School Art Controversy: Is It A Bow Tie or Boy Parts?
The beauty of art is that can be interpreted differently by each person that views it. While some say the Mona Lisa is smiling, others say she looks sad. While some say it's a bow tie, others say it looks like a ding-a-ling.
In this case, the artist of the controversial picture is in 5th grade. And while she and her mom says it's a bow tie, others in the school say that it looks like boy parts.
A Simple Art Project at Hanover-Horton School District
The assignment was a simple art project. Children in a 5th-grade class in Michigan were simply drawing pictures. The 11-year-old girl drew a little piggie wearing a bow tie. However, when a boy in her class saw the drawing, he saw "boy parts" on the pig.
The boy brought it to the attention of the teacher who then took it to the attention of the Vice Principal.
Then, the mother was contacted by the teacher saying "a little boy had come up to her and made her aware that he thought my daughter drew boy parts on her pig project."
The power of social media and the viral Tik Tok
Sometimes things that aren't dance challenges go viral on Tik Tok. After the mother, Sierra Carter, visited the school to see the drawing in question she went to the platform to share the story. And it blew up with over 600,000 and counting views.
"As soon as I looked at it I'm like 'Are you freaking kidding me? It's a freaking bow tie." said Sierra in her video.
"I'm sorry my daughter's no Monet, but to her, a bow tie is a bow and a tie," Carter said. "And if another kid happened to look at it and think that it was something else that sounds like a he problem and not a she problem."
So, what do you see in this picture?
If you are a 5th-grade boy or act like a 5th-grade boy...like many of us do...then yeah, you can see it hanging there. But why would the 5th-grade girl draw that right there?
And while we might laugh at it (like I did) to the innocence of an 11-year-old girl, it's simply a bow tie on a happy little piggie. If it was lower then the piggie would be really happy, and then maybe the school would have a point and reason to keep the art on file.
According to Carter, while the child is not facing punishment or having anything go in her record the school is keeping the artwork because they do not think it would be "appropriate to dispose of the artifacts." Good thinking, you don't want to destroy great art that someday could be worth millions.