Haley Davis didn’t just leave the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s of science in criminal justice. She also left with some memorable graduation photos starring her clutching a dildo.
On Monday, the 21-year-old shared two snapshots of herself standing in front of her alma mater’s name with her arm raised, dildo in hand.
“Come and take it!!!” the now-viral post reads.
The photos of Davis posing with the sex toy, sans context, are humorous, but she told HuffPost that she took them to satirize another graduation photo from this year that also went viral.
In May, Kent State University graduate Kaitlin Bennett posted an image of herself in front of her university’s sign with a rifle affixed to her back and a cap that read, “Come and take it.”
Bennett’s post said that she “should have been” able to carry a gun on her campus but wasn’t allowed to.
Davis told HuffPost that she wasn’t “enraged” by Bennett’s post, but that she did think, “Dang, this girl takes things too seriously” and that “bringing an assault rifle to the campus is in poor taste.” Those thoughts led her to recreate the photos herself.
“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,” Davis said.
Bennett, a conservative student activist, called for students to be able to carry concealed weapons during her time at Kent State. She cited the Ohio National Guard’s killing of four unarmed student protesters at Kent State in 1970 as a reason she should be able to carry a weapon. “If the government has it, we should have it. Machine guns — any weaponry,” she told The Washington Post.
Though her first image garnered vitriol online, Bennett was undeterred and posted a second one just days later:
Davis says she has “mixed feelings” about gun control and doesn’t feel that she’s fully educated herself on the subject.
“But I personally would not feel comfortable arming myself with a gun,” she told HuffPost. “I also don’t believe it’s necessary for civilians to own assault rifles.”
As for why she chose a dildo to hold, 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.”
Davis frequently tweets “comedic things involving sex toys,” she added.
As for what she’s up to now that school is over, Davis says she’s planning to take “a gap year to work a little bit before pursuing more education.” She says she wants “to pursue family law, but my mind could be changed.”
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