In an open letter on Twitter, 22-year-old Jeanne asks for an explanation of an unacceptable event that occurred when she entered the Orsay Museum in Paris. We were able to talk to her.
"Hide this breast which I cannot see." This sentence is the starting point of an open letter that Jeanne, 22, shared on her Twitter. The young woman was shocked at the behavior of the agents of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, when she arrived in this cultural place, Tuesday, September 8, because of her cleavage.
Accompanied by a friend, Jeanne goes to the Musée d'Orsay, a place she loves to visit. "I barely have time to get my ticket out when an officer looks at me as well as my dress and my breasts. She says to me: 'ah no, this is not going to be possible, THAT is not going to pass. ' When I hear this answer, I ask why, because I don't understand. Her colleague then says to her: 'It's okay, leave, it's not for you to do this. "Https: // www. aufeminin.com/ ", explains Jeanne over the phone.
A manager is then called. It was at this point that Jeanne, with insistent looks, understood the stakes of this refusal. The people in charge of security explain to her that she cannot enter the museum dressed like this. "They tell me that I must cover my cleavage with my jacket. So I asked what is the justification for this act of hiding my breasts. With my friend, we ask for explanations calmly. I realize. that I am ordered to cover myself ", testifies the young woman.
For Jeanne, the moment is completely crazy, because yes she has a plunging neckline, but her breasts are not in the open air. Our interlocutor tells us that over the course of the conversation, she is infantilized, we ask her to calm down, the tone rises. "The security man tells me there are rules. I replied: 'but where are these rules? It's not written anywhere. ' While I see posters for health and safety rules like opening your bag. I was then told: 'the rules are over there', showing me a fictitious place at the back. I am therefore asking for clarification. And they tell me: 'It's okay if we now have to display all the rules. We're not going to get out of this. ' I talk to another person about discrimination and it makes him laugh ", adds Jeanne.
The friend of the young woman, who has a top that shows the navel, asks why she does not have the same problem with them. According to Jeanne, they do not really react: "You're okay" they say.
"The problem is my breasts. It was so embarrassing because everyone was looking at me. I felt naked. I still wanted to go into the museum so I covered myself, but it was so humiliating, to have to put my jacket back on and close it. What caught my attention was that the gentleman told me that he wanted to be quiet about his responsibilities and that I could take the jacket off inside " , she adds.
Jeanne tells us that in the museum she meets young girls with bras or bare backs. She doesn't understand why she herself was targeted for her outfit. "I said to myself why these people are not attacked for their modesty. Each time, these women were very thin, very flat. OK, I have breasts, but it's not at all embarrassing", says Jeanne.
Apologies and denouncing behavior
Now, the young woman is waiting for an apology from the museum and, beyond that, a commitment that this will not happen again. "Let them work on the behavior of their agents. I don't want anyone to get fired, but I want to warn. I'm not leading a punitive expedition. I just want to show that this kind of thing is still happening. And it is not normal to be reduced to your body and your appearance. I did not threaten the safety or the health of others. ", Retorts Jeanne moved.
The response of the Musée d'Orsay
On the site of the establishment, article 14 is the only reference that can refer to this matter, dress code. It provides that access to the museum is prohibited for visitors "wearing clothing likely to disturb public peace". But that remains very vague.
Via their Twitter, on this Wednesday, the museum apologized: “We learned of an incident that occurred with a visitor when she entered the Musée d'Orsay. We deeply regret this and apologize to the affected person we contact. "
Obviously "cooled" by the event, Jeanne loves Art too much not to return to the museum … where naked women are triumphantly exhibited, she notes in passing.