Combating the Male Gaze: Representations of Women in Art

The art world has  a unique ability to permeate various views and spark conversations within its audiences.  These conversations often involve women as the subjects of artwork, but are most frequently seen from a male artist’s perspective.  Because women are often excluded from the narrative of art history, the male gaze is predominant in the most recognizable pieces of art, with women subjugated to objects within the art rather than creators. Feminist artists attempt to combat the supremacy of the male gaze through their representation of women in art. Women are commonly portrayed in a very stereotypical fashion—compliant to gender and societal norms: white, fragile, heterosexual, cis-gendered, slender, very ‘feminine’; hyper-sexualized; or angry and man-hating, to name a few—without any consideration given to portraying women realistically, with a wide range of sizes, talents, interests, and emotions. The lack of realistic visibility given to women—both as subjects and artists—causes a stereotypical, one-dimensional view of women. These conservative, misinformed views perpetuate misogynistic perspectives and reinforce constructed gender roles due to a deficiency of representational art that challenge these views. The lack of visibility given to women’s lives and issues creates misperceptions about the intentions of the feminist movement and the ongoing necessity to continue on with pushing for women’s rights. I will explore how representational art can combat the misperceptions of women and feminism by presenting the widely neglected struggles within women’s lives that keep the feminist movement all too necessary.  Through examination of feminist artists combating the male gaze I will create my own feminist art to add to the conversation about more representation of women within the art world.