Australia, a judge passes judgment against a museum for... discriminating against males

Strange to say, but it really happened: a museum in Australia has been hit with a court order for discriminating against its male audience. It happened in Hobart, Tasmania, where the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) was forced by the judge to open the Ladies Lounge, a room reserved for women and presented as an installation by artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, to males as well. It is a room, opening in 2020, that houses some of the museum’s best-known works (ranging from works by Pablo Picasso to Sidney Nolan), and was designed to overturn stereotypes: inspiration came from the case of an Australian pub that, until 1965, excluded women. The museum planned to do the opposite, that is, to exclude males, with the intention of making men understand how women feel in a world that is still filled with prejudice against them. The installation, reads MONA’s website, “is inspired by Kirsha’s great-grandmother: a scandalous socialite who threw women-only parties at her Beverly Hills and Basel estates involving a fleet of devoted butlers, 400-year-old wines and the occasional visit from Pablo Picasso (hold on to your champagne and caviar: several priceless Picassos furnish MONA’s lounge, rummaged through great-grandma’s attic). The lounge is a tremendously luxurious space in our museum where women can indulge in decadent appetizers, fancy drinks and other genteel pleasures, hosted and entertained by the fabulous butler. And as is always the case with Kirsha’s dinners and parties, you participate in what she sees as art itself, part of a living installation.”

However, the installation was not liked by a resident of New South Wales (one of Australia’s states) who visited the Tasmanian museum in April last year during a stay on the island. Seeing himself blocked at the door, he considered suing the museum, claiming that MONA had violated Australia’s anti-discrimination laws by failing to provide him with an equitable supply of goods and services, as he was unable to view the works, unique pieces, displayed in the hall. However, the museum had responded by arguing that the access ban Mr. Lau had run into was part of an artwork, and that Tasmanian laws allow discrimination where it is designed to promote equal opportunity for historically disadvantaged communities. Also participating in the courtroom hearing was Kaechele, who argued that denying men entry into the hall was part of theartwork to give them a taste of the discrimination andexclusion that many women have experienced throughout history, and said she believed women “deserve both equal rights and special privileges in the form of unequal rights” as a means of redress for historical injustices, “for at least 300 years.”

Judge Richard Grueber of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, in his ruling, agreed with the visitor, rejecting MONA’s argument: according to him, it would not be apparent how the goal of promoting equal opportunity could be achieved by preventing men from viewing the famous works of art preserved in the Ladies Lounge. According to Grueber, “if the Ladies Lougne were a women-only club, it might be able to function legally,” but in his view this is not the case. In addition, the judge ruled that the law does not allow discrimination for artistic purposes. The judge therefore gave the museum 28 days to allow access to the Ladies Lounge to all “persons who do not identify as women.” However, Kaechele has already let it be known that in the event of a favorable ruling for the visitor, he will have the Ladies Lounge closed, since “it will not happen that it will be opened to men.” The museum, for its part, responded laconically but very explicitly, posting on its Instagram account an image of a green velvet glove, in the background of the Ladies Lounge, raising its middle finger.

Pictured: the Ladies Lounge at MONA.

Australia, a judge passes judgment against a museum for... discriminating against males

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