Big Mouth

          Nothing is more threatening to our society than a powerful woman. The nature of a powerful woman is threatening enough to make society go to the greatest of lengths to try and strip her of her influence. Michelle Obama for example is one of the most influential woman of this era; however, the media has tried to strip her power away by simplifying her to her looks. "Monkey", "not classy", "disgraceful" were all adjectives that media outlets used— and continue to use— to describe Mrs. Obama. Society turned a blind eye to her countless charity events, philanthropic actions, and attempts to better the health of the country starting with our youth and made her physical appearance the focal point of their essays. Meghan Markle is unfortunately the star of media reduction as the media has never written a good article about her to date. The Duchess of Sussex has never done anything right according to the media and despite her efforts he has always been criticized. As a black women entering the life of nobility, her criticisms include but are not limited to her parenting, her facial structure, and even a wisp of hair out of place. So why is it that whenever a woman displays an ounce of power, society's primary instinct is to rip it from her? Whitney Chadwick's Women, Art, and Society and The Guerrilla Girls' Beside Companion to the History of Western Art both explore women artists and the effects that society has had on their influence and power over their civilizations.

          Beginning with the Middle Ages, women were considered to be theoretically inferior to men and were to be kept restricted in their male-run households. Chadwicks says, "The confusion of sovereignty with personal property contributed to the emergence of a number of powerful upper-class women at a time when most other women were restricted to the home and economically dependent on fathers, husbands, brothers, or sovereigns" (44). This indicates that sovereignty was considered a male role so with the wave of women coming into powerful and influential positions, society did not know how to handle it properly. Using artist Hildegard of Bingen as an example, she was an influential nun who was able to channel the word of God and transcribe it.  

Hildegard of Bingen, Scivais, 1152
The description of Hildegard receiving the word of God

In this painting, we can see that Hildegard has tried to depict herself receiving the spiritual word in the presence of monk. As we can see, as she receives the messages she is making them physical as she writes them onto a piece of parchment paper so she can later spread the Lord's word. This ability that Hildegard held is what made her so influential. Being a religious figure meant that you had power and Hildegard being able to transcribe the message directly from "heaven" meant that she was quite influential to society. Of course her power was threatening to the men of the church so as opposed to making her ability the main topic of discussion, they would only talk about how her inspirations came from man. This completely reduced her talents and intelligence to the work of men which made it impossible for her, or any woman, to receive their due credit. This is an idea that will serve as a baseline for the treatment of influential women that still resonates in society today. 
          From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, there was not a drastic change in treatment of women and the limits of their societal capabilities. The Renaissance consisted of injustices that men would ultimately benefit from, rape for example, was not considered a serious crime as men were able to take whatever they wanted without consequence. In fact, men were able to be absolved for a rape crime by marrying the woman they attacked. Artist Artemisia Gentileschi is an example of this instance happening as she was raped by her father's worker and was then forced to marry him to fix her reputation and absolve him of his crime. Although married, her father still took his daughter's attacker to court where he was then sent to jail for a year and continued to work for her father. The emotions from her attack are found in her art piece "Susanna and the Elders" which was an adaptation of Tintoretto's Susanna and the Elders 55 years prior. The invasiveness of the men upon Susanna in Artemisia's depiction of the story depicts the violation and invasion that she felt herself at the hands of her father's worker. 

Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610
Adapted from Tintoretto's "Susanna and the Elders" in 1555

          It was not until the 17th and 18th centuries that we begin to see a dynamic shift in the place and influence of women in society. Although women were still not granted the benefit of complete independence and individuality, they surely became more bold in the art pieces they produced and how they asserted themselves. Angelica Kauffman for example, started off creating domestic pieces to get her feet off the ground and sprung into the art world. Once she became established as a serious artist, she then turned over to historic pieces which were not as prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Guerrilla Girls write, "Her financial success freed her to do the history painting that she felt would put her in the major leagues. She had legendary charm and quickly became part of a social group that included the painters Benjamin West and Joshua Reynolds..." (43). This indicates that although being a woman artist, her work spoke for itself and her undeniable talent was impossible to ignore. This solidifies that fact that as time progressed women were not immediately accepted as exceptional artists but they became more present and resilient to rejection that it was nearly impossible to ignore their productions. 
          Overall, women over the decades have always held talent and power but were kept at bay by society. Women were expected to know their place and remain silent but women artist such as Hildegard of Bingen all the way to Angelica Kauffman have used their artistic talents to break free of the chains placed on them. Unfortunately, after centuries of oppressions women still fight for equality and acceptance but one day we will not be forced to shut our ""big mouths.

       

Works Cited
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. , 1990. Print.The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Print.