# Boston University unveiled a new Martin Luther King Jr. statue. Is it just me or does it look like someone performing a sexual act? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230 "2023-01-14T19:01:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/141 "2023-01-20T15:47:56Z")
So far, I’ve heard it referred to as, “The Moebious Dick” and, being in Boston, the “Big Hug.” ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/142 "2023-01-20T16:03:41Z")
How ridiculous! First of all, I can’t make head or tail out of it. Second of all, I hate it. Silly question but, who knows, we have so many educated people here that one or more of you might actually know about city planning. Okay, when a city engages an artist to create a sculpture for it, don’t the people tasked with that assignment ask for a sketch showing what the sculpture is going to look like? If so, isn’t that sketch shown and discussed at a meeting of the city’s governing body? I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/143 "2023-01-20T17:24:41Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I just don’t get it. I posted the exact process for this particular commission, along with a link to the website for the memorial that explains it, earlier in this very thread. Scroll up and be informed 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/144 "2023-01-20T17:51:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What seems weird to me (from the photos) is the lack of torso, with arms going through where I would expect the torso to be. This is what makes the piece seem off to me… it’s hard to envision the people when there are significant anatomical impossiblities to the sculpture. Maybe it’s not meant to be a literal representation, but then so much of the hands and arms are literal… I think it’s mix of modes causes understandable disparities in responses. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/145 "2023-01-20T19:55:27Z")
I look at it in a certain way, and I hear: _Hot dogs, Armour Hot Dogs…_ ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/146 "2023-01-20T22:13:43Z")
I am very sorry for my use of that word. I was ignorant about the baggage it carried but that does not change how people rightfully feel about it nor excuse me for using it. I have been schooled on this and will certainly try to be better in the future. I apologize unreservedly to the SDMB and its readers. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/147 "2023-01-20T22:15:11Z")
Leslie Jones weighed in (hilariously): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/emEBAvx4uC8/maxresdefault.jpg "Leslie Jones Tackles Accidentally Erotic MLK Jr. Statue | The Daily Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emEBAvx4uC8) (edit: I see it’s been posted already, whoops!) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/148 "2023-01-20T22:29:18Z")
Thanks! > [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Leslie Jones weighed in (hilariously): And this is good enough to be worth posting again. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/149 "2023-01-20T22:31:49Z")
I wonder if anyone has asked the sculptor for a comment on Leslie Jones’ comments? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/150 "2023-01-20T22:39:25Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I wonder if anyone has asked the sculptor for a comment on Leslie Jones Honestly, I don’t think she has said anything that I—were I the creator—would _want_ to comment on. She never outright gave it a bad review. She essentially said only: (1) white people butt out, and (2) it reminds her of cunnilingus. Should anyone ask em to react, I’d advise em to refrain from comment. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/151 "2023-01-20T22:59:12Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Okay, when a city engages an artist to create a sculpture for it, don’t the people tasked with that assignment ask for a sketch showing what the sculpture is going to look like? I could definitely imagine a small sketch of this not having the same reaction. Part of the issue is that it’s very large, so the eye can only focus on a part of it at a time, and sometimes that part is reminiscent of something unexpected. In a drawing, or a rotating image on a computer or something, you would take in the whole thing, and probably with the right context, because the artist would start with the best angle. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/152 "2023-01-21T03:18:12Z")
Don’t be disrespecting the extant art in Boston Common. Saint-Gauden’s memorial to Bob Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts is also a part of African American history, and was pretty darn radical artistically for 1897. > **[Robert Gould Shaw Memorial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gould_Shaw_Memorial)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens opposite 24 Beacon Street, Boston (at the edge of the Boston Common). It depicts Colonel Robert Gould Shaw leading members of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as it marched down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863 to depart the city to fight in the South. The sculpture was unveiled on May 31, 1897. This i... ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/153 "2023-01-21T11:35:23Z")
It is a hug: Hands, arms, shoulders. If you see something else: that says something about you, not about the art, the artist, or the people that commissioned it. (The fact that a bronze of MLK would generate 100+ posts here, inane as they are, says something about the quality of the work.) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/154 "2023-01-21T12:16:19Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > (The fact that a bronze of MLK would generate 100+ posts here, inane as they are, says something about the quality of the work.) I think it says that the design is controversial, to say the least. What do you think it says? I mean, we have threads with hundreds of posts about crappy music, stupid songs, terrible ads, etc. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/155 "2023-01-21T12:35:08Z")
It is a lifelike representation of something completely mundane (a hug). Somehow the artist has stylized it in such a manner that many people have to do a double take. Apparently it grabs your attention. Some see a gentle greeting between friends, others are reminded of the porn they watched: It generates a response. That is a indication that it is doing what art is supposed to do. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/156 "2023-01-21T12:53:04Z")
I’d be surprised if that’s the reaction that the artist was going for, but sure. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/157 "2023-01-21T19:05:51Z")
I think the issue is not that it is ugly, or suggestive. In any major city there are _lots_ of weird sculptures. There’s sometimes a bit of a hubbub, then people get used to them, then they’re even liked as they get some kind of funny nickname. The issue is that it’s dedicated to MLK and is supposed to be a representation of him embracing his wife. For which, it sits in an uncomfortable middle place: something purely abstract (a big monolith or whatever), fine. A statue of MLK, fine. Half-abstract, half-real was always a risk with a dedication, and it was poorly executed. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/158 "2023-01-21T20:24:20Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > If you see something else: that says something about you > [@The\_Librarian](#): > > others are reminded of the porn they watched And if a person supposes that perceiving resemblance to a sexually intimate act implies a recollection of porn that also says something about a person. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/159 "2023-01-22T02:45:31Z")
I agree. For me, it works and is something I’d love to see in person. A purely bog standard sculpture of the moment, not so much. For my tastes, this is an excellent piece of public art. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230/160 "2023-01-22T02:52:17Z")
Come on man, I cannot believe that after that superb setup you flubbed the punchline. There is still time to edit out the “l” in “public”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boston-university-unveiled-a-new-martin-luther-king-jr-statue-is-it-just-me-or-does-it-look-like-someone-performing-a-sexual-act/978230.md?page=9)