Feverish World Symposium Submission

EXPRESSION OF GENDER STEREOTYPES THROUGH BODY ART

Tempting

Our bodies. Our hands, toes- our eyes, and stomachs. Are they just tools to be used in our lifetime; are we just our brains in need of a vessel to live in? The human body, how it has evolved, and where we came from, is all still up for debate, even a million years after the whole Adam and Eve tale. And to be frank, the point of life and the point of even having a body, is still something that I do not have an answer for. So why take this class and talk about our bodies and how we use them? Because we might as well try to understand what we take advantage of everyday. 

The body, and art. Combine the two and we have something that can be beautiful, painful, experimental, political, and it can be temporary or permanent. Whichever way, it is powerful and I think should be experimented with more often. Tattooing, piercing, henna, scarification, branding, there are even implants that make your body what you think is beautiful or what you think you belong in; there’s scalpelling, and even the use of garments that manipulate the body like corsets or binders. Makeup, jewelry, nail polish- it’s all art that you put on to make your body what you want it to be and how you want it to be consumed or represented to and by others. Individuality, I think, is one of the most important and luckiest things that we are able to possess. The body is something you make of it, even though not all things are possible, and most people are born with the classic two eyes, ten toes and fingers, two ears type of deal. However in my opinion, the body, like every other blank thing I see, is a canvas. Whether you decide to keep a blank canvas or completely change it, now that, is up to you; and whatever you choose, should be respected. Many of these art forms on the body, come from the person’s life experiences in relation to their physical self. Tattoos for example, have a lot of meaning to some people and they can relay a message from the past, or something that is important to its host. Some people tackle their insecurities by showing them off or hiding them with art. The human body is a personal thing that belongs to each being that lives within it, however it is often objectified and looked at in a way that is unhealthy to the mentality and progression of society. 

While thinking about what I should execute as my final Bodies Project, I had many ideas. I immediately went to things that were taboo within our society and culture and especially within my generation. Sex. What else? The naked body - what a people pleaser. No, but seriously, the naked body and all of the baggage that comes with it is a good example of how our culture has created the ideology that a naked body is one that implies sex, or something inappropriate, when in actuality, it’s just our wrists, necks, backs, and feet that carry us and all of our judgements along with it. Biology tells us what to find attractive in people, and our hearts tell us what to love. Yes, wide birthing hips, and strong backs and biceps are good for creating strong and healthy offspring that furthers our existence on this planet (well until we destroy it with our plastic straws, gas emissions, and our overall neglect to take care of our ecosystem), but what I feel actually matters in society now, is what people look like when they’re naked. And sex. Anyways, my project, and all that it entails, is my effort to tackle the gender stereotypes within our society. I use color, placement, and symbolism to show that not all things are as they seem, and to exhibit the judgements that we have put human bodies under scrutiny for. I have two models in my exhibit, and they are people that identify as female and male. During our process, my models were wearing almost nothing, and agreed that their bodies could be seen as a canvas instead of an innuendo. My models are also dating, which I think was an interesting thing that came into my mind when introducing the psychological aspect of this project. You have to wonder how my male model, Ryan felt when some other dude was painting his girlfriend’s breasts or how my female model, Charlotte felt, when I was painting her boyfriend’s crotch. Like… sorry guys? However, I had to remind myself that the whole point of this project was to diminish the discomfort that comes with the naked body and all of the meaning behind it. It was a really exquisite and different way of thinking and after awhile, no one really cared that these two people weren’t wearing clothes and that we were touching them in ways we thought we’d never have to. 

I named my exhibit of body art, “Tempting.” All of the symbols on my models are the representation of stereotypes of gender and things that happen often to our labeled bodies. I thought my avant garde looking art deserved an abstract name. Tempting, because although the point of my art is to squash the insinuations of the naked body, and the categorization of gender, it’s tempting to still think these things… because well, these canvases are naked people and our society thinks that’s… weird? Before I even got to the studio on that Saturday morning, my hypothesis was that I would clam up would not know what to do- that my vision would not come true, and that with two of my friends standing before me, naked, I wouldn’t know how to lead in such a unique situation. But I did. My bossy perfectionist side came through for the win and we all had a great time with so much laughter, and honestly, I am super grateful of everyone who helped me, and this will be an amazing story to tell down the line. I will never forget this experience. My method was to paint both of my models at the same time, so they could have that experience together, as a couple. I had three painters besides myself and I assigned jobs and colors at the beginning, directing where I want the painting to be done, how, with what brushes and colors, and who was doing them on which model.  I had a lot of responsibility - I was asked a lot of questions, I walked around to check on everyone, I made sure that my models were comfortable, and I touched in with anyone who had any new ideas. Who doesn’t love a good democratic leadership style? It was a lot of work, and multitasking was always at an all time high, but it was fantastic. At the beginning of the day, we were all waiting around for quite a bit for my last painter to show up, and I really had no idea how or where to start. I think that I was really nervous, no, I know that I was. I did a lot of pacing around. I am a painter, yes, and I love art, and I have done back paintings on other people before; however, never have I had rented a studio, collected supplies, found volunteers, photographer, and nude models. It was a real production! I had never directed that many people before, and sometimes, I admit, I grew frustrated or impatient when Charlotte would not stop moving and the paint cracked. I just kept thinking to myself “thank god I’m a communications major and I know how to deal with this.” Crisis communication and conflict management have always been two things that I have been pretty good with, and it came in handy during our studio time. I was timid to begin, and I really just was hoping that it would all go well, and mostly, that it would end up looking how I wanted it to. After surveying my painters and models I hear from Nick, a friend of mine who helped paint: “the painting was very successful. Personally, I found the subject material and the overall process to be challenging. It definitely played a part in helping me to question the gender norms that I'd experienced my whole life and further evolving my understanding of how toxic they can be. The process itself was more comfortable and casual than I expected it to be. I believe it's necessary for it to be a comfortable situation in order for the artists and models to allow themselves to be vulnerable. For improvements, if there could possibly be ways to make the process more physically comfortable for the models because it was clear that the paint was uncomfortable to have on and also it was taxing to stand for such a long period of time.” Charlotte, my female model said “it was a bit awkward because of society’s standards on women and how we are shamed for exposed breasts but I felt more comfortable as time went on. I felt a little insecure about my body for the same reasons (society, etc) but the fact that we were trying to convey a message made the whole experience meaningful.” Charlotte, being one of my dearest friends, and roommate, did this for me even though she was a bit hesitant and nervous. I am extremely grateful that she felt comfortable enough to be so exposed in such a foreign setting. I definitely kept my eye out for her and I thought having my male model be someone she was comfortable with, let alone her boyfriend, was beneficial as well. Another friend of mine, Brenna, who took photos, and painted, told me “ I enjoyed doing it. I think that if we were to do it again, we wouldn’t change much because it went well. If anything, it was a pretty long day but you can’t really speed up the painting process. I felt more comfortable painting Charlotte more than Ryan, and I think that was due to just getting to know Ryan where I have known Charlotte for a while. Both models were fantastic to work with, and I felt bad when they were in pain at the end.” I thought these answers were super helpful and overall I am really exuberant that the people involved actually took something away from the experience, and maybe even had some fun.  

