Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi—or, as she calls herself professionally, “good-for-nothing-girl”— is no stranger to the penis vs. pussy double standard. Igarashi uses glitter, 3D printing, and sometimes ships to confront the vagina’s taboo. Or at least she did until this Monday, when Japanese authorities arrested her for distributing “obscene” material (an image of her own genitalia, obviously).
The Tokyo-based artist explains on her website why she challenges misconceptions about women’s bodies in fun and unexpected ways (for the record, “manko” is a rude word for a vagina in Japanese slang):
I make art pieces with my vagina, which I would rather call Manko(MK). I thought it was just funny to decorate my vagina and make into a diorama, but I was very surprised to see how upset people get when they see my works or even hear me say the word Manko. Even when a TV station asked me to be on their show, they wouldn’t dare let me say DECO-MAN because “MAN” is from the taboo word “Manko”. Why did I start making these kind of art pieces? It’s because I had never seen the vagina of others and I was too self-conscious of mine. I did not know what a vagina should look like at the same time, so I thought mine was abnormal. Manko and vagina, have been such a taboo in Japanese society. Penis, on the other hand, has been used in illustrations and has become a part of pop culture. But vagina has never been so cute. Vagina has been thought to be obscene because its been overly hidden; although it is just a part of a woman’s body.
In her crusade for a more-casual vag, Igarashi has already used hair-and-occasional-tampon molds of her own vagina to make crafty pussy lampshades, pussy smartphone cases (to protect an iPhone that likely contributes to genital injustice) and my personal favorite, a pussy diorama.
As part of her quest to explore society’ s potential for pussy desensitization, Igarashi has also moved on to creating larger pieces such as pussy bedding, a pussy car, and even a pussy boat. In the video below, the artist asks for financial assistance in funding projects, such as a 2 meter-long 3D printed kayak that’s molded in the shape of her vagina.
Kyodo News agency reported on Monday that Igarashi was taken into custody for distributing data of her vagina as part of the Vagina Boat project, an arrest that in many ways just highlights the pussy prejudice that the artist has been working to reveal. Igarashi obviously doesn’t refute the charges, but says, “I cannot understand why the police recognize the 3D data as obscene material.”
Good-for-nothing-girl has currently raised 1 million yen for her vagina boat and similar projects. When not (semi-literally) shackled by the pussy-fearing patriarchy, she also hosts workshops for women who wish to print and decorate models of their own genitalia.
(via Boing Boing and The Independent, images from Megumi Igarashi’s website)
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