Re: [-empyre-] geuzennamen

[Ryan Griffis <ryan.griffis@gmail.com>]

On Oct 19, 2006, at 4:09 PM, blakkbyrd wrote:

> I've looked at this project and would like some more information,  
> please.
>
> How is it empowering for women to have you collect insulting terms  
> for women from teenage boys and then market the results on  
> teeshirts?  Please direct me to the appropriate feminist theory.
>
> I'm also intrigued how you would propose getting such an 'artwork'  
> past Australia's anti vilification and anti-discrimination laws?
>
> This looks like a red light district tourist trap to me.

i just have some questions about the questions (and i'm sure deGeuzen  
will provide their own thoughtful reply)...
The critique you raise is a critique of any re-appropriation tactic  
(whether it's gender, race, or whatever), so i think to make the  
critique of this work meaningful, one has to deal with that whole  
lineage, from Bitch magazine to Kara Walker, etc. While i think there  
is something to crits of these tactics (most notably that they end up  
falling back on some pretty conservative notions of authenticity and  
essentialism as to WHO can make use of these methods), i don't know  
that these questions get us there. For example, what if some  
prominent feminist scholars could be pointed to that validated the  
project's feminist cred. Would that resolve anything?
And if you're holding up the law as a measuring stick for  
"empowerment" (especially Australia, or the US for that matter),  
well, we all know that the law is seldom there to ensure the  
empowerment of women (obscenity laws certainly haven't reduced the  
incidence of domestic violence in the US). But. how this project  
would even raise "discrimination" alarms is beyond me.
Just some quick thoughts.
best,
ryan