Amber Tamblyn Says People Shouldn’t Body Shame Donald Trump
Where does one draw the line between freedom of expression and basic human decency? Actress Amber Tamblyn feels that boundary was crossed by Indecline, an activist art collective that recently (ahem) erected life-size statues of a naked Donald Trump — belly and genitalia exposed — in major U.S. cities including San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Cleveland.
In a message posted to her Facebook page today, Tamblyn — an outspoken artist, actress, and poet — calls the statues body shaming, regardless of who the subject of ridicule is. The photo accompanying her post includes a sandwich board that’s likely been Photoshopped over the statue’s naked form, which reads, “Shame me for my behavior not my body.”
“Body shaming is never okay, even when it comes to trump,” Tamblyn writes, pointing out, “These statues aren’t art: They are a lazy, unoriginal concept, stolen mind you, from Ilma Gore’s painting which already made this exact same point earlier this year. This is wholly unoriginal and uncreative.” Tamblyn is referring to artist Gore’s shocking nude Trump painting, which made headlines in April.
“Technically speaking, if you’re anti-body shaming, that means you don’t believe in shaming anybody for his or her body, regardless of whether you agree with his or her political point of view,” says body image expert Leslie Goldman.
Trump was a controversial figure even before he became the Republican presidential nominee, but the sharp-tongued billionaire mogul has became even more divisive since entering the political stratosphere. So it’s no surprise that many Facebook commenters were torn about Tamblyn’s stance.
“He shames others he reaps what he sows,” wrote one commenter. Tamblyn responded by asking, “Ok so we should stoop to his level then?” Another user had an even more harsh opinion, writing, “He’s a monster. That’s like saying it would be terrible to body shame hitler. He’s a monster and deserves any humiliation he gets. Sorry but the anti body shaming shit should be reserved for actual human beings…”
Others agreed with Tamblyn. “If the best you can do is use body shaming to convey an important message, you’re no better than Trump. Put some effort into it. Else, you’re reinforcing the ignorance you’re criticizing,” wrote one Facebook user. Another pointed out that body shaming Trump was paramount to body shaming any man with his body type, and was sending the wrong message. She wrote, “Totally agree! It’s great that body shaming women is becoming frowned upon. But we need to catch up and stop doing it to men. For reals. Trump is a monster, but other men who have this same body type are not.”
Still others spoke in defense of the artist, and of the art itself. One person commented, “Seems to me you missed the symbolism the artist is portraying. Maybe the name of this work of art will help. Look it up get back to me. If you can’t figure it out try google. The exaggerated pysical form is ment [sic] as a message not body shaming. If you can’t understand that then Google may be able to help with that as well…”
Indecline defends its artistic expression, of course. In an official statement, the collective didn’t mince words, saying, “It is through these sculptures that we leave behind the physical and metaphorical embodiment of the ghastly soul of one of America’s most infamous and reviled politicians.” Indecline expressed its desire to make sure the reality TV star “is never installed in the most powerful political and military position in the world.”
In response to the collective’s stunt, for which it seems they did not get a permit, NYC’s parks department removed the statue from Manhattan’s Union Square, where it became a popular prop for photos — not without taking a swipe at the statue’s under-endowment theme. “NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small,” parks spokesman Sam Biederman quipped.
The statues in other cities remain in place, and the argument against body shaming and for artistic expression rages on.
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