually a few pictures where she is not wearing the tear below her eye.

2 of these are where she is not an object, and 1 of these where she is a flower pot. The rest (almost exclusively objects) has her sporting a tear. There’s also a tear in the one where she wears something that says “Not taking the piss!” Shallowly, I’m reading this as a dress for feminists (the defiant one featuring a urinal) and a dress for non-feminists (the urinal dress). Or, either you’re a feminist, or you’re a urinal.

But, I may just be pointing out an accident (based on the fact that the model who didn’t sport the tear had the flower dress and non-object dresses).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:01:29 +0000

Some of these Society Posts are just the authors trying to validate their “sociologist” status. They seek out pictures and videos, without the full context and attempt to break it apart under a critical lens. Dont get me wrong, some material do warrant a critical analysis… this is not one of those.

By: The Untoward Lady

The Untoward Lady — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:47:38 +0000

I’m not sure the criticism of the dress is warranted. My interpretation of the piece, especially in light of the tear drop painted on the model, is that this dress is meant to be a protest. It’s political speech calling into light the position of women in our society not something that is trying to objectify.

I’m all for this dress.