This document provides an overview of feminism and its significance. It discusses the three waves of feminism, including first wave suffrage movements, second wave focus on social and cultural equality, and third wave emphasis on gender as a social construct. Key feminist concepts are explained like patriarchy, biological determinism, and the personal is political. Visual examples show how feminist artists have challenged gender stereotypes and reclaimed representations of women. The document addresses ongoing debates around feminism and post-feminism, and argues that feminism remains important today given continued gender inequalities.

1. Feminism: not just for girlsFeminism: not just for girls

2. • In a survey undertaken by Cosmopolitan
magazine in 2006, 96% of readers stated
that women should receive the same pay
as a man doing the same job; the same
amount (96%) believed that women had a
right to a career as well as or instead of
motherhood. 85% believed that it was a
woman’s right to choose to have an
abortion and 93% believed that women’s
votes, voices and opinions counted as
much as any man’s.
• Yet only 25% would call themselves
‘Feminists’. Why is this?

3. Aims of the session:
• To define key terms and phrases;
• To provide a brief historical
overview of the waves of
Feminism;
• To discuss the significance of visual
and material representation that
could be considered both
gendered and stereotypical;
• To analyse Feminist creative
practice;
• To summarise and consider why
Feminism may or may not be
significant today.

4. Classification: 3 Waves of Feminism
1) suffrage;
This ‘wave’ of feminism dates from the enlightenment (eighteenth-century) and
stresses equality, rights, liberation and emancipation. This was the birth of the
Women’s Movement, but it wasn’t really until the late 19thC that it became a
political force, and not until after WWI were women given the vote. It was
however the first step towards some sense of equality.

5. 2) Second Wave Feminism is about equality – not just politically, but socially and
culturally too;
Equality relies on being equal to some standard, a standard usually associated
with masculinity and masculine ideals.
Second Wave feminism stresses the difference of women, and challenges the
centrality of masculine values – either values associated with masculinity
(reason, detachment, power) or values inherently masculine (autonomy,
aggression).
It addresses language and visual imagery and questions the role and position of
women in history.

6. 3) Third wave Feminism - Post Feminist – girl power.
Third wave feminism looks at how the difference between men and women is
constructed and performed. Sexual difference can also be deconstructed. The
supposed ‘opposition’ between masculine and feminine relies on some prior
assumed and repressed system of values, which can be questioned. It
addresses gender and sexuality as performance, and as a consequence sees
gender and sexuality as fluid or non static, rather than binary (men/women).
[Right: Sarah Lucas, Chicken Knickers, 2000]

7. What is Feminism? • A difficult term to define as Feminism
doesn’t really embody a unified set of
beliefs or values.
• However, it’s generally accepted that
Feminism is a form of politics that
intervenes in and questions the (unequal)
power relations between women & men.
• It supports and promotes issues relating to
inequality, legally and critiques
representation that is fundamental to a
Feminist agenda

8. Patriarchy
• Central to this is a notion of
patriarchy. Technically ‘rule
by the father or head of
household’ but now widely
used to signify systematic
male domination. Although
feminists argued about the
constituent elements of
patriarchy, they agreed that
the central element of
women’s oppression was a
patriarchal society. i.e.
• ‘theories of patriarchy are,
implicitly or explicitly,
theories which explain the
creation and maintenance
of men’s social, ideological,
sexual, political and
economic dominance’.

9. Biological Determinism
• Whatever their particular ideas and experiences, nobody
doubts that gender and sexuality provide two of the
most basic narratives through which our identities are
forged. This is thought to derive from the fundamental
differences between men and women; Biological
determinism.
• 19thC gender differences had been rationally proven
through scientific and anthropological research. Charles
Darwin author of the Origins of the Species, (1859), along
with other scientists from the fields of medicine,
psychology and sociology had concluded that the sexes
were not only physically different but were predisposed
to certain lifestyles. Men were seen as superior to
women, both in matters of strength and intellectually.
Women were seen as nurturing, intuitive and caring
which just by the sympathetic tone of this argument
makes them inferior.
• Distinctions between sex and gender are brought into
question, when one re-considers biological determinism.

10. George Elgar Hicks’s Woman’s Mission, 1862-3
[ Guide of Childhood (fig.1), Companion of Manhood (fig.2), and Comfort of Old
Age (fig.3) ]

12. • These are examples from
contemporary popular culture, but
seem to reaffirm the ways in which
binary opposites and stereotypical
views of what women’s social roles
are, and the ways in which these
beliefs infiltrate everyday life. The
extent to which these ideas of
femininity exist now are all the more
potent when they are subverted. This
is a remnant of the 19thC
Angel/Whore dichotomy.

