Woman Thrown Out Of Museum Because Men Won’t Stop Staring

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Dress Code

She was stunned to hear what they had to say. She could not believe her ears when the guards at the Orsay Museum were attempting to kick her out because of the clothes she was wearing!

She was under the impression that her clothing was appropriate. However, it appeared that the staff did not feel the same way. However, they would have to deal with the implications later.

Outdated

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One would assume that whether a woman’s clothing is “modest” enough to wear in public is no longer an issue in this day and age. It is, after all, the year 2022. We should be able to move on from there.

However, it appears that the paintings aren’t the only items in Orsay’s museum that date from the nineteenth century. The security personnel’s morals appeared to be outdated as well.

A Student And Influencer

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An interesting incident occurred recently at Paris’s Orsay’s Museum. Parisian Juliet was 24 years old when the incident occurred.

Juliet is a Ph.D. student and influencer focusing on the history of art. It had been her intention to visit the museum one evening and take photos and notes for her dissertation and social media. It turned out that the security guards had other plans for her that evening.

She Doesn’t Feel Like A Person

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Juliet has always had large breasts due to her genetics. This has been a persistent issue in her everyday life; for example, she frequently complains about being harassed on the street.

She also expressed frustration with the way some people seem to misunderstand her as a whole person and only see one physical attribute of her. Specifically, she says this:

Uncomfortable Situations

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“I feel humiliated, like if everyone is staring at my breasts; I’m just my breasts, and nothing more than a sexualized woman.”

As a result, she had to be very careful with her clothing to avoid attracting unwelcome attention. However, this did not prevent her from an incredibly embarrassing and unsettling situation.

She Did Not Care

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Juliet didn’t give the clothing she’d wear to Orsay’s museum any consideration. It wasn’t something she’d put on for a more official occasion, like a formal interview.

But this was a museum, after all. What she wore was immaterial because she was there for fun, not for what other people thought. That’s what she thought, at least.

Sexism Goes Way Back

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According to scholarly literature, museums have a long history of being sexist institutions. The majority of them make the point that the bulk of the paintings on display was created by male artists or that the topic of the paintings symbolizes sexist beliefs.

But there are occasions when it goes beyond that. Museum employees might be sexist at times and discriminate against female visitors.

Provocative

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Her cleavage sparked the dispute. It was only a patterned dress with a “V” neckline, she didn’t believe it was too provocative. She didn’t think it would be an issue.

The clothing, on the other hand, emphasized her naturally enormous breasts. And the security guards at the museum were about to take it personally.

How It Started

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Juliet had left the house that summery day in her new outfit, eager to spend the night admiring paintings. She had bought the outfit expressly for the event, and she had never worn the dress before.

When she eventually got off the train and came up to the museum’s front door, however, the guards eyed her from the bottom to the top.

They Stopped Her

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“They wouldn’t let me in, but nobody told me why; they just stared at my cleavage,” Juliet said of the event.

That wasn’t the end of it. They also offered an unsuitable proposal to her. She couldn’t believe what they were saying, and she felt offended by it. This is exactly what they stated.

Guard’s Suggestion

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They advised Juliet to wear the jacket she was taking with her to cover herself. This suggestion perplexed her completely. She could not believe their nerve.

“I don’t want to put on my jacket because I feel obligated, guilty, and like everyone is staring at my breasts, as if I’m just my breasts, a sexualized woman.”

She Had To Wear The Jacket

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Finally, Juliet agreed to put on the jacket in order to get entry to the museum. She did, however, have another card in her hand.

She wasn’t going to let it go, and she wasn’t going to let the security guards off the hook for what they’d done. So she knew what she needed to do later that evening.

She Shared Her Story

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Juliet posted about her experience on social media and filed a complaint with the Orsay Museum. She was enraged and waiting for a reaction, if not a response.

And she had it in no time. Juliet was shocked by how well her story was received when she checked her social media accounts a few hours later.

It Went Viral

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Almost 40,000 people have retweeted her story on Twitter as of today! And there was one thing in particular that many of them emphasized in their responses.

Many users have pointed out how absurd it is to deny a woman entry based on her more or less revealing attire, given how many pieces of art on display at the Orsay museum portray naked women. The museum quickly responded with a tweet about the incident.

Museum’s Response

Twitter – Orsay’s Museum

“We’ve been alerted about an incident involving a visitor to the Orsay museum. We are sincerely sorry and apologize to the individual involved.”

What are your thoughts on this story? Is it reasonable for museums to enforce a dress code, or was it simply misogyny on the part of the security staff?