Haley Davis, 21, recently graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s of science and a few hilarious graduation pictures of herself posing with something that means a lot to her — her trusty dildo.
Now that I’ve graduated from the University of Louisville, I can finally arm myself on campus! ? Come and take it!!! ??? pic.twitter.com/XV7zSRyyUn
— Johnny Tomato Seed✨ (@IsARealGal) August 6, 2018
Speaking to HuffPost, Davis explains that the pictures, which are funny and awesome on their own, are actually a parody of Kaitlin Bennett’s viral graduation pictures in which she toted a rifle. That’s why Davis captioned the pictures with the phrase “Come and take it!!!”
Now that I graduated from @KentState, I can finally arm myself on campus. I should have been able to do so as a student- especially since 4 unarmed students were shot and killed by the government on this campus. #CampusCarryNow pic.twitter.com/a91fQH44cq
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) May 13, 2018
Bennett’s own photo showed her armed with a rifle and carrying her mortarboard, on which she’d written, “Come and take it.” A conservative student activist, Bennett bemoaned the fact that she wasn’t allowed to carry a rifle on campus, citing the Ohio National Guard’s killing of four unarmed protesters at Kent State in 1970. She told The Washington Post, “If the government has it, we should have it. Machine guns — any weaponry.”
Davis said that she wasn’t “enraged” by Bennett’s pictures. Instead, she just thought, “Dang, this girl takes things too seriously” and that “bringing an assault rifle to the campus is in poor taste.” That gave her the idea to do the pictures with a dildo.
She explained, “Knowing I would be graduating soon, I wanted to make satire out of her very bold photos just to lighten it up a little bit. I think comedic relief is very valuable and can ease pain people may be feeling.”
As far as gun control goes, Davis told HuffPost she has “mixed feelings,” and that she doesn’t consider herself fully educated about the whole issue. She did say that she wouldn’t personally feel comfortable arming herself and that she doesn’t think it’s really “necessary” for civilians to own assault rifles.
So why a dildo? Davis said, “As a feminist, I value sexual liberation and acceptance of sexuality. That, combined with my desire to provide comedic relief, is why I chose to pose with a dildo.” She added that she frequently tweets “comedic things involving sex toys.” Well, she has my full support.
h/t HuffPost