ART AND GENDER' DEPICTION OF FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY

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ART AND GENDER. DEPICTION OF FEMININITY AND
MASCULINITY

• HELSINKI 2008

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GENDER AND ARTS

• Sculptures and rock paintings date back over 40
  000 years. Throughout the years art has been a
  key ingredient in the formula for successful
  communication (semiosis). Native Americans
  painted on cave walls to inform others of animals
  in the area and hunting techniques. Artists
  during the Renaissance used their works mainly to
  communicate religious ideologies.
• The communication ability of a piece of art is
  summed up in the familiar Chinese proverb that
  states A picture is worth a thousand words.
• An issue which developed in the centuries, and
  continue today is the issue of gender roles. Many
  artists want to develop pieces which will invite
  viewers to consider their place in relation to
  gender and culture. The artwork is fashioned to
  create an emotional response in the viewer and to
  allow him or her to think about gender social
  spaces.
• Much of the contemporary artwork is created to
  change communitys perception of traditional
  gender roles. Feminist artists are particularly
  interested in using their art to develop
  awareness of the traditional roles of women and
  to bring the community together to gain power.
  Their attempt is to be viewed as social equals to
  men.

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Gender in visual arts (painting)

• Depiction of femininity in painting
• - general characteristics (signs of femininity)
• -general message

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Gender in visual arts (painting)

• Depiction of masculinity in painting
• - general characteristics (signs of masculinity)
• - general message

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Gender and cinema

• Depiction of femininity in films
• - general characteristics (signs of femininity)
• - behavioral patterns
• - general message

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Gender and cinema

• Depiction of masculinity in films
• - general characteristics (signs of masculinity)
• - behavioral patterns
• - general message

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Gender roles in literature (in childrens
literature)

• Gender bias exists in the content, language and
  illustrations of a large number of childrens
  books. This bias may be seen in the extent to
  which a gender is represented as the main
  character in childrens books and how that gender
  is depicted.
• Numerous studies analyzing childrens literature
  find the majority of books dominated by male
  figures. For ex. Ernst (1995) did an analysis of
  titles of childrens books and found male names
  represented nearly twice as often as female
  names. She also fount that even books with female
  or gender-neutral names in their titles, in fact,
  frequently revolve around a male character.
• Many classics and popular stories where girls are
  portrayed usually reflect stereotypes of
  masculine and feminine roles.
• Childrens books frequently portray girls as
  acted upon rather than active (Fox, 1993). Girls
  are represented as sweet, naïve, conforming, and
  dependent, while boys are typically described as
  strong, adventurous independent and capable
  (Ernst, 1993 Jett-Simpson

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Reccomendation Look for books portraying
girls/women in a positive light with active,
dynamic roles. Look for books and stories that do
not portray either gender in a stereotypical
manner.

• Gender neutral books
• - individuals are portrayed with distinctive
  personalities irrespective of their gender
• Occupations are represented as gender-free
• Clothing is described in functional rather than
  gender-based terms
• Females are not always weaker and more delicate
  than men
• Individuals are logical or emotional depending
  upon the situation
• The language used in the text is gender-free

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How can parents/teachers use childrens
literature to promote gender equity?

• Collectively analyzing gender assumptions in the
  text
• Raising questions about main characters and their
  portrayal
• Asking children to reverse the gender of
  individuals, e.g. What if Sleeping Beauty was a
  boy? (Temple, 1993)
• Having children guess a writers gender on the
  basis of the story they have just heard
  (Lawrence, 1995)
• Asking children to use gender-neutral names in
  the stories they write and read this aloud to
  other students so that they can guess the
  protagonists gender (Lawrence, 1995)
• Have children adopt the opposite sexs point of
  view about a very gendered issue.

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• How does gender shape male and female roles in
  the community in the family?
• How has societys concept of traditional gender
  roles shaped relationships between men and women?
• How arts can change societys concept of
  traditional gender roles positive and negative
  examples?
• How can media affect social concepts about gender
  roles?
• How can advertising affect social concept about
  gender roles?
• What is the fathers role, compared to the
  mothers when raising children?