Essay: Art, Activism & Society
Gender Equality: Focusing on two historical and/or contemporary examples of any form of artistic/cultural practice, examine how the issue has been addressed and the status quo challenged.
Introduction
In order to discuss the issue of ‘gender equality’, it must first be established what is meant by this term. Berger explains how ‘To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men.’ (1972:46), and so I understand ‘equality’ to reflect the abolishment of this discrimination and patriarchy; where men and women have equal rights, responsibilities, opportunities and value in society. ‘Feminism was not a term used in England before 1895, but long before the end of the nineteenth century there were distinct and identifiable discourses concerned with the ‘rights of women’’. (Cherry, 2000:3), and since then, individuals and groups have publically fought for women’s rights, utilizing a wide range of methods including poster campaigns, protest marches and demonstrations, and above all, art.
Klebesadel states that ‘Feminist activist art is hard to define but easy to recognise’, (2003); and in this essay, I will explore the ways in which we easily identify them, and discuss how the issue of gender inequality has been addressed in order to make public statements and challenge the social and political order at the time. In doing this, I will use two examples – the first being Yoko Ono’s famous Cut Piece performance from the 1960’s; and the second being the ongoing #FreeTheNipple social media campaign – and compare the effectiveness of both practices in terms of how wide an audience they received and the impact they had.
Cut Piece by Yoko Ono
In 1964, Japanese artist, musician and activist Yoko Ono first performed Cut Piece, a revolutionary piece which saw her take to the floor in front of a mixed-gender audience and invite them to step up one at a time and cut away her clothing with a pair of scissors. Gender issues are directly addressed through this daring piece of art and is commonly discussed ‘in terms of feminist discourses on the female body and the male gaze’ (Rhee, 2005:96). Ono assumes the identity of an object, rather than the subject in an attempt to represent a woman’s place in society as lower than that of a man’s. Through drawing attention to this inequality, Ono might have wanted to evoke guilt or responsibility from the male members of the audience, although if this was her intention it was not achieved, as it seemed as though the men taking part only became increasingly aggressive and sexually charged as the piece went on.
Fig. 1
The fact that the performance demanded and relied on audience participation is very important to the effect Cut Piece had overall. Participation is a key feature in public protest and activism in general as it encourages and thought and forces an active and immediate response to the practice. At first, participators were hesitant to slice away her clothing, however by the end of the performance they moved more boldly, a reflection of how initially she was seen as a woman or a victim, but throughout the objectification of her and her body, Ono was de-humanized.
When speaking about Lely’s famous nude Nell Gwynne from the 1800’s, Berger states that the woman’s nakedness is ‘not an expression of her own feelings; it is a sign of her submission to the owner’s feelings or demands’ (1972:52). Perhaps this is what the artist’s intentions are. In allowing the audience to remove her clothes; she is passing over all control of her own body in a display of passive objectification of the female body.
Still image from Cut Piece, 1965 (Source: image from http://inhalemag.com/12th-biennale-de-lyon-france/)
There is also a clear adherence to Mulvey’s ideas about the male and female gaze in art (1989) – the observation that women are objectified through sexist film and cinema as male pleasure is gained through looking at passive female subjects – in Ono’s carefully controlled reaction. Her expression throughout the performance remained neutral, and she refuses to make eye contact with any of the participators, as can be seen in Fig. 1.
Ono performed the piece a further 4 times over the following two years in different locations times around the world, including New York, London and Paris; the reception of the piece varying depending on what country it was performed in. For example, it was considerably more shocking and challenging to the status quo in Kyoto and Tokyo due to the lower social standing of women in Japan, in comparison to slightly more progressive British culture. The international spread of Ono’s practice meant the message was heard across the world at the time; and since 1964, Cut Piece has also inspired many copy-cat performances. Even to this day artists choose to re-enact the ritualistic cutting away of clothing by an audience to continue to expose the ongoing issue of gender inequality.
#FreeTheNipple Campaign
The digital revolution saw the invention of the internet, mobile camera phones, instant image-sharing and social media sites, and with it opened up a whole new world of activism in the ‘Information Age’.
