...During the 15th-19th centuries, art was considered to be a subject of superiority and was generally created by men. Because of this, stereotypes and social norms in regards to women were inferred and asserted. The art created during this period was affected by a phenomenon known as the ‘male gaze’, which is paramount in constructing ideal portrayals of women. With reference to the male gaze, women are depicted through these paintings as entirely existing to be viewed by men. On the topic of the male gaze, John Berger (cited in Ways of Seeing, p. 64) states that ’the "ideal" spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him’. Not only was art in this time primarily created by men, it was also created...
Words: 860 - Pages: 4
...created a quintessential image for the way they desired women to look. The media influences women of the current idealistic body image they should maintain. The ideal body type varies as time goes on and is defined by the historic events that are occurring during that specific time period; we see these body statuses to become more elaborate and noticeable in the 1800s to the 1900s and they change every couple of decades post the 1900s. Women’s body expectations, for the most part, originate from a well-known...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...painting The American People Series #18, The Flag is Bleeding. The painting expressed that the United States was “bleeding” on account of an internal wound caused by division and inequality. However, the painting is not one of despair, but one of hope and empowerment. The Flag is Bleeding not only emphasizes disparities between sexes, but also between races and even social classes. The work of Ringgold and other artists and activists of the time helped to perpetuate civil rights movements of all types, aiding in the United States’ ultimate decisions to implement major changes in federal and state legislation, and thus saving this bleeding country. Nowadays, the fight for women’s rights can be seen through the work of Holly Wagner, a key figure in modern-day women’s theology. Wagner has worked and contributed significantly to feminist theology, which challenges traditional interpretations of the Bible, giving much needed agency and importance to...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...The Awakening by Kate Chopin depicts the “mother woman” archetype juxtaposing Edna Pontellier’s desire to become independent and free of the limits of women in society in the 1900s. This juxtaposition of conformity and independence causes tension and drives the main conflict of the novel. Edna vacillates between consenting to the ideals of society and struggling to become independent and freethinking. Edna’s wavering perception of womanhood affects her relationships with other characters, who act as catalysts for Edna’s growth as a woman. She fosters friendships with Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, whose stark differences in personality and lifestyles cause a crisis of confidence for Edna, as she cannot truly escape from the confines of being a woman in an...
Words: 1436 - Pages: 6
...Before the 20th century, women were mostly controlled by men. Men chose the women’s role for them. Most women suffered from this, but a majority of it came from the lower and middle classes. Men controlled women and made them feel like they were trapped, or in prison. In present time this would be an issue, but in the 19th century and before, this was so common that it was seen as normal. Women were to be home serving their families. The men made them into servants. Women were led to believe that their duty in this world was to serve their man. Many women were unable to breakaway from this lifestyle because of the strong religious beliefs they had. If they had any desires to leave or not do as they were told, they would think they were sinning and letting down God. When the “Yellow Wallpaper” first came out, many were surprised and thought that such a story shouldn’t have been shared. It was described as insane and crazy and wasn’t an accurate description of society. Some Men refused to allow their wives to read it, thinking that it could lead them to start believing in other things. People were shocked by the story but quickly played it off as a fictional story. Some women who read it started envisioning a different life. "The ideal woman was not only assigned a social role that locked her into her home, but she was also expected to like it, to be cheerful and gay, smiling and good humored" (Lane, To Herland 109). At the turn of the century, women were under the control of...
Words: 1043 - Pages: 5
...Sardonyx cameo portrait of the Emperor Augustus, A.B. 41-54, Sardonyx, metropolitan museum The portrait depicts the Emperor Augustus as a triumphant demigod. He is wearing a aegis which is a cape associated with Jupiter and Minerva. It was decorated with the head of a wind god. Which could be a representation of summer winds, which brought the corn fleet from Egypt to Rome. Which could also be a reference to Augustus’s conquest of Egypt after the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 B.C. Julius Caesar passed the royal line to Augustus but he had a first son with Cleopatra. Cleopatra after a while married Mark Antony and had kids with him. Which could also be a reason as to why Augustus decided to take over Egypt....
