Response to Additional Reading on Gender in Animation

I have recently read a text called “Putting themselves in the picture”. It analyses women in the work of Joann Quinn, Candy Guard and Alison de Vere. Because of the technical nature of animation, there is an underlying sense of sexism which is not unlike the sexism that exists in the tech space. This is true even today, where it’s not uncommon to be one of a handful of girls within a studio setting. The lack of notable female animation professionals within history only reinforces this assumption that it is ‘boys club’ industry. As a result, the names of women who have moved the industry forward have faded. During one of our cop lectures it was mentioned that women were not allowed to go to art schools because it seemed inappropriate for them to draw naked men in life drawing, that is why there were so few female artists. However Walt Disney has said that ““If a woman can do the work as well, she is worth as much as a man. The girl artists have the right to expect the same chances for advancement as men, and I honestly believe they may eventually contribute something to this business that men never would or could.” Nowadays there are a lot more female names both in the art and animation realm. A good example would be Marjane Satrapi. I have discussed about her work in my essay, reguarding animation used for a social cause. She is a famous writer and artist and produced the critically acclaimed animated autobiography Persepolis. Nowadays women are more empowered and less settling with the stereotypical housekeeper life. As well as depicting the old stereotype in animation of a desired female figure. The standard of beauty has been always changing topic, however it is starting to change radically. The desired female figure is no longer the object of the animation world. It is more relatable for the female audience. Joann Quinns Girls Night Out (1987) does not show the protagonist female character as a unreachable beauty standard but rather an ordinary girl, doing ordinary things. But twist to the animation is her sense of humor. When the female protagonist is seduced by a male stripper, in a moment of weakness she pulls of the strippers g-string and not only does she waves it around laughing, but she looks the stripper straight into his eyes and shows no vulnerability. Another example was Candy Guards Wishful Thinking (1988). Guards style is directly similar to Quinns as it is more simple in order to focus the attention on the character and the animation focuses on the appearance issues the character encounter. Alison de Vere’s work is similar to both Quinns and Guards as it focuses on a particular female characters story. However the story and setting is contrasting from the other two.

In conclusions, I believe that female role both in the animation industry and animation itself has changed radically. There are a lot more successful female animators and more relatable animation characters.