# Was it right to destroy Harvard's giant snow phallus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 28, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147 "2003-02-28T15:45:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/41 "2003-03-01T20:23:42Z")
Whoops, I made a mistake, I had the wrong location. That phallus would have been right out in public, in a major pathway through the Yard and right in front of the church (insert Rev. Gomes joke here). So, a little more tasteless than I thought, but still not hurting anybody, and I don’t think little kids in strollers would have been out in the Yard during the storm anyway, so the Amazons should have let it melt. That would have made their statement for them in a very humorous way. And I don’t see a phallus itself as a some sort violent statement, no more than the Minuteman statue is an endorsement of the DC snipers because they’ve all got rifles. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/42 "2003-03-01T22:29:45Z")
The harvard boys should have added some more snow to make it look like a “strap-on” and then ask the two “ladies” if that would be more to their liking…:rolleyes: So when are these two women going to DC to take their shovels and angst to the Monument?:rolleyes: I would like to see more women out there making snow vaginas please…oh, and boys, please don’t knock those down…you wouldn’t want to be accused of mysogyny…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/43 "2003-03-02T05:35:30Z")
I don’t find it offensive at all, and I wouldn’t have any objection to permanent phallic or yonic statues. People have been creating them for millennia as a traditional celebration of fertility (or maybe just out of juvenile humor, as **Kimstu** pointed out); it seems that indignant objection to such art is just part of our American tradition of hysterical, religiously influenced prudery. Of course, since it was made out of snow on Harvard property, Harvard had the ultimate responsibility of dealing with it, and it would have melted anyway. But the objections of the women that destroyed it bring new meaning to the saying “sit on it and spin.” ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/44 "2003-03-02T07:24:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slithy Tove \* > \*\*“women do not need to be reminded of the power of male genitalia.” > > \*\* Funny. I find I am not reminded of the power of male genitalia nearly often enough. I have a hard time imaging being intimidated by a pile of snow. I would be highly amused to suddenly come across a giant phallus in the middle of the campus. (I wonder if you should rub it for luck?) But then I’m the girl walking around with a crystal phallus pendent around my neck. And I’m very rarely feel oppressed by it(of course I do keep it on a chain :D) So these women are saying male genitalia are actually that powerful and dangerous? And women should be intimidated by them? And it’s pointless to even try to complete? (Although I fear a vulva does not lend itself to the snow medium the same way phallus do.) Yup, weird sort of feminism, that. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/45 "2003-03-02T08:48:40Z")
The tempest in the teapot rages on. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/46 "2003-03-02T13:50:04Z")
\ An erection suitable for a parade ground. \ ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/47 "2003-03-02T14:46:25Z")
The “expressing dominance over women” claim is stupid. This only supports something I thought when I was at Ohio State: in a game of “Spot the woman-dominating phallus in everyday objects!” the Womyn’s Studies majors win every time. The thing should’ve been destroyed because it was in _incredibly_ poor taste, and yes, offensive. No other explanation is needed. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/48 "2003-03-02T14:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by betenoir \* > \*\* (I wonder if you should rub it for luck?)_\* Well, from the looks of it, any amount of rubbing could hardly have mattered. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mothchunks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Mothchunks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mothchunks)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/49 "2003-03-03T01:44:48Z")
\>I find I am not reminded of the power of male genitalia nearly often enough.\< Need your memory jogged?😉 ---
**Author:** ![Daikona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Daikona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daikona)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/50 "2003-03-03T02:26:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\* > **matt\_mcl** had the right idea, the proper response would have been to make a snow-snatch. One much bigger than the snow-shlong. And with teeth. \*\* Now I’m left wishing I could think of a way to use the phrase “snow-snatch” in conversation. It has such a nice ring to it. That, and I hope it snows some more here so I can make one… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/51 "2003-03-03T03:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > Hmmmm… footnotes to footnotes. **Kimtsu** , you _are_ David Foster Wallace, and I claim my £5. Nah, last time I checked, DFW was still at that school in Illinois, not Brown. Although time spent Doping _would_ explain what’s taking so long to write another novel. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/52 "2003-03-03T13:50:33Z")
I missed it! I live just a few miles away and I missed it! Where are all the snows of yesterday? ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/53 "2003-03-03T18:11:35Z")
You know, as lighthearted as this debate has been up until now, I think that I am going to interject a somber tone for a moment. I am getting more than just a little weary of having an integral part of my (male) anatomy regarded as inherently offensive, or somehow domineering and evil. Leave the poor Tallywhacker alone! It is a fine and proud thing, designed to bring pleasure to all! ---
**Author:** ![Mothchunks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Mothchunks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mothchunks)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/54 "2003-03-03T22:13:06Z")
Maybe they should make is an annual event, where misanthropes from all over the world could come and vent their anger. I have to wonder though, if some women had made a giant vulva in the snow, if men would be attacking it with shovels and laments for their injured, fragile psyches. Perhaps the women who attacked the snowcock were so impressed by it’s frosty tumescence that they feared an imminent eruption. I notice from the picture that they were not the first to stop by. Someone had come by earlier and circumcised it. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_John](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@Blue\_John](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_John)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/55 "2003-03-04T06:57:19Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by grienspace_ > **I wonder how women who have been raped feel about it.** From [this](http://www.fredoneverything.net/PhallicHorror.shtml) site: > [@](#): > > One Amy Keel, class of '04, opined, “As a feminist, pornography is degrading to women and creates a violent atmosphere,” > … > She then proceeded to pull rank by claiming to be a “rape survivor.” ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/56 "2003-03-05T14:41:57Z")
Did anyone notice the horrid sentence structure of these “Harvard” students? “As a feminist, pornography is degrading to women and creates a violent atmosphere,”. Huh? Since when is pornography a feminist? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/57 "2003-03-05T15:30:30Z")
Hilarious. First, that someone built in the first place. Second, that someone got huffy and knocked it down. _snicker_ _snicker_ _snicker_ all round. What a great story! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/58 "2003-03-05T17:36:16Z")
Count me with the group that thinks creative defacement would be much better than outright destruction. I’m envisioning two little alien heads popping out of the testicles like the scene from “Alien”. Those testes look big enough to put a good sized alien in. Grab some hot raspberry tea and make a bit of a red-stained hollow and dribble some down the sides of the scrotum like blood then build your alien and put it in the hollow. Heh, now THAT would have been evil. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/59 "2003-03-05T22:17:38Z")
Or how about just a little sign saying “The Ents think of everything!”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147/60 "2003-03-05T22:53:00Z")
Actually I’m thinking one of the most fun would also be one of the easiest. Take a couple pitchers of hot raspberry tea and dump them slowly right over the top, essentially rendering it a bloody stump, or at least severely deforming the head while leaving rivulets of red down the shaft and on the scrotum. You’d see a few guys cross their legs when they walked by something like that. Enjoy, Steven [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-right-to-destroy-harvards-giant-snow-phallus/158147.md?page=2)