13. [Marcus Harvey, Myra, 1995; Kate Moss, as Myra Hindley, by Russell Young]

14. Stereotyping
• Second wave feminism stresses the difference
between sex and gender: sex is our biological and
natural being; gender is the social and cultural
interpretation of that being. It aimed to assert
women’s sex and challenge rigid models of gender.
• Feminists have argued that the media reflects the
dominant values in society, the reflection hypothesis.
These are not how society is but how society would
like to see itself. By subverting or challenging ideals &
stereotypes that are seen to oppress women,
feminists were able to demonstrate that the
subordination of women was not natural, but
culturally constructed.
• It is fair to say that since the 1980s, Masculinity,
historically considered stable and unchanging, was
considered to be undergoing an identity crisis.
Feminism is concerned with stereotyping of all sexes
and genders. It is an equal rights movement that
questions the cultural construction of ‘types’.

15. Gender Stereotyping and Binary Opposites
Male Female
Hard Soft
Strong Weak
Rational/brain/science Irrational/emotion/religion
Competitive Nurturing
Work Home
City Countryside
Angular Organic

18. Clinique examples

19. SYMBOLIC ANIHILATION OF WOMEN
In relation to visual culture feminism challenges
what had been seen as ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ by
redressing the balance and reclaiming women’s
histories (her-stories), outlining and celebrating
the collective experiences of women (sisterhood),
addressing & questioning oppressive images and
representations of women, and transforming the
language and symbolism of patriarchy.

20. Communicating Feminism • By 1971 Linda Nochlin had written
the essay ‘Why have there been no
great women artists?’ In it she
looked not for the female
equivalents of Rembrandt or
Picasso but rather the reasons why
women could not attain a
comparable position in the art
world.
• She concluded that it was due to
the constrictions of society, that
denied women access to training
and publicity that prevented their
success.
[Lee Krasner, Night Light, 1948; Jackson Pollock, Image
no.23, 1949]

21. The Personal is Political
Feminist artists were keen to challenge the
systems of meaning apparent in ‘masculine’ fine
art, which at the time was locked into an
impersonal' formalism as exemplified by the
colour fields of Mark Rothko or the hard
sculptural edges of Donald Judd. Early feminist
artists excavated the stories of their own lives in
an attempt to develop a new feminist aesthetic
of the personal. In some cases this meant
creating images that reclaimed the body as both
personal territory and expressive medium. This
meant that the personal became political. This
meant that women were able to challenge the
taboos of the body, celebrate its rhythms and
pains – of fertility and childbirth; effectively,
therefore the passive and narcissistic female
representation was replaced with an active,
aggressive, controlled one. The body became
both subject and object – a vehicle for bringing
to the fore and challenging the imagery that had
restricted and controlled women previously.
Donald Judd, Untitled, 1968;
Mark Rothko, No.8, 1964

22. Women’s Work?
• Historically, the arts that women were
traditionally associated with e.g. weaving,
sewing, quilt making were seen more as
domestic chores than art forms of any worth.
As Sheila Rowbotham noted ‘Pots break and
textiles wear out’. Women artists redressed
this and aimed to ‘subvert’ craftwork and tell
their stories with media that had previously
been silent.
• This emphasis on the female experience was a
common trend amongst women artists of the
late sixties and seventies. The aim was to lend
credence to the work of what they saw as the
female labourer, otherwise hidden or
marginalised. This kind of work in all its
variances, created new forms of
representation, systems of meaning, and
addressed issues, perspectives and voices that
had hitherto been hidden or silenced.
Barbara Kruger, ‘It’s a Small
World’, 1990

23. [Tracey Emin, Pysco Slut, 1999; Lisa Anne Auerbach,
Oops! Toxic BS, 2014]

24. • The Art Historian, Lisa Tickner
categorises the themes of
feminist art as the following
four inter-related areas:
• Vaginal iconology;
• parody; the self as object;
• the male as motif;
• transformations and
processes.
Jenny Holtzer, Men Don’t Protect You Anymore,
1983; Tracey Emin, I've Got It All, 2000

25. Vaginal Iconography
[Heide Hatry “Betty Hirst,” 2005; Cathy de Monchaux, Liberating the Future, (detail) 2002; Judy Chicago, The
Dinner Party, 1979 (detail)]

