For all the things they're OK at, men can't seem to understand that women don't want random penises emailed, texted and Snapchatted to them. With the traveling art show I Didn't Ask for This: A Lifetime of Dic Pics, organizer Whitney Bell wants to make one thing clear ? consent is key.
The images in the show, which took over?Think Tank Gallery on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6-7, are all sourced from dick pics sent to women without the consent of the receiver. Unless a woman has specifically asked for a snapshot of a man's penis, assume she doesn't want to see it. We don't want to see them if they're large, we don't want to see them if they're small, we don't want to see them with a remote control, we don't want to see them in a hot dog bun. We do not want your dick pics, Sam, we do not want them ? they're worse then spam.
It's a serious message, but it was presented in a playful way at Friday night's opening party. In a space designed to look like a woman's apartment ? in which photos of random penises have been framed and hung with care ? a DJ duo spun '90s tunes at the Doc Johnsonsponsored Butt Plug DJ booth, women got their pictures taken in the 200-dildo photo booth, and some even sat to get $20 tattoos from a selection of feminist flash. On the?Speak Up Wall, women vented their frustrations about unwanted sexual advances and more. Plenty of men and gender-fluid people were spotted in the crowd too, because allyship is key. Proceeds from the opening night party benefited the anti-harassment nonprofit Hollaback!.
All photos by Star Foreman.