One of the most famous online feminist campaigns from the last few years is the #FreeTheNipple movement, originating from the 2014 film of the same name. Their main aim, as quoted from the manifesto on their website, is ‘to empower women across the world’ and to ‘stand against female oppression and censorship’. They tackle the issue of inequality between genders by drawing attention to the fact that a woman's breast should be no more offensive than that of a man's, and exposure should therefore not be considered indecent or illegal. The difference between a male and female nipple anatomically is non-existent, and the argument that women’s are ‘sexual organs’ only further emphasizes the problem of objectification as the evolutionary purpose of a breast is simply to feed a child, and they have only been sexualized by men, the media and porn culture.
Fig. 2
One of the most shared images originating from the campaign (Fig. 2) visually represents this. The movement relies heavily on social media as a platform for their protest, through the use of the hashtag which allows quick and easy identification through searches and grouping of related posts on applications such as Twitter and Instagram. As Chittal states, ‘A new wave of feminism is here, and its most powerful weapon is the hashtag’ (2015). Other examples of hashtag slogans used as methods of promotion and recognition include #BringBackOurGirls, #HeForShe, #RedMyLips and #RapeCultureIsWhen.
The difference between male and female nipples, unknown photographer, 2014 (Source: image from https://www.instagram.com/caradelevingne/?hl=en)
With social media popularity also comes celebrity obsession, which again aids these types of protests. Many celebrities have backed #FreeTheNipple in recent years by posting photographs of themselves and others with visible or bare nipples and using the signature tag. This challenges the status quo by directly defying online guidelines, and has resulted in the removal of some of these posts due to ‘graphic content’. This celebrity involvement – two examples being controversial US actress and singer, Miley Cyrus and British model Cara Delevingne (Fig. 2) – hugely heightens recognition and exposure, therefore making the social impact greater as the message reaches a much wider audience.
The group doesn’t confine their existence solely to the online world, however; demonstrations of physical activism have also taken place over the last few years in aid of the cause, for example naked bike-rides (Fig. 4) and topless marches through city-centers. While Ono embodies Berger’s succinctly put theory that ‘men act and women appear’ (1972:47) in Cut Piece, the #FreeTheNipple movement defies this completely, refusing to sit back passively in an unjust society, choosing to take off their tops and take to the streets instead. In doing this, they adopt the ‘shock factor’ that Alix speaks of in his controversial essay in Reflect #08, which, he states, ‘encourages people to react and think’ (2011:110). Similarly to Cut Piece however, #FreeTheNipple also requires participation from the general public in order to be successful as they call upon any willing females to join them in their topless events. The more people in attendance, the bigger statement they make, and the more media coverage is received.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 shows a sample of #FreeTheNipple protesters, identifying another important quality: their anonymity. As their feminist activist predecessors, the Guerrilla Girls, did, they have their faces covered in order to protect their identities. It also highlights their intention to target equality not just between men and women, but women and women too; they represent females as a whole and on an international, multi-racial scale, rather than individuals. The masks could also be interpreted as a ‘fear tactic’, an attempt to intimidate, and to be noticed as a threat, as women have been made to feel inferior and weak for so long.
Topless protesters, New York City (Source: promotional image from Free The Nipple, 2014)
Fig.4
It is important when discussing female empowerment to consider explicit feminist theory also; for example Audre Lorde’s writing on the power of the erotic (1978). Here, Lorde identifies women as objects of male desire, although not in a way that leaves them, as Ono is during her performance, passive and fragile, but rather as the dangerous sex due to the power they hold over men because of this. Frueh’s research into women ‘reclaiming their bodies’ (1994) in the late 20th century also touches on this idea, and definitely can be applied to actions and intentions of #FreeTheNipple.
Photograph from naked bike ride, London, 2015 (Source: image from https://www.instagram.com/freethenipple/)
Art vs. Activism
The public removal of the #FreeTheNipple protesters’ shirts could be viewed as a modern-day version of Ono’s performance, although rather than sitting passively whilst allowing others to undress them, these women are empowering themselves and voluntarily putting their nakedness on display. They also arguably reach a much larger and wider audience, perhaps due to the fact that technology makes it possible to project their protests instantly and globally. Furthermore, they are not confined to the art world as Ono was, being both an activist and fine artist.
Nevertheless, identifying a demonstration or performance as ‘art’ does have its advantages. Controversial or transgressive ideas are much better received within the art world, allowing artists to push boundaries further than members of the general public. For example, nakedness is allowed in film, and has existed for hundreds of years on the walls of galleries in the form of the ‘nude’; but is still illegal in 37 US states.
