The recent dedication of a nude sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth on a bear-skin rug has met with much controversy. Proclaimed as being the first Pro-Life monument to birth, the sculpture was done by Daniel Edwards and now resides at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn. The ire seems to be two-fold: first, many have wondered about the statue’s Pro-Life affiliation and second, others have called attention to the fact that Spears did not in fact have a vaginal birth.
The sculpture, titled A Monument to Pro Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, is said to valorize Spears’ decision to put family over career. “A superstar at Britney’s young age having a child is rare in today’s celebrity culture. This dedication honors Britney for the rarity of her choice and bravery of her decision,†said gallery co-director, Lincoln Capla. [emphasis mine] It seems that this continues to be the point that is overlooked by the Pro-Life movement—every woman should be allowed to make a similar decision. Choosing not to terminate a pregnancy does not necessarily make a woman Pro-Life, if anything it arguably makes her Pro-Choice… she made the choice that was right for her. This dichotomy itself (between choosing children over career) perpetuates the popular assumption that women can only have one or the other. And though this is still too real for many women (based primarily on the sorry state of childcare resources available to working mothers as well as the inflexible work schedules of many employment sectors,) a number of women are successfully navigating the work/child divide… these are the women that need to be socially commemorated. Suggesting that a woman who chooses not to have an abortion is (by default) Pro-Life is fallacious and deceptive. But implying that all women must choose between either family or career is downright dangerous. It perpetuates the problematic assumption that women can’t have (or for some reason don’t deserve) both.
The second bone of contention has been the misrepresentation of Britney’s birth experience. While Ms. Spears did deliver her son via an elective cesarean section, she is depicted giving birth vaginally. For whatever reason (and I have several theories) Britney chose to have a cesarean section. Yet instead of honoring her choice with a factually accurate representation of the event, the artist (Daniel Edward) has opted to create a highly sexualized spectacle of her birth. Resting on her elbows and knees with back arched and legs splayed, Spears is portrayed as sexually available and eroticized. That Edwards admits to designing the sculpture based on a pole-dancing rendition of Spears displayed at a wax museum is telling, as the statue unapologetically solicits the male gaze. With cultural messages such as A Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, it is no surprise that women continue to see themselves as objects rather than as subjects of their own lives.
Feeling frustrated about A Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston? Email your concerns to the Capla Kesting Gallery at info@caplakesting.com
