the vulva taxi inspires

Mimosa Pale is a Finnish artist who creates body related sculptures and also invents performances.



This is one of Pale's creations entitled the Mobile Female Monument which she created in 2007. Basically this is a vulva taxi which she created in attempts to protest our phallo-centric society.



Pale cruised the streets of Helsinki and invited passerbyes to take a ride inside.



Looks kind of cozy to me.



I think Pale is very brave to walk random streets with this vulva cart of sorts. I'm sure she received a lot of negative feedback from those not understanding her purpose.

Will walking around with a vulva taxi educate others to embrace the female anatomy as something functional and private to it's owner rather than a part that is to be exploited and dominated by men? Will it cause men to realize that so much of our media caters to the male gaze, hormones, penis?

Who knows. First of all, I do not want to put words in to Ms. Pale's mouth. I am not sure as to how she would describe the purpose of her art.

However, when I see her work I see a body part. I see a body part that is not necessarily "sexy" but rather vulnerable, personal, private and something that can house. House a penis if it so chooses, and can facilitate birth, a menstrual cycle and something that is connected to the miraculousness that is the female anatomy.

So often does generalized culture on a macro and micro level make assumptions about what a woman's sexuality means to her or what it "should" mean in general. No matter what level of impact Pale's work has on an audience, she is making a contribution. She is using her art, her gifts to not only express her viewpoints but to take a stance.

Most often when vulvas are displayed in public it is for the purpose of arousing someone else. So, those who may take offense to the fact that Pale was parading around a vulva, might want to ask themselves what exactly is so offensive? Is it that it is not inserted by a penis? Is it that the vulva is not connected to a voice that will praise the prowess of said penis? Is it that it is not presented within the pages of a magazine, on video, or in the confines of a strip club?

Hmm..