Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Lijeroth eating a cake made in image of an African woman

[nadine_mn]

"Folks are getting really comfortable with their blatant racism and sexism. A friend of mine emailed me a story about how Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, a self-proclaimed "anti-racist," was photographed eating a cake made in the image of an African woman in minstrel makeup."


http://www.theroot.com/buzz/liljeroths-nger-cake-hottentot-venus-20?wpisrc=root_lightbox


The video is disturbing... some may call it "performance art" when the cake "screams" when you cut it. I call it racist bullshit.

That this is Sweden and not the US is a little surprising but opens my eyes to how blatant racism and sexism is everywhere.

[FLAprogressive]

1. Disturbing and bizarre.

[Poll_Blind]

2. Of the 86,400 seconds in your Wednesday, the 47 seconds in this video will be the most disturbing:

I cannot believe I actually made it through. Those are 47 long motherfucking seconds. And that wasn't even fullscreen. There is clearly some deeper meaning, maybe about FGM or something else. It may even be some otherwise noble point. I made the mistake of viewing that video right after going to the full article and I ain't goin' back.

But there's clearly some symbolism there. Sadly, it's like someone without wit or humor trying to reproduce the most biting of Randy Newman songs.

PB

[nadine_mn]

4. I watched literally in shock - and you are right those are disturbing 47 sec

btw - thanks for posting it in the message - I haven't figured out how to do that.

I am trying to figure out what on earth would make anyone think this is acceptable... and I just can't.

[Zalatix]

6. ho... lee... shit.

[Union Scribe]

14. I made it 17 seconds.

Nightmare fuel.

[HiPointDem]

3. That's a live man as the head, and doing the screaming.

It's unimaginable that someone could think this was a good idea and that everyone in that room of grinning idiots, half of them female, would go along with it.

The culture minister is a feminist and the cake was supposed to "bring awareness to the global practice of female circumcision."

Yeah, right.

That's the mentality of the ruling class for you.

[cali]

10. and the idiot artist- who's being fed there- is black.

gad but people are stupid gits.

[HiPointDem]

13. he doesn't look very black where the make-up ends.

[Raine]

5. weird, creepy and sick IMO. nt

[seabeyond]

7. any illusion of respect for the womans body is totally lost. why would anyone be surprised with the

Last edited Wed Apr 18, 2012, 07:55 AM - Edit history (2)

massive effort to mock, ridicule, control the womans body. why would a room of people would think this is a problem. if any woman dared to call out the bullshit of this little stunt, i am sure they would be met with pearl clutcher, prude.... ect. to put them in their place

[madmom]

8. My god, some people have a sick sense of humor

[TeeYiYi]

9. wtf...

TYY

[pampango]

11. Apparently part of an exhibit by an Afro-Swedish artist on "degrading stereotypes of black people

through history"

On Sunday, Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth participated in an event at the museum that involved several cakes designed by artists, including one in the shape of the naked torso of a black woman.

The black cake, part of an exhibition on World Art Day, was intended as part of Afro-Swedish artist Makode Linde's project illustrating degrading stereotypes of black people through history.

However, a Swedish organization promoting the rights of people of African origin called the cake exhibit racist and said that Liljeroth should resign for participating in a "tasteless, racist spectacle."

"According to Moderna Museet, the cake eating party was intended to highlight the problem of female circumcision, but how this is supposed to be done with a cake depicting a racist caricature of a black woman ... is unclear," said Kitimbwa Sabuni, head of the African Swedish National Association.

Liljeroth, whose photograph cutting a piece of the cake was widely shown in Swedish media, said she understood why people would be offended by the incident.

"I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke," she said in a statement to The Associated Press. "And then they wanted me to cut into the cake. I don't review art, but I can very well understand that this whole situation was misunderstood."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/swedish-museum-evacuated_n_1434278.html

Sounds to me like this minister is destined to resign. Whether she had bad intentions or not, whether she believes that art has a right to provoke or not, whether she is sorry or not are not as important here as her poor judgment.[i/]

[Quantess]

12. I can understand why this happened.

And I can also understand why only non-swedes are upset about this.

First, Sweden has taken in large numbers of African immigrants (regugees, asylum seekers).

Second, traditional swedish culture is opposed to circumcising boys, and the idea of cutting up female genitalia is even more unthinkable and barbaric. The idea of FGM is abhorrent and completely repulsive to Swedes. It's child abuse.

Third, scandinavians like provocative art.

Female genital mutilation is so repulsive to traditional swedish culture, that acting out against it outweighs the desire to not seem racist.

She is not going to resign and she is not going to lose her job, I can almost guarantee. If anything, she has more supporters now, after participating in a statement about FGM.

[pampango]

15. Looks like you are right about her not resigning.

Swedish Culture Minister Refuses to Resign Over Bizarre Photo-Op

Sweden’s culture minister clarified on Wednesday that she has no intention of resigning over photographs of her taking part in a performance art piece on female genital mutilation, which featured a cake shaped like a stereotypical African tribeswoman that screamed when it was cut into.

Ms. Liljeroth defended her participation in the event in a statement on the ministry’s Web site headlined, “Art Must Be Allowed to Provoke,” but also apologized for any unintentional offense she had caused and agreed to meet with leaders of the Afro-Swedish group on Wednesday afternoon.

Before that meeting, the culture minister’s press secretary, Karolin A. Johansson, told The Lede in a telephone interview that Ms. Liljeroth “would definitely not resign” for her role in an artistic event that celebrated “freedom of expression, the struggle against censorship and art’s freedom to challenge and provoke.”

The minister’s participation in the performance also drew condemnation from political opponents of Ms. Liljeroth’s center-right Moderate Party, including one blogger who described the event as “a tax-funded party” for “left-wing members of the Stockholm cultural elite.”

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/swedish-culture-minister-refuses-to-resign-over-bizarre-photo-op/