Sophii3x
20-02-2007, 07:30 AM
Greer mocks 'simpering' Irwin image
Australian feminist Germaine Greer says a new portrait of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin that's been hung in place of an image of her is a bit girly.
But Greer, condemned for her criticism of the naturalist's methods following his death last year from a stingray barb to the chest, insists she's not bitter.
She "couldn't care less" that the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra has chosen Irwin over her and she's used her column in Britain's The Guardian newspaper to tell the world just that.
But not without her trademark barbs.
Greer says the image of a "simpering" Irwin - posed with Siam the elephant - that replaced the naked portrait of her really isn't a good look.
She mocks Irwin's lime green shirt "open to the fourth button" and pulled open to display his chest.
"His left thumb is hooked rather coyly in a pocket; his lime-green shirt is undone to the fourth button, and pulled open to display his bosom in a manner not altogether manly," Greer wrote in her column.
She explains how photographer Robin Sellick - who donated the Irwin portrait to the gallery - had just 15 minutes to get the shot.
"With a bare 15 minutes for the shoot, Sellick, who usually takes a whole day, could only keep snapping, hoping to get the kind of perversely suggestive image for which he is famous," she wrote.
"As Siam became more restless, Sellick besought Irwin to show his vulnerable, caring side, which Irwin did by tilting his head and simpering."
But Greer goes on to say it's "disgraceful" that the gallery took six months to get around to exhibiting any portrait of Irwin.
"Indeed, if the photographer Robin Sellick had not given them one free of charge in December, there would still be no likeness of this most famous Australian at the gallery," she wrote.
Greer was attacked as insensitive in the days following Irwin's death, when she publicly criticised his methods of interacting with animals in the wild, and his portrayal of Australian animals as vicious, aggressive and dangerous, which she contents they are not.
Irwin's death meant the "animal world had finally got its revenge", she famously opined soon after the naturalist's death.
She used a large chunk of her column to defend her views, and to tell of the abuse she has suffered since - including a recent incident where someone hurled two dead rabbits at her house.
"Daring to suggest that animals will be better off without Irwin is what some newspapers call 'savaging' him," she wrote on Tuesday.
She insists a lot of people share her views about Irwin but felt intimidated by the flood of public grief that followed his death.
"Irwin's mantle has now descended on the capable shoulders of his nine-year-old daughter, Bindi, whose speech at her father's memorial service was seen by more than 300 million viewers, and voted the TV moment of the year," she wrote.
"So it's not surprising that people who think that the Irwin approach is counterproductive whisper and look nervously behind them when they tell me so...
"What I said has now also been said by naturalists and conservationists writing in the dedicated press but still I'm the one who gets the death threats.
"As Australia gradually morphs into California, it is losing its respect for honesty and directness. Ballyhoo rules, and it's not OK."
nine msn (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=228371)
Australian feminist Germaine Greer says a new portrait of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin that's been hung in place of an image of her is a bit girly.
But Greer, condemned for her criticism of the naturalist's methods following his death last year from a stingray barb to the chest, insists she's not bitter.
She "couldn't care less" that the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra has chosen Irwin over her and she's used her column in Britain's The Guardian newspaper to tell the world just that.
But not without her trademark barbs.
Greer says the image of a "simpering" Irwin - posed with Siam the elephant - that replaced the naked portrait of her really isn't a good look.
She mocks Irwin's lime green shirt "open to the fourth button" and pulled open to display his chest.
"His left thumb is hooked rather coyly in a pocket; his lime-green shirt is undone to the fourth button, and pulled open to display his bosom in a manner not altogether manly," Greer wrote in her column.
She explains how photographer Robin Sellick - who donated the Irwin portrait to the gallery - had just 15 minutes to get the shot.
"With a bare 15 minutes for the shoot, Sellick, who usually takes a whole day, could only keep snapping, hoping to get the kind of perversely suggestive image for which he is famous," she wrote.
"As Siam became more restless, Sellick besought Irwin to show his vulnerable, caring side, which Irwin did by tilting his head and simpering."
But Greer goes on to say it's "disgraceful" that the gallery took six months to get around to exhibiting any portrait of Irwin.
"Indeed, if the photographer Robin Sellick had not given them one free of charge in December, there would still be no likeness of this most famous Australian at the gallery," she wrote.
Greer was attacked as insensitive in the days following Irwin's death, when she publicly criticised his methods of interacting with animals in the wild, and his portrayal of Australian animals as vicious, aggressive and dangerous, which she contents they are not.
Irwin's death meant the "animal world had finally got its revenge", she famously opined soon after the naturalist's death.
She used a large chunk of her column to defend her views, and to tell of the abuse she has suffered since - including a recent incident where someone hurled two dead rabbits at her house.
"Daring to suggest that animals will be better off without Irwin is what some newspapers call 'savaging' him," she wrote on Tuesday.
She insists a lot of people share her views about Irwin but felt intimidated by the flood of public grief that followed his death.
"Irwin's mantle has now descended on the capable shoulders of his nine-year-old daughter, Bindi, whose speech at her father's memorial service was seen by more than 300 million viewers, and voted the TV moment of the year," she wrote.
"So it's not surprising that people who think that the Irwin approach is counterproductive whisper and look nervously behind them when they tell me so...
"What I said has now also been said by naturalists and conservationists writing in the dedicated press but still I'm the one who gets the death threats.
"As Australia gradually morphs into California, it is losing its respect for honesty and directness. Ballyhoo rules, and it's not OK."
nine msn (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=228371)