Words: 264 - Pages: 2
...Gender Roles: Still affecting us Today Even though gender roles have significantly changed and improved throughout history, women still face discrimination today. Gender roles are mainly focused in the aspects of femininity and masculinity. Women are required, since an early age, to view and portrait themselves as objects to be admired; while men are expected to possess physical strength and make a life for themselves. During the process of growing up, the world opens to males, and closes for females. According to said Kristin Mari, associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health "Adolescent health risks are shaped by behaviors rooted in gender roles that can be well-established in kids by the time they are 10 or...
Words: 581 - Pages: 3
...The Knickerbocker group’s members were influential early American literature writers, they popularized writing about America and wrote stories that took place in it’s landscapes. These acts of nationalism were significant because it gave Americans a sense of pride in their country and individualism in their identity apart from Europe. Additionally, the Hudson River School consisted of a band of artists, most of them living in New York, who created artwork of landscapes in the Hudson River Valley and surrounding areas. They didn’t only paint landscapes, they also attempted to capture American ideals of romanticism and often had themes of exploration and settlement. Furthermore, the paintings of romanticism illustrated the artists nationalism by showing their ignorance to America’s problems and painting a “perfect world” or kind of utopia. The outbreak in popularity of transcendentalism at the time showed the efforts of the country to try and improve society. By highlighting the importance of the common man, transcendentalism rapidly gained traction because it’s exactly what the people wanted; those who supported the philosophy demonstrated nationalism by being concerned with the quality of...
Words: 926 - Pages: 4
...and social” maturation or liberation of the self. However, while some of the symbols in which Edna’s “awakening”, overall progression, and personality may seem to exemplify and commendatory of classic feministic ideals and qualities—of freedom, independence, and equality, —a great many of them portray Edna and her egocentric doings as little more than selfish delusions causing her to lose a valuable, if conventional, life. Ultimately, the perverse behavior and deviant disposition exhibited by Edna—especially considering the standards of the time period she lived in—belie the very femininity attributed to her and, in my opinion, is the very antithesis of feminism. The term ‘feminism’ has many different uses and its meanings are often contested and changed throughout history. In the mid-to-late 1800’s, the time period in which the novel is set, feminism was used to refer to the “qualities of a woman”. Thus, with this definition and the context of the novel in mind, the analysis of Edna’s “qualities of a woman” becomes easier. Conventional women in this time period were expected to present themselves in the most proper manner, especially in the way that they dressed. Their clothing was an indication of modesty, decorum and indicated purity and wholesomeness, as proper women were often “clad always in white with elbow sleeves… with starched skirts.” Mothers in that time period had even greater expectations set by...
Words: 1345 - Pages: 6
...with unemployment or a reduction in wages. This meant that a nuclear family could not depend entirely on a husband pay check, as they have done is the past. This lead to a large number of women joining or trying to join the workforce. Unfortunately for women during this time, many people viewed married...
Words: 911 - Pages: 4
...Exam #2 1. Bettina von Arnim was a prominent female figure in Germany during the Romanticism Era. Von Arnim was best known for her writings that had a connection to social issues in society, involving women and oppression. Von Arnim was friends with Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for a period of time. Von Arnim, who was known for many novels and essays, wrote on topics involving social and political reform, which appealed to many groups of oppressed people, such as women and Jews. Although she had a husband and seven children, Bettina von Arnim was vocal in rejecting the exclusivity of traditional gender roles in 19th century Germany, through her literary works. Von Arnim’s most famous work is called Goethe’s Correspondence with a Child, a fiction based on her relationship with Goethe. The story depicts her as a child, who sits on Goethe’s character’s lap, and how her gender affects the relationship they had. One of her other works, Gritta, was an alternative view of the typical “male saves female archetype”. In the novel, the female plays the role of the hero. In her later life, after her husband died, she began to publish more and more works, including some by her husband. Her husband’s death was a significant event in von Arnim’s life. When von Arnim became a widow, she published a large amount of works such as autobiographies and fiction based on social equality and gender equality. Von Arnim was a benefactor of the ideas of...
