Response: Women, Images and Art

 

This last weeks viewings and readings have been particularly tough for me to totally swallow. I find my mind spinning with anger, confusion and celebration as I think about all the information I have been given recently. As a both a woman and an artist I am both entranced and disgusted by the role which women play in and out of the art community.
   Obviously sexualized and stereotypical images of both sexes have been used for as long as the image, particularly the photographic image, has been around.
   Images of the beefy male and the sexy damsel in distress are something that I have been acclimated to from childhood. I grew up in an era of digitally manipulated imagery. A world in which the fake has become apparently more desirable than the real. A world in which to be successful as a female in the professional world, means not only must you be smart, attentive, quick witted, level headed, etc., but fit into an ideal standard as well. A world in which young women strain to fit into an unattainable ideal.
   But what should we do about it?
   And here is where I begin to struggle.
   After reading and watching all the materials given to me this week on gender disparity both in and out of the art community, it leaves me to ask myself hard questions. The women of the 1970s and 1980s fought (some with better results than others) for women artists like myself to have a place in the art community, and I think based on my interactions they have.
   At the University of Nevada, many art student population are women. A decent portion of the faculty are women. The shows brought into the gallery feature women on a regular basis. Almost all of the artists I look up to are women. And it is not just because they are women, but because I identify with the work before I even know the gender of the artist. It is something that has simply happened naturally.
   However, as optimistic as my collegiate experience has been thus far, I know things are not going to be simple in being a woman in the professional world.
   I am aware I look a certain way and have fallen into overtly "feminine characterizations." I am physically built like a woman complete with ample breast size. I have blonde hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. I have been the victim of sexual abuse. I am not particularly strong spoken and somewhat timid in certain situations, though this is something I have been working on.  I am an alumni of a fairly popular sorority.  I make work that looks delicate and feminine.
   I have often thought how about how all of this has and will effect my life. I was raised in a very liberal household that taught me that all people are created equal and should be treated as such, however as I get older I realize that not all people have these same values, especially if they were never taught it in the first place. Which leads me to question:
   1) How can a new generation of female/feminist artists continue the legacy?
   2) How do I fit within this? Am I less of a feminist because I have built a relationship with a man, enjoy "girly" exploits including, make-up, fashion, etc., or participated in active membership of a women's fraternity? Does any of this matter?
   3) How has/is the art world changing in regards to women artists?
   4) If women become the dominate sex, how does this factor for men, particularly young men?