Feminist Movement : Margaret Atwood And Germaine Greer Essay

The question of “why feminism?” has been presented to a number of female artists who deal with strong constructions of gender in their work. The answer, overwhelmingly, has been the desire to modify stereotypes about women that have prevailed in male-dominated art history. In the 1960’s, women who explored “feminist” issues in their art were criticized, causing mass mobilization and conscious raising as to what, exactly, was the purpose of feminist art (Crowell, 1991). Since that time, women have been trying desperately to overturn the art world and rescind the traditional stereotypes and images that have plagued them. Feminist artists created somewhat of a unified front during that

Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity was written by Griselda Pollock in 1988, and later published in The Expanding Disclosure in 1992. Griselda Pollock is an art historian, and writes this article for fellow art historians. This is an article written to show the different approaches to femininity in the late 19th century, mainly dealing with the field of art. This article shows how during this time period there were women artists, but due to the gendered ruled ideas attached to art history, these women are largely ignored by art historians. Pollock thought that these women artists are primarily overlooked due to the fact that they are judged by the same standards that are affixed to the work of their male counterparts. But she argues

(Millhouse, 2011) In the 1980’s Pollock’s Feminism “critiqued the essential myths of individualism, the artist, and the social constructions of femininity and masculinity that define bourgeois culture”. While the 70’s feminism movement aim was to stand next to the existing masculine dominated culture. “Feminism's encounter with the canon has been complexed and many-leveled: political ,ideology,mythological,methodological and psycho-symbolic” (Pollock, 1999). The 1970’s movement was followed by the immediate task which was “the need to rectify the gaps in historical knowledge created by the consistent omission of women of all cultures from the history of art” (Pollock, 1999). The only art that was put on display was significantly male dominated work, if you wanted to see work created by women, you would have to view them “in a basement or storeroom of a national gallery” (Pollock, 1999). Female artists are only known in their own category of female artists while male artists don’t require a separate category . Art that is created by females have been historically dismissed from the art historical canon as craft, as opposed to fine art. The evident of

Similar to postmodern art, Faith Ringgold's work appropriates unmistakable imagery and other artistic practices to offer basic social editorial. She provokes us to consider expectations for gender and race, and in addition customary desires and estimations of what art may be. Through picture and content, Ringgold changes history to make a place for women like herself in its historical advancement.

Dictionary.com defines the word masculine as "having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness" (Dictionary.com). I chose a Paco Rabone Invictus Cologne advertisement from the December/January 2016 Maxim magazine because I felt it accurately reflected Dictionary.com 's definition of masculine, and I also think it portrays the cultural constructs that Germaine Greer writes about in the last chapter of her book. According to Greer "Maleness is the natural condition, the sex if you will, and masculinity is the cultural construct, the gender" (728). Her essay focuses on discussing the possible force at work which shapes society’s concept of what is considered the masculine male. She concludes that cultural influences on males and/or females will “not only produce the masculine male but also how women fit into the groups, such as corporations, that were originally constructed by masculine males” (Jacobus, 728). The gender roles that are depicted by the postures, expressions, and appearance of the models in this advertisement are a good example of the cultural constructs Greer believes are subtly taught to males and females from childhood on.

Indira Bailey is a PhD student in the Department of Art Education and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies dual degree program at Pennsylvania State University. Bailey’s research interests include the relationship between African-American female artists and feminism. Ms. Bailey received her B.F.A in Illustration from Pratt Institute in New York and a MA in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Kean University in New Jersey. She is the recipient of several Fulbright Fellowships to South Africa, Japan and Morocco. Bailey exhibited her artwork in the New York tri-state area and is currently creating paintings documenting the life of Portobello, Panama from her artist residency.

Judy Chicago (artist, author, feminist and educator) has a career that now spans five decades. In the late 1960s, her inquiry into the history of women began a result of her desire to expose the truth of women’s experiences, both past and present. She still continues on a crusade to change the perception of women from our history, “Women’s history and women’s art need to become part of our cultural and intellectual heritage.” (Chicago, 2011) Through our history women - their struggles, accomplishments and contribution to history, have been overlooked, downplayed and even completely written out of a male dominated society and culture. In anthropologist Sherry Ortner’s 1974 essay “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” she supports this view, writing “…woman is being identified with—or, if you will, seems to be a symbol of—something that every culture devalues,” (Ortner, 1974) Where Mendieta's work primarily came from a striving to belong and an understanding of where she came from, I feel that Chicago's aim was to find a place for all women, past and present in this world, starting with herself in the art world. Chicago did explore her peronal heritage in later works entitled 'Birth Project' and 'Holocaust Project'.

