The infamous VJ Day kiss photo features a U.S Navy sailor and a dental assistant locked in a seemingly passionate kiss. There’s troubling history behind this photo, however, leading to a recent VJ Day kiss controversy.
As reported by The Guardian, Veterans Affairs secretary Denis McDonough recently reversed a ban on the VJ Day kiss photo displays in Veteran Affairs offices. The memo announcing the ban was reportedly sent out by mistake, as the McDonough said that the VA had no intention of banning the photo.
Although the memo was a mistake, what would make someone want to ban the VJ kiss photo? It’s simple: consent. The photo is of George Mendonsa, a sailor, and Greta Friedman, a dental assistant, kissing just after news of the war ending hit the American public. There’s only one problem: Mendonsa did not get consent to the kiss.
As told by Yahoo! News, a lot of sailors were grabbing and kissing women that day completely at random. Mendonsa, like the rest of the men, saw Friedman, mistaking her for a nurse because of her white uniform, and kissed her without asking. The moment became one of the most iconic and infamous images in American history, and led to a book titled The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo That Ended World War II that goes over the history of the photo.
Consent is important, war celebrations or not. It is crucial to establish that Friedman did not give consent at the time, even if she did look fondly on the moment later. As we’ve talked before, men kissing women without consent during celebrations is unfortunately common. This is part of an ongoing discussion about the VJ kiss photo that somehow found its way to Veterans Affairs itself.
According to the Associated Press, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also confirmed the memo being a mistake. “I can definitely say that the memo was not sanctioned, and so it’s not something that we were even aware of,” she said in a press release on Tuesday.
George Mendonsa passed away on February 17, 2019, at the age of 95, while Friedman passed on September 8, 2016, at the age of 92.
(featured image: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
