Artist behind Mona’s ladies-only lounge ‘absolutely delighted’ man is suing for gender discrimination
Artist behind Mona’s ladies-only lounge ‘absolutely delighted’ man is suing for gender discrimination
NSW man Jason Lau claims denying men entry is discriminatory, but artist Kirsha Kaechele says men’s ‘experience of rejection is the artwork’
Personally, I'm more interested in this from a legal perspective than I am from a moral one. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, morally, but I'm fascinated to see if the case gets up, what other implications it could have.
But also:
The opportunity to extend the performance aspect of Ladies Lounge was embraced by the artist and 25 female supporters, who entered Tuesday’s tribunal hearing wearing a uniform of navy business attire. Throughout the day’s proceedings, they engaged in discreet synchronised choreographed movements, including leg crossing, leaning forward together and peering over the top of their spectacles. Apart from the gentle swish of 25 pairs of nylon clad legs crossing in unison, the support party remained silent. When the proceedings concluded, the troupe exited the tribunal to the Robert Palmer song Simply Irresistible.
Sublime.
Chefs kiss🤌💅
Respect for the choreographed movements during the tribunal.
Do you not have men's clubs in Australia like Masons, Elks, Eagles, Moose, etc.?
The legal aspect is crystal clear. It's blatantly illegal to ban entry based on gender with very few exceptions (such as toilets or domestic violence shelters). I expect the court will be angry that it even went to court at all.
The purpose of a judge is to settle disagreements. When both sides of a court case agree with the facts, then there is nothing for the judge to do, and it should not go to court at all. It should be settled out of court.
It's likely to be a really short case "did you have a policy to ban men?" "yes". "case closed; moving on to damages"... but the thing is, even though the meat of the case will be over almost instantly... there will still be weeks of work done in the lead up to the case, by both legal teams, but the court, by the judge, preparing the jury if it's a jury trial, etc (imagine how angry your boss would be if they had to give you paid time off work, delaying project schedules, over this case).
If you want to make a political statement, the court room is not the place to be doing that. At a minimum I'd expect the court to force one side to pay all of the legal fees of the other side, and on top of that the court might charge them with abuse of the court process which could result in punitive fines and also discipline against the lawyers involved (they could even be banned from practicing their craft). Judges don't have a sense of humour and they are not interested in political debates.
Sounds like someone didn't read the full article:
Mona’s legal team will be relying on the tribunal’s interpretation of section 26 of Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act, under which a person is permitted to discriminate against another person in a situation designed to promote equal opportunity for a group of people who are disadvantaged or have a special need because of a prescribed attribute – in this case gender.
It is under clauses like this in most of Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation that organisations such as male-only clubs and women-only gyms are able to operate.
Are you a legal expert? Is the fact that this is "art" not a more complex legal issue?
edit: Quote from the article: "Mona’s legal team will be relying on the tribunal’s interpretation of section 26 of Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act, under which a person is permitted to discriminate against another person in a situation designed to promote equal opportunity for a group of people who are disadvantaged or have a special need because of a prescribed attribute – in this case gender. It is under clauses like this in most of Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation that organisations such as male-only clubs and women-only gyms are able to operate."
You clearly didn't read the article. A very typical, privileged response.
Although, you are experiencing the Ladies Lounge in the way it was intended.
Plus this sort of bullshit clogs up dockets and takes time away from cases that actually need judicial intervention.
Pretty sure you don't get paid time off work for a civil case you chose to bring.
Unless you mean using annual leave, in which case your boss can get fucked, it's none of their business what you use it for.
That’s great. Funny, clever. Pretentious as fuck. I love it.
This was a magnificent troll and someone took the bait. Let her take the art to the next level.
This seems like a lose-lose for the gallery. If they lose in court, it will likely cost them financially. If they win in court, potentially everyone who wants to discriminate will rely on the precedent and claim it's art. I imagine the artist is wealthy and hoping to lose to make a point, at which point she could open it up and it will still have its artistic validity through the story of its history.
Meanwhile in the UK, this old relic is in the news today, remaining men-only despite the law demanding otherwise.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The creator of an art installation that has become the subject of a formal anti-discrimination complaint says she is “absolutely delighted” that the case has ended up in Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal.
The opportunity to extend the performance aspect of Ladies Lounge was embraced by the artist and 25 female supporters, who entered Tuesday’s tribunal hearing wearing a uniform of navy business attire.
Lau argued that denying men access to some of the museum’s most important works (there is a Sidney Nolan, a Pablo Picasso and a trove of antiquities from Mesopotamia, Central America and Africa in the women-only space) is discriminatory.
An experience in a pub on Flinders Island several years ago, when Kaechele and a girlfriend were advised by male patrons that they would feel “more comfortable” retiring to the ladies lounge, inspired the work.
The Californian-born artist was not aware that ladies lounges are a feature of Australia’s recent social history, and that Australian women were not allowed to enter public bars until 1965.
Mona’s lawyer Catherine Scott told Guardian Australia the case was an unusual one because the artwork was both a physical entity – a lounge – and a piece of performance art.
The original article contains 943 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 79%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
I don't agree with sectioning off artworks and artifacts and restricting it to one gender, I'd also say this is the artworks and artifacts where restricted to males as well
This doesn't mean I disagree with woman's only spaces where they can feel safe, I only disagree with the ones that are trans exclusionary
The article explicitly says that the ladies lounge is only off limits to people who don't identify as female. Trans women are allowed in.
I read through the ABC article on this yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it said that people who identify as women are also welcome in the installation.