I can already hear choruses of comments and complaints about how this is an inanimate figure that can’t be sexually violated; that taking advantage of a statue isn’t the same things as violating a real woman, and that one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other. Point acknowledged, and — to a degree — taken. But here is the problem: Of all the poses this fan could strike, he picked the one that centers around dominating the likeness of a woman who cannot no say no. With so many other options on the table, he chose to pretend to enter her from behind and yank her hair. Neither of those things are problems unto themselves, when there is consent. But the representation of them in an instant where consent isn't even possible is more than lewd and disrespectful: It's revealing of a dangerous attitude about the state of power relations between men and women. I hope that someday we will live in a world where Black women don't have reason to fear for their lives when confronted by male police officers. I also hope for a day when women are not so vulnerable and so often taken advantage of. And, not last nor least, I look forward to a time when Nicki Minaj is memorialized in a way that highlights her talent — and not her body . But that's not the world we live in right now. Until we do, a likeness of one of America’s premiere pop stars being jokingly dominated isn’t anything to snicker at. She deserves more respect that that. We all do.