So now for the nitty gritty, and what everything on my models meant to me, and how I wanted it to be portrayed by its viewers. For my symbols and colors, I did everything that I thought lined up with a gender, on the opposite gendered model. On Charlotte, I have black and white stripes on her legs and feet to represent that the male population can feel jailed and trapped  from showing their real emotion in society, friendships, and relationships because it’s not “manly” enough. Next, I have her hips and backside a bright blue because ever since we are born and put into pink or blue onesies in the NICU, blue is a “boy color.” I have onomatopoeia words like “BAM, BOOM, and KAPOW” to show the violent side of the male identifying gender and how “men fight it out, not talk it out” and how many men turn to violence before words, and how they’re supposed to be strong and tough, and never turn down a fight. Her torso, arms and chest were supposed to represent armour and again, how men are strong and tough on the outside, but still are protected by this layer of “let’s not talk about it.” Armour is tough to get inside of and needs to be teared down to see what’s inside and I think that’s the same for a lot of men in our world, especially in their relationships. Or, they will only cry or show emotion when absolutely necessary. Armour also serves as a layer of protection, and without it, a warrior is vulnerable, just like the male population is, but is not really allowed to be. Next we have Charlotte’s face which is covered in camouflage, to show that men are unseen as people with sorrow, and that they are tough and don’t need anyone to talk to, like women do. Her hands are red for a different reason, that ties into my other model. “Caught red handed.” The amount of domestic abuse, and sexual assault left unsaid is appalling to me and I painted her hands red to show that the assailants cannot always be forgiven, and this ties into Ryan, who shows off red handprints on his crotch and backside to show the spots that women are touched without consent (I meant to have handprints on his chest as well… must have forgotten.) Ryan’s legs are covered in shapes. For this I was going for a representation of objects, parallel to the objectifying nature of a woman’s body. Again, his crotch and backside are covered with handprints to show the human touch of another, to remind my viewers of consent. Ryan arms and torso are pink, again to show the most “girly” color and is covered in flowers that are symbolic to the classic girly apparel and likes. At last minute, I painted a baby in utero on Ryan’s stomach to tackle the misconception of women and how many people still believe that their only reason for existence is to be impregnated, to give birth and further the growth of our (over)population, and be stay at home mothers. The process and pain of human labor and menstrual pain is something a man can never experience, even though they get the rewards at the beginning and the end, so I thought this was an interesting thing to think about. Ryans hands are also painted black to look like gloves because I wanted to show the concept of women in the kitchen, “where they belong”, and cleaning the house and picking up after everyone else like they’re supposed to. Again, many people still live by this traditional lifestyle that the wife or mother in the family, has these responsibilities. Lastly, Ryan’s head is bright blue with white highlights to resemble that women have their head in the clouds and that they’re not realistic. He also has tears running down his face because “women are too emotional and cry too much.” These are two things that even I have been told in my life. All of these things that I have directed to be painted on my models are sexist examples of how we put people who resemble either male or female identifying individuals, in boxes labeled with stereotypes or expectations.

After my experience painting naked people, directing a staff, and tackling these conforming ideas of gender stereotypes while ignoring the innuendos of the human body, I am thankful. Thankful to have had the courage to ask for help during this process, to ask two people I know and care about, to share themselves in a vulnerable state with people they barely know - thankful that it went better than I imagined it to go. Before walking into the studio that Saturday morning, I definitely was nervous to be in a such a weird place, and I won’t say that this experiment changed my whole stance on how I view the human body or even my own body, because let’s be honest, it didn’t. I still have my insecurities, and so do you; Charlotte and Ryan do too, but they faced them and conquered something that they probably would never had been offered to do again. Why should we care about my art? Why should anyone appreciate or give any thought to what these five other people did one day at their college in 2018? Because we did it, and not many other people can say the same. It was raw, and unapologetic, and it faced up against some real issues in our society and culture. The human body was exposed, touched, manipulated, and put through discomfort- sounds like some real art, doesn’t it?