Romantic moment or sex assault? Feminist blogger slams 'Kissing Sailor' from iconic 1945 Times Square photo as 'drunken predator'
By Snejana Farberov - The Daily Mail
The indelible photo depicting a sailor kissing a nurse in the middle of Times Square to celebrate the end of World War II has long been considered one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, but was it a romantic gesture or something far more sinister?
According to one feminist blogger, the answer is the latter. The London-based writer known as 'Leopard' caused a stir online after penning a post decrying what she consider the glorification of sexual assault.
The image captured by LIFE photographer Alfted Eisenstaedt portrays an American sailor kissing a woman in a white dress on August 14, 1945, in a moment of jubilation on Victory over Japan Day in the heart of New York City.
The identities of the 'lovers' locking lips amid a large crowd have been shrouded in mystery, but after decades of speculation, the couple were revealed to be 89-year-old George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer Friedman.
The surprise twist behind the celebrated image that came to symbolize the end of the war is that Mendonsa and Friedman were complete strangers at the time the picture was taken.
The young sailor had apparently grabbed the pretty nurse walking down the street at random and planted a kiss on her lips in a moment of exuberance.
What’s more, the 22-year-old Mendonsa was on a first date with another woman, Rita Petry, who later married the man who will go down in history as the ‘Kissing Sailor.’
According to the feminist blogger, the iconic image betrays that ‘something is not quiet right.’
‘We learn that George and Greta were perfect strangers. We learn that George was drunk, and that Greta had no idea of his presence, until she was in his arms, with his lips on hers… It seems pretty clear, then, what George had committed was sexual assault.”
The blog Feministing.com embraced the sexual assault premise, claiming that a closer look at the picture reveals corroborating evidence of the ‘crime’ that took place in 1945 in the middle of Times Square.
The writer points to the smirks on the faces of other sailors seen in the background; the firm grasp around the physically smaller woman in Mendonsa’s arms keeping her from escaping; the woman’s clenched first and limp body.
‘If there is a better symbol for how messed up our ideas about sex and romance are, I can’t think of one,’ the Feministing blogger writes.
According to the feminist blogger, the iconic image betrays that ‘something is not quiet right.’
‘We learn that George and Greta were perfect strangers. We learn that George was drunk, and that Greta had no idea of his presence, until she was in his arms, with his lips on hers… It seems pretty clear, then, what George had committed was sexual assault.”
The blog Feministing.com embraced the sexual assault premise, claiming that a closer look at the picture reveals corroborating evidence of the ‘crime’ that took place in 1945 in the middle of Times Square.
The writer points to the smirks on the faces of other sailors seen in the background; the firm grasp around the physically smaller woman in Mendonsa’s arms keeping her from escaping; the woman’s clenched first and limp body.
‘If there is a better symbol for how messed up our ideas about sex and romance are, I can’t think of one,’ the Feministing blogger writes.
'Leopard writes in her blog, 'The unwillingness to recognize a problem here is not surprising, considering the rape culture in which we live.
'It is not easy to assert that a woman’s body is always her own, not to be used at the whim of any man without her consent. It is far easier to turn a blind eye to the feelings of women, to claim that they should [empathize] with the man, that they should be good sports and just go along with it.’
This is not the first time that someone raised concerns over the 'Kissing Sailor' photo.
In 2005, the Veterans History Project from the Library of Congress interviewed Friedman about the world-famous smooch.
‘It wasn't my choice to be kissed,’ she said then. ‘The guy just came over and grabbed!’
In a more recent interview Friedman recalled, ‘That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me,’ she told the New York Post.
The kissing ‘couple’ have met several times over the years. Most recently, the two reunited in mid-August to talk about the photograph.
‘It was the moment. You come back from the Pacific, and finally, the war ends,' Mendonsa told CBS.
Mendonsa recalled how he was on a date with his future wife, Petry, at Radio City Music Hall on August 14 when news of the Japanese surrender was announced.
'They stopped the show and they said, "The war is over. The Japanese have surrendered,"' he recalled.
Mendonsa and his date rushed to a nearby bar where the sailor admits he ‘popped quite a few drinks.’
As they set on their way, Mendonsa spotted a woman in a nurse’s uniform - he left Petry and rushed to grab her.
'The excitement of the war being over, plus I had a few drinks,' he told CBS. 'So when I saw the nurse, I grabbed her, and I kissed her.'
Friedman, who turned out to be a dental nurse from Austria, said, 'I did not see him approaching, and before I know it, I was in this vice grip.’
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