Words: 2037 - Pages: 9
...The media and womens body image Its been argued that the western culture is a culture so consumed by image that those with fame give praise for being thin and disapproval for being fat, birthing a generation of women and girls that are often extremely self conscious about their appearance and body image. Media images of the unattainable thin body can be found almost anywhere. There has been continual interest in women’s body image throughout the years. Is there truth in the fact that women’s self-esteem and eating patterns are affected by what a woman sees in the media? Have this been researched enough to show the link between poor body image and the media’s portrayal of women and could this research allow for successful interventions to be evaluated and implemented. Could and intervention lead to fewer cases of anorexia and bulimia and could this lead to increased self-esteem and a more positive body image amongst women? The question many people want to know is if this is the case, where did these stereotypes come from exactly? Is it from the movie, television industry, fashion and beauty magazinesor is it from social and cultural influences , or maybe its just something we learn naturally. Does it really affect women and adolescent females selfworth, or does it go beyond that, leading to serious medical conditions? This paper explores the different factors that influences women body image and if the media is soley responsible for how adolescents and women view their body...
Words: 2149 - Pages: 9
...topic/issue. One of them were that transcendentalists said how “power is to be obtained by defying fate or predestination”, or simply choosing your fate. I always thought that either a god/or some religious figure would choose our fate, which is what the Puritans thought too as they were always working hard to predestinate to heaven. What I got out of all of this, was that transcendentalists are “often not religious, but spiritual.” Another tenet I thought was interesting, was that “transcendentalism is a very optimistic philosophy in that it assumes that all people and things want to exist in their ideal state.” So I thought this kind of related to a friend I know, who always...
Words: 653 - Pages: 3
...Women’s Voice in Literature In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women’s roles evolved from mere housewives to passionate activists who were fighting for rights to their share of the American dream. The main goal of the women participating in the fight was the right vote. In an effort to rally more to their cause, women used not only organized protests but employed literature to speak out. Written during this time period, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Trifles” are works that portray women as passive timid beings that should listen to their counterparts. These two pieces were composed to expose the outrageous manner in which women were regarded. On the other hand, “Canceled” is a contemporary piece which depicts the female character as a strong independent individual with her own ideas. Today, women have fought and prevailed to secure rights that rival those of men. Although women have not achieved fully equal rights as men, “Canceled” illustrates the modern social acceptance of a woman dominated relationship. All three pieces are portrayals of women’s identities and social expectations of the time period in which they were written and each reveals how women today have progressed to establish a more equal role between men and women over the last century. In all three pieces, regardless of the time period, the female characters are presented as being trapped in their relationship. The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is forced to comply with her husband’s wishes to how...
Words: 2562 - Pages: 11
...It is a representation of cultural constructions whose signifier is the body. Claims have been made that the class is coming to an end25 while others maintain that each dancer waits in anticipation for their own examination26. If viewing the painting at eye-level, either may be true. The cropped field of vision places the viewer in close proximity to the class. He is confronted with an unsettling cacophony of poses and gestures and scattered figures across the slanted floor. The Ballerina is awkward; she itches her back and adjusts her dress. The Ballerina is tired; she works and she sweats and she rubs her eyes. The Ballerina is graceful; her toes remain pointed as she sits and her shoulders remain upright as she stands. She commands attention, yet she has no face. She is both mystical and human, lovely and invisible. The scene both “supports and subverts” typological representations of the ballerina and her life; these inconsistencies create a social and psychological tension that leaves a sense of malaise. What occurs over time is the slow dissolution of “traditional categories of judgment27” and by necessity, a hybrid system of classifications and...
Words: 1877 - Pages: 8