26. Parody; the self as object
Hannah Wilke, ‘I Object’, 1977-8; Jessica Ledwich,
Monstrous Feminine, 2013

27. The male as motif
Ingres, Turkish Bath, 1862; Sarah Lucas, Tongue
and Groove, Always Goes Down Well 2000

28. Transformations and processes
• Sigalit Landau’s video ‘Barbed Hula’ 2000
http://www.sigalitlandau.com/page/video/Barbed%20Hula.php
• Regina Jose Galindo ‘Who Can Erase The Traces’, 2003[big-
anapa.ru/video/D46p71QdCTc/-Huellas.html]
Orlan, Blue implants on Bright
Yellow, 1993

29. • In addition to these themes, the personal was
also understood as an effect of interpersonal
relationships.
• Artists examined their experiences of fathers,
lovers and mothers and often revived women's
oral traditions to do so. The all too-common
experiences of abortion, rape, poverty or death
within the family also became the subject of
women's art.
[Ana Mendieta, Untitled, 1973; Lisa Anne
Auerbach, 2007]
See also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6RZZf6H
Mzo
Vaginal Knitting
http://mkcarroll.com/blog/2006/1/2/womb-
pattern-faq.html

30. Women and the Open body • The questionable belief that women are
closer to nature and therefore closer to
bodily processes and transformations
than men are central to products aimed at
women’s ‘lack’.
• For example, menstruation suggests
renewal, which leads us to believe that
women are never acceptable as they are –
they are constantly in a state of flux and
therefore in need of ‘mopping up’ after.
• ‘Natural’ women are considered
inherently disgusting; they need to be
deodorized, painted, preened to appear
even vaguely appealing. Products
promote these cultural fears and offer
women inauthentic ‘masks’, covers that
conceal womanliness.
• Masks suggest untruthfulness, thus
aligning women with the unnatural and
deceitful. One can never win.
• This is a major part of socialisation –
acting like a girl.
Tracey Emin, My Bed, 1998

31. The Personal is Political – part 2
[Jo Spence, Calling Card, 1986]
The ‘personal is political’ really refers to
expressing the experiences of what it is to be a
woman in a patriarchal society;
The commentary therefore comes from the
margins – voices that had not previously been
heard gained an audience;
In this respect, feminism historically and
culturally can be aligned to Gay Pride and the
Civil Rights Movement, which also sought to
redress the balance of power and move toward
equality.
In the UK, the Equal Pay, and Equal
Opportunities Acts were passed in 1976. Did
this mean that feminism no longer spoke from
the margins? Had the aims of Feminism been
met?

32. Post-Feminisms
By the mid-1980’s however, we see a move away
from this kind of representation and we also see
a move away from traditional notions of
feminism. The feminist as a concept, had herself
become a hollow stereotype, so much so that
when asked if you were a feminist, you felt an
urge to buy a new frock. This was the age of
post-feminism, of ‘superwomen’ .
Was this not a feminists dream? Virtual equality,
with women competing and winning in a male
world. However these images of women were
more masculine, often wearing trouser suits,
smoking cigars and adopting traditional male
roles. Sexuality, however was seen as, as it had
always been seen, as a tool for manipulation –
women’s sexuality was the cause of the male
downfall - a contradiction of traditional notions
of the good woman.

33. • Post feminism really is a feminist backlash. This is to
say that the aims of feminism have been met and
women can achieve anything they want to as long
as they make a significant effort. Also, notions of a
‘sisterhood’ failed as women’s experiences are not
homogeneous. (Feminisms Not Feminism)
• This change in focus emerges as part of a post-
modern cult of individualism. i.e. women’s
achievements are largely individual achievements,
rather than those of a group (neo-liberalism). This
faith in the individual is particularly important as
feminism aimed to change the institutions and the
balance of power within society, which is obviously
a collective aim. (inward, rather than outward
looking)
• Post feminism is a move away from the bra burning
stereotype of the feminist, and is associated with
the ability to look feminine and at the same time be
committed to feminist objectives. Often women
who regard themselves as post feminists will reject
the feminist label, because it seems a natural state
of being. (feminism no longer needs to fight from
the margins).

34. • Angela McRobbie’s work surrounding the teen
magazine, has illustrated the physical manifestation
this new ideology takes. Her conclusion is simple.
This new girl rejects earlier forms of feminism,
whilst remaining feminine, but rejects traditional
romantic narratives. This is to say, that this new
girl’s life is not dependant upon finding and living
happily ever after with a man. Certainly this is a big
money spinner and possibly has more to do with
spending power than with social power.
• The forms that these theories take are
straightforward. This new girl has no need for
romantic narratives, she doesn’t need a boyfriend
to form her identity. She has friends, equality in
relationships and the ability to exert power in the
marketplace. She no longer needs to lavish time
and money on her man, she can spend time and
money on herself through the world of consumer
goods. Of course, consumer goods have always had
a magical quality – buy the product and the magic
rubs off on you – you become part of that dream.
But what are these products? Are they really any
different and is the promise that they offer that of
power?

