_1215_fine_art_catalogue

An Introduction to
Feminism
by Melissa MacPherson
It would not be an overstatement to say that the feminist
movement has been and continues to be relevant and
highly necessary for female artists positioning themselves
within the contemporary artworld. Vigorous in its mission
and multifaceted, arguably the most essential
characteristic of the feminist movement is its extreme
diversity with regards to ideology, and the waves and
disputes over what it actually means to be feminist. The
bringing together of women to evoke change is crucial
for the female artist working in a society teeming with
patriarchy and gender inequality. In her writings of
contemporary women and issues around gender, editor
and author Sarah Gamble explains that feminism needs to
‘retain a commitment to change the real world.’[1] It is still
commonly believed that women are beneath or unequal
to men, amongst other things resulting in women being
denied equal opportunities. Feminism strives and needs
to continue to strive to abandon this situation and bring
about parity.
The movement itself has however been highly criticized
in its intention, as well as being misinterpreted by people
who do not wish to align themselves to it. Gamble in The
Routledge Companion to Feminism and Post Feminism
(2001) recognises the differences across the waves of
feminism – particularly those between the feminist and
the postfeminist – however she argues that the
divergences are over exaggerated undoubtedly by the
mass media who are ‘too willing to capitalize on the
opportunity to portray it as a break in the massed ranks of
the ‘sisterhood’[2]. Oppositions between the waves
include what equality actually demands, how to achieve
it, and the obstacles that women face to attain it. The
continual changing parameters of thought around these
make it virtually impossible to determine where one wave
begins and where another one ends.
Writings by women taken from the sixteenth and
seventeenth century attempted to define feminine
identity, and have since been described as early or first
wave feminism. One of the first accounts of the counter
attack on male misogynistic writings can be found in the
pamphlet Her Protection for Women (1589). Written
under the argued pseudonym Jane Anger and defined as
‘the first piece of feminist polemic’[3], Anger describes the
purity of women and explains that evidence of this can
be found in the teachings of Genesis. It is believed that
God first created man from dust and dirt before he
created woman, Anger describes how God was pleased
with his creation and consequently fashioned woman
from the flesh of the man to generate something more
pure. Throughout the following century, a number of
women united to write about their dissatisfaction – what
would now be described in the twenty-first century as
direct-action feminism. These women were overtly acting
against what religion and society was telling them to do.
The mid to late 1800s saw a rise in female dissatisfaction
with regards to the right to vote, and it wasn’t until 1928
that women were able to vote as equals in the United
Kingdom.
Fast forward to 1965, where Betty Friedan[4] boldly
claimed that ‘feminism was dead history’[5]. She
explained that women winning the vote in America in
1920 accepted their victory, and so to them feminism
need no longer exist. Controversial Australian theorist and
journalist Germaine Greer revealed her position on the
women’s movement in her 1971 book The Female
Eunuch. Less than a decade after Friedan’s claim of
acceptance Greer contested that feminism was over and
openly embraced a second wave. According to Greer
there had been no improvement for women’s rights
through Parliament and most jobs were extremely
underpaid. Greer disputed the term feminism explaining
that it had become a way for women to respectfully fight
for equality, however this brought with it a level of
acceptance to the gender oppressed society. Greer’s
outspoken and quite frankly ballsy use of language was
teeming with anger, she openly discussed intimate
relationships and menstruation, topics which had agency
then, and still carry today. Her work remains a potent
lesson in how the exposure of suppressed or repressed
narratives can activate and afford momentum in support
of progressing positions, and offers through reflection
urgency to that in relation to current gender identity and
orientation issues.
[1] Gamble,S. (ed.) (2001) The Routledge Companion to
Feminism and Postfeminism. 3rd Edition. London:
Routledge. p. vii
[2] IBID p. viii
[3] Hodgson-Wright, S. (2001) ‘Feminism: its History and
Cultural Context: Early Feminism’, in Gamble, S. (ed.) The
Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism.
London: Routledge, p. 6
[4] Psychologist and journalist Betty Friedan arguably
wrote one of the most influential books in feminist
history. Her own personal experiences motivated her to
express the need for women to be better educated and
say no to domesticity, arguing that this was the only way
women could escape patriarchal limitations.
[5] Friedan (1965) quoted in Thornham, S. (2001) ‘Second
Wave Feminism”, in Gamble, S. (ed.) The Routledge
Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism. London:
Routledge. p. 29
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