Shiny Statues: Worship, Luck, or Objectification? The Meaning Behind Statue Discoloration

Shiny Statues

Across the world, statues are built in memory or honor of important figures. While their exact history may fade, the statues serve as permanent art pieces, memorials of their existence. If you walk past any old statue, you’ll see it…

A shine against bronze, a discoloration among the otherwise green metal. Statues don’t merely memories of the past. Rather, they also serve as living history, recording how people interact with the statue. 

Often, there are traditions involving touching statues. The Molly Malone Statue, for example, is often touched regularly as a form of good luck. The places where these statues are touched are also interesting to note, too. Female statues, regardless of their story, are frequently polished on sexualized parts of their bodies. Across cultures, this repeats, even if there is no official ritual/tradition. 

Not all touching is sexual, of course. The Charging Bull on Wall Street is touched for good luck with investments, while the Statue of St. Peter has worn feet from touches that revere him. The touch here is meant to show devotion or aspiration.

But, female statues being repeatedly groped, especially absent from any deep-rooted traditions, connects to something uncomfortably familiar. Street harassment, casual grabbing, and bodily entitlement are all things that women face on a day-to-day basis. The fact that these statues are in bronze doesn’t hide some of the sinister workings underneath.

Statues are silent. They can’t object. They can’t cry for help, or step back, or enforce their boundaries… All they can do is stand there; their shiny skin quietly revealing all that they have gone through. Normally, you can’t see the effect of unwanted touch on a person. On a statue, however, you can see the effects of sexual harassment physically change the statue underneath. Public art reflects who we are, and these statues show the entitlement people feel towards women’s bodies. 

The next time you pass a statue, look for the parts that are extra shiny. Take a moment to think- why is it there? Pry into your mind and ask who put it there, and as you stare into the reflection in the metal, you might see more than just oxidation. 

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