35. Sadko Hadzihasanovic, Dream Date,
2010; Grayson Perry, Golden Ghosts,
2000; Darrel Morris, More Like your
Brother]

36. No More Page 3?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNlKjUfmaUA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFA9MgsUBAM

37. Why do we need Feminism now?
• Although we live in a supposedly post feminist generation it
seems the art world has a long way to go to equality, especially
in the UK. Women artists represent only 12% of the entire Tate
Modern collection. Moreover, the last all women artist group
exhibition to be held in a major UK public space was in 1993
(Bad Girls at the ICA). Two recent major public exhibitions in the
U.S. were devoted exclusively to reviewing women art practice;
WACK at M.O.C.A and Global Feminisms at Brooklyn Museum.
• FGM -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9fzser6RY&list=PLksTBk
YUfn0y6t2YB2oDBhRcU3SKs4H7z
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9fzser6RY&list=PLksTBk
YUfn0y6t2YB2oDBhRcU3SKs4H7z
• Slut Project -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH0MSZyttPM
• Good statistical overview:
http://www.slideshare.net/moonzajer/feminism-15560282

38. 30th January 2015:
• The obituary for The Thorn Birds author read:
• ‘Colleen McCullough, Australia’s best-selling
author, was a charmer. Plain of feature, and
certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless, a
woman of wit and warmth.
• ‘In one interview, she said: “I’ve never been into
clothes or figure and the interesting thing is I never
had any trouble attracting men.”’
• Colleen McCullough wrote 25 novels. Her The
Thorn Birds sold 30 million copies worldwide for
$1.9 million, then a record; a mini-series starring
Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck based
on her work became one of the most watched in
history, second at the time only to Roots. Her final
book was published in 2003

39. • The New York Times obituary of Yvonne Brill, a
rocket scientist who died in 2013 read:
• ‘She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her
husband from job to job and took eight years off
from work to raise three children. “The world’s best
mom,” her son Matthew said’.
• Brill was one of the only, if not the only, women
working in rocket science in the 1940s, and she went
on to invent the electro-thermal hydrazine thruster,
a rocket propulsion system that keeps
communication satellites from falling out of orbit. In
2011, she earned the National Medal of Technology
and Innovation.
• Also: 12th February 2015 – the UK Labour Party,
wanting to encourage women to vote, launch a pink
campaign bus..... 

40. Summary
• Feminism aims to redress unequal sex and gender
relations, politically, economically, socially and
culturally;
• Feminism is divided by 3 waves;
• The ‘personal is political’ offers a means of
expressing experiences, emotions that paves the
way to a de-politicised cult of neo-liberalism;
• Post-feminism re-establishes traditional gender
roles by rejecting the ‘messy’ parts of feminism and
by utilising post-modern irony or a notion of
‘having it all’. Post feminism sees gender as a fluid
entity, and thus treats everyone supposedly
equally. Power, it seems, comes through the
consumption of goods aimed at all sexes and
genders and this can be understood as
‘empowering’. Whether this is social power is
debatable, but it’s certainly good for business ...

41. Further Reading (selected):
• Andrews, M [ed] (2014) Women and the Media, Routledge
• Betterton, R (1987) Looking On, Blackwell
• Betterton, R (2013) An Intimate Distance, Routledge
• Boyle, K, (2010) Everyday Pornography, Routledge
• Cooke Dicker, R et al (2003) Catching a Wave, UPNE
• Gill, R (2007) Gender and the Media, Blackwell
• Hollows, J (2000) Feminism, Femininity and Popular Culture, Manchester University
Press
• Kirkham, P [ed] (1996) The Gendered Object, Manchester University Press
• Parker, R (2012 [reprint]) The Subversive Stitch, I B Tauris
• Schor, M (1997) Wet: On Painting, Feminism and Art Culture, Duke University Press
• Sparke, P (2010) As Long as it’s Pink, Blackwell
• Thornham, S (2007) Women, Feminism and the Media, Edinburgh University Press
• http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/02/feminism-has-been-hijacked-white-
middle-class-women
• http://www.newstatesman.com/v-spot/2013/05/five-main-issues-facing-modern-
feminism
• http://nymag.com/news/features/retro-wife-2013-3/