Lady In Low-Cut Dress Denied Entry To Museum

Nov 15, 2020 by apost team

A legendary European museum just took the plunge into a global no man's land. If you haven't heard the news yet, Paris art institution Musée d'Orsay has a misguided message for all of the ladies who visit their storied halls: Leave your cleavage at home!

As one of the most distinguished art galleries in France, their decision to impose in-person censorship upon women's bodies in an incident that took place in September of 2020 has been turning heads worldwide. Of course, their unexpectedly rigid moral code has been universally met with an uproar of bewilderment and dismay.

Alas, a Parisian tourist known simply as “Jeanne” did not get the memo regarding excessive discretion. Upon arrival, her fashionable low-cut dress immediately caught the attention of security personnel. The reaction was instantaneous and over-the-top. As Jeanne herself recalls of the incident, as reported by CNN: 

“I don't have time to take out my ticket before the sight of my breasts and my appearance shocks an officer in charge of reservations.”

The prudish rule itself is exceptionally vague: “Wearing an outfit susceptible to disturbing the peace” is prohibited. There is no clarity provided on what type of clothing might constitute a disruption, so the determination is left to the personal judgments of staff members. Thus, Jeanne was quickly issued an ultimatum to either cover up or leave. She described her reaction to the social injustice by saying, “I do not want to put on my jacket because I feel beaten. I am ashamed. I have the impression that everyone is looking at my breasts.”

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In the moment, Jeanne reluctantly avoided a bigger scene by donning her coat alongside a deflated sense of self, and she was begrudgingly allowed to enter the facility after all. Still, the confrontation left a residual bitterness, and the lingering hurt caused by being singled out mandated a more formal resolution. As a result, she did the most logical thing available in 2020 and quickly took to Twitter. In her scathing public criticism, she eloquently denounced the Musée d'Orsay for “discriminating on the basis of cleavage.”

In terms of public relations, this story was a real bust for the Musée d'Orsay. Jeanne’s revealing outfit seems to have inadvertently revealed their adherence to deep-seated cultural constructs rooted in shaming routine elements of feminine expression. Sadly, even a prestigious place that honors the aesthetic beauty of womanhood can succumb to oppressive and outdated patriarchal ideals. Naturally, the needlessly humiliating controversy left Jeanne feeling "excruciatingly embarrassed,” and she is undoubtedly not the only one to have gone through such a painful experience at the hands of public workers.

Assessments of appropriate attire are inherently subjective, and the standards of acceptability are hardly ever clear-cut. While being accosted, Jeanne even pointed out that other women were being admitted with more provocative clothing than her own. Apparently, expansive midriff gets a pass while chests must be completely concealed. The hypocrisy is just confusing, and abiding by contradictory expectations is an impossible endeavor by design. Fortunately for everyone, Jeanne is standing strong in calling out the Musée d'Orsay. As she declared online, “I am not just my breasts. I am not just a body. Your double standards will not be an obstacle to my access to culture and knowledge.”

Eventually, the Musée d'Orsay did issue an apology, but it was mostly perceived as a way to quell the ensuing backlash. The organization “profoundly regrets” what transpired with the “concerned person,” and they contacted her directly to amend their behavior after the fact. The acknowledgment definitely isn’t meaningless, but there is no way to take back such an antiquated disparagement. Hopefully, the operators have learned a profound lesson from the outcry they generated. On a macro scale, the long-standing prejudice against mammaries must be abolished, and the act of policing women's bodies should be universally abandoned.

For context, just remember that this renowned outlet proudly displays gratuitously obscene work such as The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet. Explicit full-frontal nudity is somehow considered tamer than the mere evidence of a bosom. With this in mind, the Musée d'Orsay simply should not be allowed to beat around the bush. Nothing less than a full mea culpa will rectify the grievances they have garnered. In the meantime, it seems that the overseers are staying the course in striking a non-existent balance between pornographic and puritanical. Their unusual moral tight-rope is truly titillating to behold.

Let’s be real: It is downright absurd for a patron to be accused of immodesty by an institution that houses and celebrates the expressive power of artistic nudes. The sheer irony of this situation is palpable. There’s no ubiquitous measurement that can account for the appropriateness of gender-specific presentations. Navigating complicated sexual norms within historical parameters is always challenging, but facilitators of learning should be trusted to know better.

In fact, Jeanne said it best:

“I question the coherence with which the representatives of a national museum can prohibit access to knowledge and culture on the basis of an arbitrary judgment determining if the appearance of someone is decent.”

The incident caused a furor among feminist activists, with around 20 topless FEMEN protestors storming the Musée d'Orsay days later while declaring "the obscenity is in your eyes" and to "stop the sexualization of women's bodies."

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