# Sculpture's penis offends some Jamaicans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796 "2003-09-10T17:26:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/1 "2003-09-10T17:26:50Z")
A new public sculpture in Kingston, Jamaica that features a nude man and woman has drawn some controversy because of the size of the male figure’s penis: [“Size does matter, Jamaicans decide”](http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1018118,00.html). Apparently, most Jamaicans either like the sculpture or don’t mind it too much. But a very vocal minority has denounced it as immoral, with a lot of the criticism centering on the length of the penis, as well as the general nudity of both figures. A few people have even complained about the artist’s race, saying that she isn’t black enough to be representing black individuals. Oddly, few people have commented on the female figure’s rather well-endowed breasts. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/2 "2003-09-10T17:55:43Z")
She used a model? That’s quite impressive. I’d like to meet him to shake his…er…hand. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/3 "2003-09-10T23:23:48Z")
forget the statue, i’m still pondering the "virginity testing of schoolgirls! who is this mp and what on earth is the mp thinking??!! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/4 "2003-09-10T23:27:46Z")
From _Family Guy_: Peter: “Uh, do I have to sculpt the penis?” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/5 "2003-09-11T00:50:24Z")
In the context of the sculpture’s scale, it’s really not that big. What did they expect, \*David \*? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/6 "2003-09-11T01:18:31Z")
Wow, those guys really need to roll a j and relax. Wait, this is happening WHERE?? :eek: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/7 "2003-09-11T03:08:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*From _Family Guy_: > Peter: “Uh, do I have to sculpt the penis?” \*\* Am I … am I supposed to conduct with my penis? ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/8 "2003-09-11T06:31:39Z")
Well, I might call it abnormal but not impossible. Sounds to me like a lot of insecure men. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/9 "2003-09-11T07:13:25Z")
The penis is not all that disporportionate (may given a bit of fluffing beforehand). Plus it rarely gets that cold down there. That statue would look really incongruous in Calgary in February. Now the balls may be another story. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/10 "2003-09-11T07:54:58Z")
The guy looks normal to me. The woman, however, seems to be in some kind of low-gravity environment. Either that, or she had a recent lift job which has yet to settle. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/11 "2003-09-11T10:16:04Z")
Naw, there’s a whole lot of high-breasted women from the islands… but dag, where’s her hair? Neither statue has dreds, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/12 "2003-09-11T10:43:46Z")
They should do like we do here in Tokyo: all our nude male statues are wearing underpants. I shit you not. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/13 "2003-09-11T13:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*They should do like we do here in Tokyo: all our nude male statues are wearing underpants. > > I shit you not. \*\* OMG, now I simply must go to Japan! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/14 "2003-09-11T15:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by panache45 \* > \*\*In the context of the sculpture’s scale, it’s really not that big. What did they expect, \*David \*? \*\* I agree–the male figure’s proportions are quite bulky, and the penis doesn’t seem disproportionately large, even for its flaccid state. [This Straight Dope poll](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=114092) seems to suggest that the average flaccid size is about 4 inches long, more or less; the sculpture’s member doesn’t appear to be much longer than that, _proportionally_ speaking (I imagine the sculpture’s scale is over life-size, which obviously makes everything a bit bigger than life). I suppose people are thinking of classical sculptures, which usually feature quite small penises. I wonder what [John Ashcroft](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1788845.stm) would have to say about all this? ---
**Author:** ![Galanthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Galanthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galanthus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/15 "2003-09-11T15:29:36Z")
I went to a place in Cornwall recently called Eden Project which is basically a huge garden with plants from all around the world in giant domes they call biomes … In the Hot Dry biome ( which smelt amazing ) there was a statue of Baccus as a bull surrounded by Maenads. The Meanads when I got close made my eyes pop. I have never seen a female statue so anatomically correct. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/16 "2003-09-11T19:26:18Z")
Er, in what way, **Galanthus**? You have piqued my curiosity now. (I still haven’t got round to visiting the Eden Project.) ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/17 "2003-09-11T22:24:20Z")
Mine too. So much so that I had to hunt down some pictures to see for myself. The Eden Project looks like a really neat place. I was able to dig up a reference to the artist who made the sculptures: he’s Tim Shaw, whose website, [http://www.timshawsculptor.com/](http://www.timshawsculptor.com/), includes some images of the sculptures (under “Rites of Dionysus”). It looks like the maenads are in the throes of bacchic debauchery. And I saw one very naughty pair of sculptures featuring a maenad cavorting with what appears to be a satyr, whose… well, let’s just say that it’s more prominent than in the Jamaican sculpture. Can’t see any real close-up details, though–so, just how detailed _are_ the maenads in person, **Galanthus**? (I had no idea that horticulture could be so racy.) ---
**Author:** ![Papaveraceae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Papaveraceae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papaveraceae)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/18 "2003-09-11T23:46:02Z")
They both look nicely in proportion to me. as for the Eden project art…OH ME OH MY…is it a bit…um… I need air. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/19 "2003-09-12T02:18:59Z")
A 19th-C. phallic controversy relating to the cenotaph[sculpture](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2358&pt=Victor%20Noir) of a “black” (pardon the pun) man. Very funny, actually! ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796/20 "2003-09-12T03:41:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rocking chair \* > \*\*forget the statue, i’m still pondering the "virginity testing of schoolgirls! who is this mp and what on earth is the mp thinking??!! \*\* My guess is he’s probably thinking he’d like to examine him some virgin schoolgirls. I can picture it now . . . “Yep, she was a virgin all right!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sculptures-penis-offends-some-jamaicans/200796.md?page=2)