Impasse threatens statue to female vets
To artist Joe Mullins, recent history appears ready to repeat itself. Mullins was hired nearly 10 years ago to sculpt a statue to honor West Virginia’s female veterans. But a fight over the design all but derailed the project five years ago. Mullins now worries that a new attempt to complete the memorial is headed toward the same fate.
The Division of Culture and History has refused to fill its two seats on a new, 13-member committee assigned to assess the project and find it a permanent home. Mullins says that could leave the committee dominated by older veterans who dislike his statue, which was developed and approved by a different committee at the beginning of the decade. These critics have argued that the statue is too masculine, and should be wearing a skirt instead of fatigue pants.
...Mullins said a committee appointed to oversee the design offered him such examples as Rosie the Riveter and female figures in art from the French Revolution. “They wanted this aggressive, modern woman in fatigues. They didn’t want someone in makeup and high heels,” Mullins said. “The state of West Virginia ordered that, and that’s what I did.”
But a second committee was formed in 2004, in response to complaints from older veterans and others about the resulting design: a square-jawed woman, her hair tucked under a field cap, clad in a T-shirt, fatigue pants and combat boots and holding a flag.
Females go into combat wearing a skirt and heels, so the statue should reflect that.
Yeah, right! Are you freaking kidding me?! Who are these people that want a modern-day military woman's statue in a cute little skirt? Who are these "older veterans" that disapproved of the statue design? I bet they are probably the same ones who, while on active duty, forced us to continue wearing skirts and high heels!
There's nothing wrong with a statue in a skirt, this one on the right is a photo my mom took of the female Marine statue on Parris Island. But to complain about and block a memorial to female veterans because it's NOT wearing a skirt? Lame!
Next time that committee meets, a couple hundred female West Virginian veterans should show up in full camoflauge, combat boots, and hair pinned up out of the way as required, and park their non-skirt-wearing-selves inside the meeting room. They wouldn't even have to say a single word.
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11 comments:
How would we even know that it's a female Marine statue if it didn't look a little feminine? From a distance, you wouldn't distinguish it from a male Marine.
I thought historically, female Marines were closer to that.
I also thought that the statue was made to commemorate historical female Marines, which I believe were in skirts.
A better idea is simply to show both the Marine in a skirt and the Marine in combat gear. I think this is more realistic and meaningful
http://dailymail.com/News/200808290221
She looks fine tome I really don't see why the committee would not approve of her she looks like a contemporary soldier
Uh, did you guys read the post? The photo is a statue on Parris Island, not the one in West Virginia. That one hasn't been built yet, which was the whole point of the post.
And no, a statue in a skirt is NOT more "realistic". The vast majority of females in the military do NOT wear skirts on a daily basis, if ever. The only time I ever wore a skirt was for inspections. After that, it gets stuffed into the closet.
I was talking about the AP photo that was published in Daily Mail Charleston WV which shows a female soldier without a skirt.
I mean historically.
Yes, I did read the post.
The green skirt that the Parris Island statue is wearing I have worn exactly one time in 5 years. That was in boot camp at clothing alterations. I have worn the dress blue skirt because I chose to and bought it myself. Skirts are by no means normal attire.
Eugene, you ask how you would tell the statue is of a female Marine? Other than being square-jawed and holding a flag, this statue describes me, my sister, and most other female Marines. How would you tell I'm a girl from a distance? How do you tell strangers across the street are women? Do they have to be wearing a skirt for you to know?
Fatigue pants, a t-shirt and pinned up hair is what I wear on a daily basis and no one has ever mistaken me for a male Marine.
Got it, misunderstanding. I can tell the difference without skirts from a distance.
I think the definition of veteran is unclear. There are so many veterans out there from different eras. I thought they were meant to be from older eras.
I would still prefer it to be different to men, though.
It *is* different from men. It's a woman.
I liked the one without the skirt better. But then again I'm not a marine I haven't even talked to a recruiter yet so what do I know...
As a female Marine....I just left active duty...I have to say this...
Female Marines are losing their femininity. "We" are supposed to look and act as much like men as possible in uniform. It's getting a little out of hand in my opinion. But...I came in in 1994 and left active duty in 1998 and then went back in in 2004 and it was a world of difference from when I had first come in. I personally LIKED wearing a skirt and heels. But that's because every other day I just wore my cammies. But...my drill instructors DID teach us that we are LADIES first. Yes, we did all the stuff the guys did in boot camp. But we did it with the knowledge that we were ladies and would act as such with grace and dignity.
As for whoever made the stupid comment about women wearing skirts and heels into combat...that's just idiotic.
Semper Fidelis,
Jenna
Anonymous,
In response to your comments, (and I went through Bootcamp in '92) we did not complete the same training as the males at that time...although, I would concede that we picked up what we missed once we hit the fleet.
I was a DI from 2000 until 2003. The reason you saw a difference in the females at that time had alot to do with the fact that we were training them not only to be women (no offense, but we should all know we are women when we get into training) but to be Marines. The biggest difference in training from when you and I went through Bootcamp and the Marines I trained was that the training was legitimately identical to the males...from Recieving to MCT.
We train our females now to not only defend themselves, but to fight, just as the men do...even if, although unlikely, that requires offensive maneuvers.
At the end of the day, in garrison, we can all put on our civvies and be all the woman we desire to be....but the femininity that was so crucial to our early 90's hats is nearly irrelevent to the female Leader in Iraq or Afganistan.
No insults here...I love my skirts and heals sometimes too....I just think Marines need to be Marines....regardless of their footwear.
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