[Ammi]

...thoughts..?....

One of Paris’s biggest museums, whose galleries feature some of the world’s most famous nudes, has been accused of discrimination and sexism after refusing entry to a woman in a low-cut dress.

In a case of life not imitating art, a zealous official told a literature student whose name was given only as Jeanne that “rules are rules” and ordered her to cover her cleavage if she wanted to be allowed into the Musée d’Orsay, a popular tourist attraction and bastion of the beaux arts.

“Arriving at the museum entrance, I didn’t even have time to get out my ticket when the sight of my breasts and low-cut dress shocked the agent in charge of checking reservations,” Jeanne wrote in an open letter on Twitter, accompanied by a picture of her wearing the dress. “She left, chanting ‘ah, no, that won’t be possible, that isn’t possible, that won’t work that’.”

“At this point I had no idea that my décolleté had become the cause of all this drama,” she added.

The author describes feeling deeply shamed as she claimed staff stared at her cleavage. “I asked what was going on but nobody replied. They stare at my breasts … I didn’t really understand what was going on.”

Jeanne said she was told: “Calm down, Madam. Rules are rules,” but nobody explicitly said what rule she had broken.

“At no time did anyone say my breasts are a problem,” she added, writing that the friend she was with was wearing a crop top showing her abdomen, and other museum visitors appeared to be dressed for the hot weather.

Museum staff, however, would not be distracted from her cleavage, she said. Without explicitly telling what the problem was, they nodded to her cleavage and said “that”. Eventually, after first refusing to put on her jacket, she did so and was allowed in.

“I had the impression everyone was looking at my breasts, I was nothing more than breasts.”

She concluded her open letter: “I am not just a body. Your double standards should not be an obstacle to my access to culture and knowledge.”

As the post went viral, the museum tweeted that it had been made aware of the incident, which it “profoundly regretted”. A museum official called Jeanne to give what she called “a very sincere apology”.

Jeanne said she was satisfied with the phone call but the museum’s brief tweet failed to recognise the “sexist and discriminatory” nature of what happened.

It is not the first time the Musée d’Orsay – which contains numerous nudes, including Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the World, Édouard Manet’s Olympia and August Renoir’s Grand Nu – has been accused of being prudish.

In 2016, Jonathan Jones wrote in the Guardian that although the museum was home to “some of the most outrageous nudes ever painted”, it was guilty of “prudery more worthy of Victorian England” after it called the police when a performance artist posed nude next to Manet’s work. Deborah de Robertis, from Luxembourg, spent almost two days in a police cell before a judge threw out a charge of public indecency.

The latest incident follows a nationwide backlash last month against what some decried as a wave of prudery after police patrolling a beach in the south of France ordered three topless women to cover up after a family complained. The outrage prompted the interior minister, Gérard Darmanin, to defend the “precious” right of women to sunbathe topless.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/paris-muse...142822840.html

[arista]

Thats a shame

[Niamh.]

In a museum? and one with nudes? ffs

Pissed me off no end in the Vatican, i was wearing shorts, normal length shorts not short/shorts so was Gavin and so was Luke, all similar lengths and I was told I needed to get a scarf to cover my legs to go into the Sistine Chapel........the boys were fine though.....

[Toy Soldier]

Bizarre. The dress isn't even unusually "revealing"? .

Unless the museum for whatever reason has a clear and obvious pre-defined dress code, then clothes that are appropriate anywhere in public should be fine for entering the museum. If there IS an obvious dress code (not one buried in smallprint somewhere) then I'd still find it a bit strange for a museum to have a dress code, but ultimately their decision I guess.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I was told I needed to get a scarf to cover my legs.

I can't figure out how you would even cover legs with a scarf

[LeatherTrumpet]

their gaff

their rules

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

I can't figure out how you would even cover legs with a scarf

They sell them over there cheaply, such a money racket, they're long chiffon type ones that you can wrap around your waist or your shoulders because Jesus doesn't like women's shoulders either

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

their gaff

their rules

You can't reasonably make up rules on the spot, though, if those are their rules then they would have had a clear and visible written policy to point to (either when booking or on entry - I don't know if its a prebooked sort of thing), and it doesn't sound like they did.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...thoughts..?....

One of Paris’s biggest museums, whose galleries feature some of the world’s most famous nudes, has been accused of discrimination and sexism after refusing entry to a woman in a low-cut dress.

