Upon reading the article “Daring to Be Different: A Look at Three Lesbian Artists” by Laurel Lampel, the author’s main purpose is to discuss that unlike other female historical artists during the mid-19th century there were three artists whom dress and lived as lesbians, changing the norm of gender roles, and presented themselves differently to society (Lampel, 2). In addition to those experiences, it created a major impact for the artists’ new perceptions towards art history and art education (Lampel, 2). Those three artists were Bonheur, Brooks, and Gluck. The key question the author is addressing is her argument stating that from a passage in Deuteronomy, both genders are not allowed to wear each other’s clothing and in the mid-19th century …show more content…
Starting out with Bonheur she was a 19th century artist who broke many taboos that involve wearing pants, living her life with two women, Nathalie Micas and Anna Klumpke, and let a woman own her possessions (Lampel, 4). Dressing like a man gave her the opportunity to work in slaughterhouses where she was able to go up close towards animals, and that is where she specialized in painting animals (Lampel, 4). She stated that she is a proud woman, following her father’s comment that “the woman’s mission is to improve the human race” (Klumpke, 1997, p. 206). And that certainly supports the author’s argument that women wear pants to exert strength and power that Bonheur dares to be different so she can show that she is able to live the life she wants to live and be happy for who she …show more content…
Both artists dressed as lesbians because it affected the way they shaped art and understood it in their future art education. Brooks was empowered by the lesbian identity and was able to paint lesbian portraits for those who attended Barney’s literary salons (Lampel, 6). As for Gluck, she had no interest in complying to society’s standard traditions for women. She was wealthy and always dressed exceptional like a well presented man. Her lesbian identity left E.A.Hoppe, photographer of The Royal Magazine, with an awe that she exerted an innovative sense of style that depicts her strength, determination, character, and success as an artist (Lampel, 7). She fell in love Nesta Oberner, who influenced her in a lot of her paintings. Gluck’s marriage with the woman left society with paintings that described her lesbian relationship and unconditional love they had together until she died (Lampel,
Working at her father’s clothing shop, she became very knowledgeable about expensive textiles and embellishments, which were captured in her works later in career. She was able to capture the beauty and lavishness of fabrics in portraits of aristocratic women.
It is often found that the stereotypical “butch” and “femme” pairing are more visible than other lesbian relationships. However, this does not mean that they do not exist. The ever-growing popularity of the lesbian social sphere has symbolized both difficulties and effects of identifying with such a label. The label or identity itself, though distinctly separating lesbians from “normal” heterosexuals begins to exhibit pre-existing conflict experienced by gay males: “there’s always been something wrong (Aldrich, 38).” This quote implies the conditioned and ingrained belief that homosexuality’s “taboo” existence was more than just wrong, but distasteful and something that society should look down upon for being an “abnormality.” Sometimes, this social reality for lesbians made it hard for them to “come out the closet” and be visible. This experience is exemplified as “The repressed lesbian has a harder time of it, for she is less aware of her abnormality (Aldrich, 41).” Additionally, to be able to clearly and accurately identify “the lesbian is to meet the many women she is at close range; to see her against her various backgrounds, hear her sundry voices, and familiarize yourself with the diverse facades of her several lives (Aldrich, 42).” Here, the presence of the “double life” is demonstrated to further analyze the lack of privileges that the lesbian community had, including the social aspect of their
According to the book entitled Ways of Seeing written by John Berger, the power of an image is extraordinary given that it can speak a thousand words. This has also been enhanced by the rapidly evolving technology that elicits more subconscious views about an image by anyone who sees them online or in real life. Some professional writers like Susan Bordo have emphasized that pictures of men often receive a wide range of negative tones or opinions due to the physiological effects that are fashionable to society or any other individual who approves or disapproves the beauty in a portrait of two men or women (Berger 38). This essay offers my opinion concerning the pictures of the Doloce and Gabbana, the gay Italian designers, as well as that of
Laura Jastrem’s essay “Romance and Gender Positions in Twelfth Night” focuses on the attraction that Olivia formed for another woman, Viola, who masquerades as Cesario throughout the play. The audience is aware of the fraud male persona that Viola has mislead the others to believe. Given that the play was written in 1601, there are diverse critical responses regarding the concept of love between two people of the same sex based on their time period. Jastrem’s critique was composed in 1999, when same sex marriage was still a notion that was not heavily accepted by the vast majority. Being 2016, with same sex marriage now legalized, it is clear that perspectives will differ concerning this view. Jastrem’s sexist critique focuses on the lesbian attraction between Olivia and Viola but fails to mention
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
The color of clothing that the women wear is an important element because it helps to show the women’s power and privileges. The color of clothing a woman wears reflects how much freedom she will have. Th...
