No, a “Rhode Island snow penis” is not some weird sex move, so let’s take that off the table to begin with.
On February 11, 2003, a few male members of the Harvard crew team decided to have some fun in the snow, but instead of building a snowman, they constructed a 9-foot-6-inch tall snow phallus. A crew member came up with the idea as a way for a few guys on the team to “hang out together” outside of practice. The young men did it for fun, with no motive more profound than to perform “a junior high prank.”
But within hours after its erection (well, you think of a better word!), two women tore it down, and “women’s groups . . . led a chorus of complaints against the snow penis, arguing that such a display is demeaning to women.”
How the hell did women insert themselves into this? They didn’t erect a “snowgina”. They made a dick out of snow.
Women’s Studies Lecturer Diane L. Rosenfeld, who taught Women, Violence and the Law, wrote that the public space where the ice sculpture was erected “should be free from menacing reminders of women’s sexual vulnerability.” She explained that the snow penis follows a long line of public phallic symbols, including the Washington Monument and missiles. “Women do not need to be reminded of the power of the symbol of the male genitalia,” Rosenfeld declared.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. These are supposed to be our best and brightest? I hope someone bought this woman a pyramid-shaped paperweight for Christmas.
Amy E. Keel, who identified herself as a feminist, was one of the students who tore down the snow penis and proudly defended her right to do so. She analogized it to rape: “No one should have to be subjected to an erect penis without his or her express permission or consent,” she declared…”The unwanted image of an erect penis is an implied threat,” Keel declared. “It means that we, as women, must be subject to erect penises whether we like it or not.” The snow sculpture’s “only purpose [was] to assert male dominance,” and it “propagated the notion that women don’t really belong here. It felt like it kind of put us in our place.”
Freud could have snorted half of Colombia with the proceeds from analyzing just this woman.
By the way, Amy E. Keel is the one on the right.
When was the last time she saw a penis, let alone felt threatened by one?
Even better is the caption on this one.
“Amy E. Keel ’04 of snow penis destruction fame”
Well, that’s a good way to be remembered. Beats “Most Likely to Succeed”.
The mythical Snow Penis of New England made a recent reappearance:
Fast forward to two weeks ago. Ryan Worthington, 16, and his teenage buddies, sculpted a twelve foot tall snow penis in Rhode Island. The structure was met with a mixture of chuckles and prudish outrage. The police let it stand out of respect for free speech. “Everybody has a right to do whatever they want in their property,” said one neighbor. “There’s worse things going on in the world.”
Ryan’s mother, Raylene Worthington, was understanding: “[Ryan] put it there as a joke so I’d see it when I went to work,” 41-year-old Raylene Worthington said. “I laughed my ass off.” She accurately summed up the motivation for the sculpture in three words: “They’re teenage boys.” She added: “There’s worse things they could be doing. It was innocent. And to be honest, knowing that it pissed people off gave us a little charge.”
Thank heavens there’s women like Raylene who still have some common sense left.
It just goes to show that a degree does not necessarily indicate intelligence. In fact, it’s beginning to show a lack thereof.
