Poor Molly Malone, a historical figure, whose significance and hard work has been overshadowed by sexualization. Indeed, many women aren’t taken seriously for their accomplishments or significance because they are merely seen as sex objects. Women commonly deal with these inequalities and such disrespect privately, however, the Molly Malone statue in Dublin Ireland is a perfect physical representation of this.
Molly Malone’s story is that she was a working-class fishmonger from Dublin, Ireland who would sell cockles and mussels from her wheelbarrow in the streets. She died unexpectedly from an unknown fever, which is where various versions of her stories collide. Some believe it was Typhoid fever which was a common, fatal sickness during her day, however, others think it was something she picked up at night time, as they believe she was a part-time prostitute. This idea was formed due to her large breasts that spilled over the collar of her dress, which are represented in her statue. As you can also see in the photo above of her statue, her breasts are extremely discolored. The gold coloring is due to the erosion and oxidation that has occurred as a result of so many people rubbing and touching her bronze breasts. There are even photos of people stuffing their faces between them. The origin of this tradition has gotten lost, but the basis of it is that groping her breasts will bring one good luck. This tradition is now a majority of what poor Molly Malone is known for.
People will put their chance of “good luck” over the respect and preservation of a person’s (a woman’s) history, which is disheartening. Although this tradition might be lighthearted to some people and not do any physical harm to anyone, it digs into the deep misogyny rooted within our societies.
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Hi Tess!
This is such an interesting and disheartening topic. Having such a strong visual representation of people’s sexism highlights so many larger patriarchal issues. Despite Molly Malone’s statue being more of a cultural symbol for Ireland than a commemoration of her own lifetime achievements, she was still a real person, and the original symbolism of the statue has gotten lost in translation as people lost their minds over a pair of bronze boobs. This also makes me question the artists who created this statue, though, and why they decided to expose her breasts so much when the statue was supposed to represent Ireland’s development as a nation. It seems that Molly’s sexualization occurred before the good luck tradition evolved. I think a quote from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women sums up this article better than I could: “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty.”
It’s so incredibly sad the ways that statues can be desecrated in a disappointing way such as this. Misogyny is such a prevalent issue in our society that it results in things like this: a working-class woman’s memory being disrespected because of sexualization. It’s such a minute crime, but it speaks volumes to the way we view women in our society. It’s as simple as that. I appreciate you bringing to light this disappointing display of sexism within our everyday lives. Confrontations like this can allow us to be better as a society by seeing the ways in which we can improve ourselves our fellow humans every day.
Hey Tess,
Good art crime! This is such a great microcosm that I almost have to laugh at how absurd it is. Despite the artist’s intentions, the art has taken on its own meeting in their absence, as so commonly happens to art that outlives the artist. In a cruel way Molly Malone’s statue may become more relevant as a demonstration of misogyny than representing its original story, presenting a great example of how art evolves to fit its society.
I really appreciated that you covered this topic. I have seen this online and only simply because of the over sexualization of a female statue, not for who she is and what she has done that made people want to memorialize her. I think it is sad, but not surprising, because of her anatomy and her having larger breasts that has made it okay for people to continue this misogynistic trend. This is not the only statue that I have seen where this is a common occurrence, and seen as almost a tradition. In Verona, Italy there is also a female statue of Juliet, Shakespeare’s character from Romeo and Juliet. For tourists it has been seen as a “right of passage” to also touch her breast, where the copper is also gold in color now on this statue of a teenager. While these are just statues this is a representation of women throughout history being only seen for physical characteristics instead of who they really are.
I’ve seen this online, and it’s disheartening to witness how people of various ages and genders objectify her body. Even in death, her anatomy is used as a justification for ‘good luck,’ which is deeply saddening. I’ve also seen male statues objectified in similar ways, with their genitals often being more prominently displayed or even gilded. This makes me reconsider not just the misogyny directed at women, but how people as a whole are objectified. In the art world, an artist’s pieces typically increase in value after their death, but why doesn’t the same respect for historical figures extend to their statues?
Reading about Molly Malone’s story and the way her statue has become a symbol of objectification made me reflect on how society often distorts the identities and legacies of women, especially working-class women. Molly’s life, as a fishmonger struggling to survive in a tough environment, is overshadowed by the way her image has been commodified and turned into something people can touch for “good luck.” The tradition of rubbing her breasts is especially troubling, because it reduces her to just a physical object, rather than recognizing her as a person with her own struggles and history. It’s disturbing how the focus has shifted from Molly’s hard life and untimely death to a cheap superstition. This made me think about the way women’s bodies are often objectified and how the public can sometimes prioritize a superficial tradition over the respect and preservation of a person’s real story. It made me realize how deeply ingrained misogyny can be, even in something that seems harmless on the surface. While people may not mean harm, this practice is a reminder of how easily women’s lives and identities can be minimized or disrespected.
This was a very interesting story that reminds me of the case of Victor Noir. Victor Noir was a French journalist who died in 1870 and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Since his death and burial, his grave has become a fertility symbol, making it one of the most popular tombs in the cemetery. The life-sized bronze statue of Noir was crafted in a realistic style in which he is lying on his back with a noticeable bulge in his pants which has been dubbed his ‘lucky penis.’ From this, a myth emerged that says if one placed a flower in Noir’s upturned hat beside his grave, kisses the statue on the lips, and rubs his genital area, it enhances fertility, improves one’s sex life, and may bring a husband within a year. As a result, the statue has become shiny in these popular areas. In 2004, a fence was erected around the statue to deter people from touching the statue but due to protests from the “female population of Paris”, the fence was torn down again. This example shows how there are examples of both men and women whose graves are being sexualized and which have become the source of good luck myths. In turn these myths, their sexualization, and the popularity that has come to them in death have overshadowed their accomplishments in life. While there are definitely problems with the tendency to sexualize these tombs and memorial statues, I do not think that it is necessarily representative of misogyny.