Since people could not run around naked someone had to make the clothes or buy them and that was the women. “And the mother mends Harry’s stockings (Gorn 49).” Once again it states the “mother” as the one doing this chore. The women on the trail though it shows had little time to care about mending clothes, “The majority of the overland women wore what clothing they had and prayed that what they wore would not tear. They were too preoccupied with the necessities of the day to consider fashion at all (Schlissel 105).” I would be happy if I were these women because that just means one less chore that was their “duty” to perform.
From the moment a woman is born, she is automatically expected many things from her. Wear a dress, have no body hair, be with a man, don’t be too loud, etc. The list of “norms” that a woman is anticipated to uphold to goes on for days. And often times, women that decide to branch out from those “norms” are viewed as less valuable or obscene. In Robyn Ochs essay, “Bisexuality, Feminism, Men and Me”, she discusses the revolutionary moment when she realizes that living up to the assumptions of what it means to be a woman systemically limits us from our true potential. As presented in the movie “Frida”, a brilliant artist is often times overshadowed by her promiscuous relationships with women and men. A woman’s life does not dwindle down to the
Hoagland, S. L. (1988). Lesbian ethics :Toward new value (1st ed.). Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute of Lesbian Studies
There is a long history of gender roles in society. The expectations of gender roles continually shift; however, there is not a time when women and men share the same equalities simultaneously. The idea of how men and women should act is instilled in us at a young age. I think it starts really young with girls and boys being told what they can be and when they see what they are expected to be, they abandon parts of them which society deems as undesirable. We don’t acknowledge how much pressure we put on men and women to conform to the ideas of gender roles but it is apparent in our media and in the history of our art. One of the most influential things about figurative art is that it has the ability to capture society’s concepts of how men and women are expected to be during that time period. One thing for certain about gender equality is that it has historically and predominantly been a women’s movement. This sculpture, entitled Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, stood out to me in particular. It is is made of pentelic marble and dates back to the early 5th century. The sculpture shows a woman with a restless face, clothed in a mantle and head piece while holding a scroll. This sculpture reflects the women’s intelligence and capabilities being overshadowed by her gender and
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
To understand and add historical to the opinion the public felt towards homosexual women in the 1950s it is imperative to understand the popular view held by much of the public towards lesbians as early as the mid-nineteenth century. In 1843 William Bryant wrote an essay that was published in the Evening Post that described a portion of his trip to Ver...
The modern day understanding of lesbianism can best be described as nebulous. Although most know that a lesbian is a woman that loves other women, the public opinion surrounding lesbianism mainly consists of half-formed stereotypes and vague disapproval or begrudging acceptance. When considering the LGBT community, most people picture the gay male and neglect the rest of the acronym. There a multitude of reasons for this nebulous perception of the modern day lesbian, but in actuality, lesbian culture is a vast and solid connection between woman that history has often refused to acknowledge. Although lesbian culture is often forgotten or overlooked, it encapsulates the broad variety of actions and appearances reclaimed by thousands of women,
“For as long as men and women have been wearing clothing, there has been a hierarchy based on garments. The clearest example arose when the sexes were segregated into skirts and pants: women would only wear dresses (a symbol of submission) and men would only wear trousers (proof of domination). Women’s clothing was created to impede and hamper movement (through tight or many layered skirts), while men enjoyed the ease and comfort of pant legs.” (Meza, Echazarreta) Women’s fashion throughout the ages can be used to trace the history of equality between men and women. As women achieved greater independence, they claimed the right to choose what they wore, and that included women being able to wear pants. There are three things that were instrumental in making it socially acceptable for women to wear pants, they include: the invention of the bicycle, WWII, and influential women.
This quote addresses directly the primary difficulty of the issue. The terms gay and lesbian are useful in literature in that they allow a group of people who have been marginalised and even persecuted to become visible. They enable a way of life and a set of identities, harmonious or conflicting, to be presented, to be questioned, to be understood and accepted. As categories they create ‘space’ in which there may develop a more evolved understanding of texts and they also create a genre within which many lesbian and gay writers are comfortable with being placed. A gendered reading of a text can reveal undercurrents and depths which might otherwise not be apparent. These categories also make ‘space’ for the author within the text which leads to a closer tie between the author and the reader in the reading process.