Cop Seminar: Gender

During the CoP seminar about gender we discussed how much the image of women in animations has changed. We considered that it actually changed rather radically, for instance in the early disney movies like Snow White the female protagonist is portrayed as a damsel in distress, depandat on others, whereas in nowadays animation like Brave or Tangled the lead female is strong, confident and independent. We also discussed about the female role in the history of art and to be honest I could not think of any female artists. It is because women were not allowed to go to art school because it seemed in appropriate for them to attend life drawing session where a naked male body is displayed. Artemisia Gentileschi was the firs recognised female artist (1593 –1656). Her work was different because she did not idolise women's beauty, but rather portrayed the strong side of femininity.

Artemisia Gentileschi (self portrait)

We also discussed about how men portray women and we agreed that more often they idolise the appearance than the inner qualities of women. It also made me think that since men were dominating the art industry for a long time, they shaped the so desired stereotype of a woman's body, that is not always achievable for some women, therefore categorising them as unattractive. For instance there was Barbie doll craze where every girl wanted to be like Barbie, but the truth is that Barbie portrayed an unhealthy body image, because in reality, her thin neck would not hold her head.