Post 4: Attack on Sexism

By: Dhruti Shah

     During the 20th century, women began to realize that they were seen as second class citizens.  As a response, they came together to fight this new found sexism through many different forms, whether it was verbally or through their works, such as art, music, poetry and books.  During the 20th century, many women used art to go against sexism by showing women performing male tasks, which proved that they were just as strong and intelligent as their male counterparts.

 

     Artemisia Gentileschis’ painting of Judith Decapitating Holofernes symbolizes how women were going against sexism through painting by showing their true strength.  In the painting, Gentileschi shows how Judith and her maidservant is viscously murdering Judiths’ rapist with a pure rage written on her face, which was unusual.  Back then, women were painted as soft, nurturing and kind souls with only one expression and goal which was to please the viewer or male.  If a woman was raped, she was forced to marry her rapist and was looked down upon for the rest of her life, even though she was not at fault.

     Lilly Martin Spencers’ painting of War Spirit at Home symbolizes how women were taking the roles of the men.  During that time, as all the men went away to war, women were at home taking care of the children, working, providing for the family and supporting the war.  The Newark Museum synopsis on Spencers’ painting states that “Spencer is one of the first artists to deal with women’s issues” (Newark Museum).  She shows how women were going against the norm of society by proving their strength and illustrating that they are able to handle more than their male counterparts.

     Mary Cassats’ painting of Woman in Black at the Opera represents how females did not want to be objectified by the male gaze, but instead create a gaze of their own, called the female gaze.  The woman wears black so that she can blend in and not stand out and she used the binoculars to literally show that she only wants to look, not be looked at by the male, who is astonished to see a female alone wearing odd clothing.  She is also alone in the box, which represents that a woman should be able to do as she pleases without being forced to be accompanied by a man.

     In Grandmother and Young Girl Stepping into the Bath, Suzanne Valadon challenged the stereotype of what the female body should look like.  In most of the paintings, the male artists drew women who were not so heavy, young, beautiful and were open for the male viewer to see.  Chadwick explains that “she makes her nudes controlled by emotion, sexual instincts, and biology” (Chadwick 282).  Valadon goes against the norm by painting a grandmother who is fully clothed and a young girl who is naked but has her back facing the viewer.  Chadwick states “Valadon’s female nudes fuse observation with a knowledge of the female body based on her experiences as a model.  Rejecting the static and timeless presentation of the monumental nude that dominates Western art, she emphasizes content, specific moment, and physical action.  Instead of resenting the female body as a lush surface isolated and controlled by the male gaze, she emphasized the awkward gesture of figures apparently in control of their own movements” (Chadwick 285).  As one can see in the painting, Valadon has given the viewer a true look into the life of a woman.  Women perform the same actions and do the same things as men do, they are not always poised perfectly.  The young girl is preoccupied with getting into the bath to be worried about looking at the male gaze as she goes about her daily routine.

     In the art-piece The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago wanted to end the sexism and the omission that women were subjected to by giving the historical women credit for their work through a dinner party.  Each table set symbolized each woman’s accomplishments, which was astonishing for a woman to create such a masterpiece in the 20th century.  The most controversial issue was that each dinner set was shaped into a vagina, which symbolized how women were finally dominated the male-dominated society.  This piece shows how women were finally going above and beyond what they were used to, as they created art which was equal to and even better than their male counterparts.  Also, this piece shows that women are capable of being intelligent and strong, which was finally achieved after years of suffering.

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 2002.

"Newark Museum." Newark Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012

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