Gender Roles, Subject and Power
Throughout history and into the present, there were expected roles for individuals based on their gender. No matter where or what time period you are in, the women tend to be treated in an inferior manner and get inferior roles. These roles include how to act, the kind of jobs they were expected to get, intelligence value, etc. The leaders of these societies, men, do what they can to try and put women in a place that puts themselves on top whether it is in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Victorian England. The Middle Ages is a period of European history that ranges from when the Roman Empire was no more, 5th century, until the time of the collapse of Constantinople, 1453. In the Middle Ages, there was a high belief in the Christian faith, and this contributed to the belief of women being prisoners to men. The Renaissance is the development of art and literature during the 14th-16th centuries which began in Italy, but most of its development was not contributed by those of the female gender. The Victorian Era is the rule of Queen Victoria of England from 1837-1901, and women during this time period had predetermined gender roles which leads to intense labor. All of these factors from these three time periods affects females from being recognized as artists. However, it does not always work out that way. Whitney Chadwick and the Guerilla Girls get the chance to expose to their readers how the expectations of female artists throughout history has changed in their pieces, Women Art and Society and Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. The belief of the Christian faith in the Middle Ages forced women to either be nuns or be married, but this changed during the Renaissance and The 19th century by admitting them into institutions and letting them be as educated as men.
Only men could work for payment during the Middle Ages while most women worked at home. The women who worked at home could only get money from a male authority figure which includes brothers, fathers, or husbands. If they choose not to get their money this way, their alternative was being a listener. This did not play very well for them social wise, and Chadwick goes into this by stating, “Within the convent women had access to learning even though they were prohibited from teaching by St. Paul’s caution that “a woman must be a learner, listening quietly and with due submission. I do not permit a woman to be a teacher, nor must a woman domineer over a man; she should be quiet,”’ (Chadwick 45). Their only other option to being prisoners of men is to listen to them. While women learn from men, men can not learn from women. Members of the female gender teaching members of the men gender is a way of them domineering, and the root of this belief comes St. Paul They should do nothing, say nothing, nor commit any action that puts them over men. Regardless of this belief, women still managed to have a voice. Their voice comes from them forming a society of nuns. A nun is a woman who is part of a society with other women dedicated to the ways of the lord. Becoming a nun is easy for a woman due to their being a dowry for women to be married. Most of the time, becoming a nun was about saving money. Female artists at that time were very disgusted by how inferior their gender was treated, and one in particular, Christine de Pizan, stands out. Guerilla Girls shows how Pizan expresses her disgust by stating, “Christine crafted her arguments against the sexist scholars of her day into The City of Ladies (1405). A long allegory describing an entire city populated by the bravest, strongest, most virtuous women from history,” (Guerilla Girls 26). In her work, she expresses about a patriarchal society, but instead of men, it would be in control of women. Pizan believes everything men can do, women can do better.
Christing de Pizan, The City of Ladies, 1405
Women ruling society instead of men.
From this, the position of females in society start to improve during the Renaissance, but it was not like this early on. Given the patriarchal system during the Middle Ages, the beginning of the Renaissance was affected by this. Men continued to benefit more than women even as artists. Guerilla Girls express how by stating, “During the Renaissance in Italy, artists usually came from the social class of artisans, without wealth or property… This whole system was, of course, closed to women. In most cities, women were barred from painter’s guilds or academics (except for the lace and silkmakers’ guilds), (Guerilla Girls 29). The lives of those in the Renaissance is based on the lives of men. Two seperate sexist systems on how people can become artists, and one of them can open up many opportunities for talented females. However, at first the contributions of women did not matter. Eventually certain women started showing their talent. Chadwick goes into one of them by stating, “Sofonisba Anguissola’s example opened up the possibility of painting to women as a socially acceptable profession, while her work established new conventions for self-portraiture by women and for italian genre painting,” (Chadwick 77). Sofonisba Anguissola at first was low on social class, and regardless of her skills, her status was low at first. Her father corresponded with Michael Angelo for art guidance. This eventually lead her to draw the Queen of Austria in a weird manner. She does self portraits to lend value to her career. Being known opened the eyes of those who did not believe women did not have skills.
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| Sofonisba's Anguissola's painting of the Queen of Austria, 1573. |
The Victorian Era was during the nineteenth century, and there were reform movements at the time for social and economic changes in favor of feminism. The opportunities were limited for them at first. They included jobs, schools, being heard, etc. Most of the work they did was mostly from home, and it is known that while there, females entertained men. Chadwick exposes this further by stating, “It has been argued that the stability of the Victorian household rested in part on the existence of prostituted; domesticated middle--class femininity was secured through constant contrast with the perils of unregulated female sexuality,” (Chadwick 188). While having limited roles in society, females are forced to adhere to the needs of men in a sexual manner. These inappropriate acts contribute to the flaws of the female gender. One artist in particular shows in her works how women suffer by being treated this way. Guerilla Girls states, “Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) loved women and animals,” (Guerilla Girls 47). An example of this is Bonheurs work, “The Horse Fair.” In Bonheurs painting, she mostly puts animals. The animals are most likely representing women. This goes into effect how women do the work and men are just riding them. Exposing this to the world can contribute to women no longer being treated in this manner.
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| Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1852 Bonheur's example of how men treat women. |
Works Cited
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016. Pgs. 45-188
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006. Pgs. 26-47
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