In a case of life not imitating art, a zealous official told a literature student whose name was given only as Jeanne that “rules are rules” and ordered her to cover her cleavage if she wanted to be allowed into the Musée d’Orsay, a popular tourist attraction and bastion of the beaux arts.

“Arriving at the museum entrance, I didn’t even have time to get out my ticket when the sight of my breasts and low-cut dress shocked the agent in charge of checking reservations,” Jeanne wrote in an open letter on Twitter, accompanied by a picture of her wearing the dress. “She left, chanting ‘ah, no, that won’t be possible, that isn’t possible, that won’t work that’.”

“At this point I had no idea that my décolleté had become the cause of all this drama,” she added.

The author describes feeling deeply shamed as she claimed staff stared at her cleavage. “I asked what was going on but nobody replied. They stare at my breasts … I didn’t really understand what was going on.”

Jeanne said she was told: “Calm down, Madam. Rules are rules,” but nobody explicitly said what rule she had broken.

“At no time did anyone say my breasts are a problem,” she added, writing that the friend she was with was wearing a crop top showing her abdomen, and other museum visitors appeared to be dressed for the hot weather.

Museum staff, however, would not be distracted from her cleavage, she said. Without explicitly telling what the problem was, they nodded to her cleavage and said “that”. Eventually, after first refusing to put on her jacket, she did so and was allowed in.

“I had the impression everyone was looking at my breasts, I was nothing more than breasts.”

She concluded her open letter: “I am not just a body. Your double standards should not be an obstacle to my access to culture and knowledge.”

As the post went viral, the museum tweeted that it had been made aware of the incident, which it “profoundly regretted”. A museum official called Jeanne to give what she called “a very sincere apology”.

Jeanne said she was satisfied with the phone call but the museum’s brief tweet failed to recognise the “sexist and discriminatory” nature of what happened.

It is not the first time the Musée d’Orsay – which contains numerous nudes, including Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the World, Édouard Manet’s Olympia and August Renoir’s Grand Nu – has been accused of being prudish.

In 2016, Jonathan Jones wrote in the Guardian that although the museum was home to “some of the most outrageous nudes ever painted”, it was guilty of “prudery more worthy of Victorian England” after it called the police when a performance artist posed nude next to Manet’s work. Deborah de Robertis, from Luxembourg, spent almost two days in a police cell before a judge threw out a charge of public indecency.

The latest incident follows a nationwide backlash last month against what some decried as a wave of prudery after police patrolling a beach in the south of France ordered three topless women to cover up after a family complained. The outrage prompted the interior minister, Gérard Darmanin, to defend the “precious” right of women to sunbathe topless.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/paris-muse...142822840.html

Those pesky women again, I am more offended by flabby beer bellies on men but I keep that to myself on the beach

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Those pesky women again, I am more offended by flabby beer bellies on men but I keep that to myself on the beach

I remember having to implement a "no topless blokes" policy in summer because of pasty sweaty men dripping their way into the bookies in summer .

To be fair though, it was mostly rail-thin junkies with their ribs showing, not the flabby bellies. But still. It's the only dress policy I ever had to sanction. And mainly because of the smell of sweat. Urrggghhh ffs I have so many varieties of PTSD from that place.

[parmnion]

I'm intrigued as to where this shop was TS

[LeatherTrumpet]

I dont want to be distracted from my art by a woman walking past me with her breasts out on display

I am there to look at Édouard Manet and his painting OLympia

Spoiler:

[bitontheslide]

i can just about understand religious establishments having some dress code requirements, they don't want their little boys getting any hetro ideas, but museums are very much for the public, it makes no sense

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i can just about understand religious establishments having some dress code requirements, they don't want their little boys getting any hetro ideas, but museums are very much for the public, it makes no sense

Yeah if it's an equal dress code but no, it's pretty much just there to keep the women in check

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah if it's an equal dress code but no, it's pretty much just there to keep the women in check

i was touring a church with the inlaws abroad and the male got thrown out of the church for wearing shorts, it was particularly funny as he was the only religious one among us

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i was touring a church with the inlaws abroad and the male got thrown out of the church for wearing shorts, it was particularly funny as he was the only religious one among us

Good! Justice at least

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by arista

Thats a shame

[Tom4784]

Such a dumb and hypocritical rule, if it even is a rule.

[Marsh.]

Most people are in there to look at tits anyway.

[Kizzy]

Pathetic, how regressive.