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,
Due to his bare clothes/ dresses, he got banned from many cities (Cannes, Vatican City for example), but his belief was completely different from all of the people who were criticizing his designs. His sole purpose was to set the women of that era free, by giving them liberty from legal, social and political restrictions. He believed that he is freeing all the women from wearing the same old clothes that had covered them from head to toe and creating an independent, confident and self made woman from inside of them.
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
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
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...
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...
An in-depth discussion of same-sex female desire is essential to a well-rounded understanding of historical sexuality as well as for representation in historical study for queer-identifying students. Accounts of lesbianism exist throughout history, however, historians have only recently begun studying the evidence of these relationships due to social taboos and fewer available sources than exist as examples of male homosexuality. The field of study on lesbianism in medieval Europe is scant but nevertheless present. Primary sources include laws, court cases, and letters from the period which support the widely held social constructionist view that sapphic relationships existed despite the lack of a unified lesbian social identity; these, in
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
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
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,
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.
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.
Hoagland, S. L. (1988). Lesbian ethics :Toward new value (1st ed.). Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute of Lesbian Studies
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.
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