Overall, there is evidently much crossover between art and activist practices, as can be seen in the exploration into these two examples; as ‘Feminist activist art methods frequently draw on expertise from outside the art world to engage the participation of the audience or community and distribute a message to the public.’ (Klebesadel, 2003), and purely activist groups still must consider aspects of art and design when recording promotional film or creating propaganda posters.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the issue of gender equality has been addressed by these two examples of artistic and activist practice through the sexualisation of the female body and identification of ‘‘woman’…[as] the ‘object’, rather than the ‘subject’ and thus mute, unrepresentable and unknowable’ (Meskimmon, 2003:71)
Overall, this exploration has identified that as the main aim of activism is to spread a message and evoke reaction; performance art and active demonstration exist as the most effective ways of staging protest as they are unavoidable and demand response. It is also clear that we are in an age where ‘The ‘activist’ is fashionable again’ (Robles-Durán, 2012:185), and with gender equality, or lack thereof, remaining such a prevalent concern for today’s society, it is expected that artists and activists will continue to use practice, performative or otherwise, to challenge the ‘status quo’ and fight for change.
Bibliography
Books
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of seeing. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
Cherry, D. (2000) Beyond the frame: feminism and visual culture, Britain 1850-1900. London: Routledge.
De Cauter, L., De Roo, R. and Vanhaesebrouck, K. (eds.) (2012) Reflect #08: art and activism in the age of globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers.
Frueh, J. (2001) Monster/beauty: building the body of love. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Lorde, A. (1978) Uses of the erotic: the erotic as power. New York: Out & Out Books.
Meskimmon, M. (1997) Engendering the city: women artists and urban space. London: Scarlet Press.
Meskimmon, M. (2003) Women making art: history, subjectivity, aesthetics. London: Routledge.
Mulvey, L. (1989) Visual and other pleasures. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Chapters from edited books/journals
Alix, C. (2011) ‘I Have a Cock and I’m South-African’: On the Performance Art of Steven Cohen. In: De Cauter, L., De Roo, R. and Vanhaesebrouck, K. (eds.) Reflect #08: art and activism in the age of globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, pp. 108-115.
Frueh, J. (1994) The Body through Women's Eyes. In: Broude, N. and Garrard, M. D. (eds.) The power of feminist art: the American movement of the 1970s; history and impact. NWSA Journal, pp. 190-207.
Robles-Durán, M. (2012) The Rise of Activism, and How it’s Transforming Architecture, Urbanism and the Way Our Cities are Built. In: De Cauter, L., De Roo, R. and Vanhaesebrouck, K. (eds.) Reflect #08: art and activism in the age of globalization. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, pp. 184-190.
Journal articles
Aaegerstoun, M. J. and Auther, E. (2007) Considering feminist activist art. NWSA Journal, 19(2), 7-14.
Rhee, J. (2005) Performing the other: Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece. Art History Journal, 28(1), 96-118.
Newspaper Articles
Chittal, N. (2015) How social media is changing the feminist movement. MSNBC [online]. 26 March (Accessed 24 April 2016) Available from: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-social-media-changing-the-feminist-movement
Vagianos, A. (2015) 35 inspiring feminist moments from 2015. Huffington Post [online]. 9 December (Accessed 12 April 2016) Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/feminist-moments-2015-because-who-run-the-world_us_56673cb8e4b08e945ff16ea5
Websites
Anon. (2016) Facts and figures: ending violence against women. [online]. UN Women. (Accessed 1 May 2016). Available from: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures
Anon. (2014) What is free the nipple? [online]. Free The Nipple. (Accessed 13 April 2016) Available from: http://freethenipple.com/
Klebesadel, H. R. (2003) Feminist art in action. [online]. Wisconsin’s Women’s Network. (Accessed 17 April 2016) Available from: http://www.wiwomensnetwork.org/women-in-art/
Weblogs
Billing, P. (2009) Defining Gender Equality. In: Gender theory and men’s issues [online]. (Accessed 12 March 2016) Available from: http://www.pellebilling.com/2009/04/defining-gender-equality/
YouTube
vabethany (2013) Yoko Ono – cut piece (1965) [online]. (Accessed 23 April 2016). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ3dPwa2tI