Stylistic and devised with two distinct media and movement, and these artists have created reminiscent portrayals of educated women. The undertows of these artworks subjects reveal the likes of emboldened females, and mutually illustrated by their brilliant artists. Fittingly, an International Women’s Day slogan, stated, “Educate a girl, and you empower a nation," a dictum that will prove transcended and parroting both artwork’s focused images (Philanthropy Age et al.). Now, that is a picture and caption moments worth captivating. On one hand, we have John Opie a British artist who was sort after for numerous commissioned portraits by the elites at the time, and a lifetime that bestowed over 300-paintings.

The history of mankind has often been captured in snapshots between the rise and fall of great leaders and civilizations, by artists all with a common dream of portraying what they saw during their times. Ideologies reflective of their societies were depicted through sculptures, frescoes, pottery, paintings, and many other methods. Many of these principals were created, celebrated, and popularized by constituents of societies where andocentric values were applied not only to social and political mores, but also to the various art forms as the male body was cherished and praised and the female body was hidden away from public view. The book Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany edited by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrad, strives

Gender discrimination is an issue that is ongoing since the colonial times. However, the fight against gender discrimination is not just an issue of the past, but also an issue of the present. In the current 21st century, there are many people who are still fighting for women's equality in society. Women are still getting paid less than men, and are still looked down upon in certain career paths. More action is needed to bring awareness to people about the inequality women still struggle through. More people need to be informed about the inequality women face. Adelaide Labille Guiard’s oil painting in Paris from 1749-1803 called Self Portrait with Two Pupil, served as a propaganda to fight for women’s attendance in the French Academie Royale. It illustrates a self portrait of Guiard, herself, and two of her pupils, Marie Gabrielle and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond. In her self portrait, she paints herself in an art studio while her two pupils are by her side. Like Guiard’s self portrait, more effort through social media and the arts

Barbara Kruger, artist and theorist, has directed and informed much of the curatorial project. Kruger’s perspectives on feminism speak to

The book Alias Grace worked through the investigation into the trial of Grace Marks. Allegedly, Grace Marks, a humble house servant, worked with a fellow coworker to kill two of her employers. However, the mystery comes into play because Grace never admitted to the crimes. Instead, she pleaded innocenece and was convicated to a life in a penitentiary, but after over a decade in prison, a psychologist comes to try and solve the m,ysetery: did Grace Kill them, did she not kill them, was she acting in free will or under insdanity, were the murders promted by an affair--the public wanted answers to the questions they still asked. WHile the book chronicals the exploration of a mystery, the book’s purpose isn’t just to “get to the bottom” of things,

     In the aftermath of World War II, the lives of the women have changed dramatically. Women spoke their minds out and wanted to be heard. World War II brought them a new outlook on how they should live their lives. It encouraged women organize social movements such as boycotts and public marches pushing for their human rights and protect them against discrimination. Alongside, they formed their own organization representing them against the federal government like the NOW or National Organization for Women. Through the years, women have been struggling to fight for equal rights and unfortunately still exist even at the present in some areas. Yes, women’s status was not like what they used to back then, where their

There is some disparity between the way critics and philosophers like Judith Butler view Cindy Sherman's work and the way that Cindy Sherman speaks of her photographs. It may be the disparity that exists between many modern artists, who often operate on an intuitive level, and the philosopher critics who comment upon them from a theoretical perspective or a pre-established framework. On one level, Cindy Sherman may only be playing "dress-up" (as she herself admits) in her famous History Portraits (1989-90) (Berne, 2003). On another level, however, her "dressing-up" may be indicative of a deeper problem in modern gender identity theory which is the problem of "becoming" woman (Butler, 1994) or, as Judith Butler sees it, the problem of performativity. In the History Portraits, Sherman may certainly be said to be "performing" and perhaps even attempting to "become" the male and female characters she represents in her work. Indeed, it is upon such a premise that philosopher critics and gender theorists find her work so engaging. This paper will examine Cindy Sherman and her History Portraits in relation to Judith Butler's gender theory, the portrayal of the self, and how gender identity has changed throughout the course of modern history. It will examine representations of womanhood from Romantic Idealism to Post-Modernism and will also

Books, plays, and movies that depict culture and social life often make statements about social issues such as gender roles, racism, and class distinction. Stories set up a context in which characters relate, often representing “stock” characters chosen from society and placed in situations where their stereotypical behaviors—and sometimes their breaking of these stereotypes—are highlighted. As feminism became a popular movement in Western countries in general and the United States in particular, female voices were naturally heard through fictional characters. Social and political issues commonly fuel entertainment; feminism, racism, and classism—recurring themes in entertainment through the 20th Century and into the modern day—have