Monuments to Notable Women: Increasing Female Representation in Public Space
Keywords:
Irish Collective Memory, Monuments and Memorials in Ireland, Forgotten Narratives, Female Representation in Public Space, Feminism and Cultural MemoryAbstract
Who and what a society commemorates tell a great deal about its collective history, identity and values. This paper deals with the lack of visibility and representation women receive in “official” memory through the lens of public statues. Statues to notable men dominate the landscape of cities and towns across the world, while the majority of the “female” representation is through allegorical figures depicting ideals like justice or liberty. I follow the efforts of feminist organizations in San Francisco, New York City and Sofia, Bulgaria that are working to correct this imbalance by demanding more statues to important historical women, and argue that this very public form of inequality is important to address despite criticisms that statues can be somewhat irrelevant to the larger cause of gaining equal representation. Seeing historically celebrated women taking a distinct place in the public landscape not only instills confidence in young women but reinforces among all people that women are valued, and they have been and can continue to be in positions of power and make a difference in society moving forward.
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