International Museum of Women News

The Political Power of Sex Exposed in International Museum of Women's Global Online Exhibition

SAN FRANCISCO, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.), a non-partisan social change museum, confronts provocative stereotypes about women, sex and power in the global online exhibition Women, Power and Politics in the month of May. Launched on March 8, the cutting-edge multimedia exhibition runs until December 31 in four languages—Arabic, English, French and Spanish at www.imow.org.

Debuting new photography, film clips, a map, a podcast, interviews, essays and artwork, Women, Power and Politics explores the question "Is Biology Destiny?" in May 2008. Through this dynamic multimedia exploration, the exhibition adds 10 new stories exploring the connections between the female body, sexuality and political power. A range of women who have used their bodies and biology to make lasting political statements are represented—from women who threaten to expose their vaginas to stop massive environmental devastation to depictions of political and social boundaries vividly scorched on a female body.

Multimedia installations show how women have used their bodies to shame men who have ignored their political voice. The rarely used political weapon, "The Curse of Nakedness" is employed by women in the Niger Delta to demand the attention of one of the world's largest oil companies, while the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo march in the public squares of Argentina holding photographs representing their 30,000 "disappeared" sons and daughters. Controversial Kenyan-German artist, Ingrid Mwangi uses tan lines on her body to explore the loaded themes of race, identity and political borders in the photo series "Static Drift."

"From exposing the practice of using 'sexual slander' to take down a strong woman to celebrating the power of 'maternal politics,' I.M.O.W. is exploring a wide range of topics related to the power of the body in Women, Power and Politics this month," says Dr. Masum Momaya, curator of the exhibition. "Women have been harnessing the power of their bodies since the beginning of time—we not only give birth to babies with our bodies, but we've proven that we can birth great movements of change using that power as well. We are eager to open up these stories to a global audience for comment and exchange at www.imow.org in our online Community Forum."

Women, Power and Politics connects visitors to stories of remarkable women claiming and exercising their power to transform the world. The exhibition will feature content from more than 50 countries and currently highlights 50 plus stories that cross international borders and engage a global audience in four languages. I.M.O.W. invites people of all cultures and political affiliations to submit their own stories and art and join the conversation in its online Community.

In conjunction with Women, Power and Politics, I.M.O.W. is spearheading a timely online campaign to inspire people around the world to connect with each other and spark a global dialogue on why women's political power matters. The Power of Politics Campaign (P.O.P) provides five easy steps that people can take today. Steps include connecting to I.M.O.W.'s online Community, taking action in your own community to help increase political knowledge, becoming active in the political process or supporting women who are interested in running for both informal and formal political positions worldwide. To learn more about the importance of the Power of Politics in the lives of women globally today, please visit www.imow.org.

About the International Museum of Women:

The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.) is a groundbreaking social change museum that inspires global action, connects people across borders and transforms hearts and minds. The mission of I.M.O.W is to value the lives of women around the world. With its unique focus on cultural change, I.M.O.W. advances the human right to gender equity worldwide. I.M.O.W. exhibitions, education and events programming are offered globally and locally in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at www.imow.org.

Press Contact: Dannie Tillman

Director of Marketing, Communications & Brand Strategy

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN

415.543.4669 x 28

dannie@imow.org

SOURCE International Museum of Women

Send this news item to a friend.

Print This Page