Post 3: Activism and Art Writing Assignment

For my final project, I am addressing the issue of gender inequality and double standards, specifically in the Kpop industry. Gender inequality is an issue that, while improving, is still far from being completely changed. In a patriarchal society, boys and girls are taught from a young age that they must act a certain way, the way that society wants them to act. In Understanding Patriarchy, Bell Hooks defines patriarchy as "a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak, especially females and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism and violence." From a young age, women are taught that they must not show emotions such as rage or be violent because it is not feminine. They must be submissive to men and also think about how what they do or say will affect men. They must dress a certain way or they'll be thought of as a slut or men will think they are trying to entice them. From a young age, men are taught that their role is to be served. They must be strong and they learn that it is okay to enjoy violence in appropriate settings. They also must not show emotions, otherwise they will be vulnerable and weak, something that a man is not.

Men or women who fall out of these "standards" for their gender are often labeled as things they are not. If a man expresses his emotions, he is called gay. Women especially have these types of double standards placed upon them. If a woman is dressed too "femininely," she might be labelled as a slut. If a woman is not dressed feminine enough,she might be seen as too aggressive. People should be able to act as they want without having labels forced upon them or being judged by others. Both genders are pressured by society to fit their expected roles, so why should we continue to perpetuate the rules of the patriarchy?

For my project, I created a diptych that portray the double standards of gender in society, but with a focus on the Kpop industry. I also created a Tumblr blog that showcases the art, as well as shows my progress, thought process, and inspiration for the visuals used in the illustrations. While there is no way that I can change the gender inequality and double standards just through this diptych, I feel like illustrating it in such an exaggerated way could at least get fans to start actively thinking about and pointing out these issues. There is still a long way to go in creating gender equality, but I feel that even just bring these topics to light can inspire others to change the way they see or think about the societal expectations of men and women. Nato Thompson writes, "After watching most of our cultural experiences sacrificed to various kinds of consumerism, a generation is emerging that is learning to see through the smoke and mirrors of cultural production."(Thompson, 116). I hope that my illustrations can help Kpop fans see through the glitz and glam of Kpop to understand the societal issues that apply behind the scenes.

The Guerrilla Girls have addressed double standards in their own projects as well. Using carefully researched statistics, the anonymous collective of art world feminists have worked to expose :individuals and institutions that under represent or exclude women and artists of color from exhibitions, collections, and funding." (The Guerrilla Girls, 7). In order to keep the focus on the issues, the artists remain anonymous by using gorilla masks. They've created posters, books, videos and stickers to spread their message. In their work, Do Women Have to be Naked to Get Into the Met. Museum (1989, 2005, 2012) the Guerrilla Girls address the fact that very few artists in the Met. Museum are female. However, a large percent of the nudes in the museum are of women. Can women only get into the museum if their body is on display? Are people only allowed to ogle at a women's body but not her creations?

Do Women STILL Have to be Naked to Get Into the Met. Museum?, 2012 version

Elizabeth Berdann is a painter that creates works that center on body-based imagery. She creates multiple paintings in an installation format. Her project 30 of My Worst Features, 1992 explores issues of feminine identity and elicits questions about the cultural definition of beauty. Berdann created 30 paintings highlighting what she believes are her worst feature. She uses oil paints on metals. This installation piece leads people to question why we should find these normally occurring features of ours so ugly. I chose this piece because in my own project, I wanted to address the societal standards of beauty and how women must adhere to it or else they are judged by others.

30 of My Worst Features, 1992

Jocelyn Braxton Armstrong is a ceramics artist that focuses on storytelling through figurative sculptures. Her exhibition entitled I Am She examines issues based around the past, present, and future of feminism. She also explores the causes of gender based violence and inequality. That's Life #2, 2008 is a stacked pyramid of translucent porcelain molds of Armstrong's own shoe. Some of the shoes in the pyramid are cracked, dinged, and even shattered. Armstrong states that "the work is about the challenges women face in their lives, the loss of the fairy tale illusion, but ultimately the resiliency of women challenged by disappointment in their lives." The fact that she used a mold of her own shoe also gives her a personal connection to the piece, as she is able to show her own challenges faced as well as the challenges faced by all women.

That's Life #2, 2008

 Resources: 
Chan, Rachel. "Gender Discrimination in South Korea," The McGill International Review. 12 January 2016. Web. 01 May 2018. https://www.mironline.ca/gender-discrimination-in-south-korea/

Echevarria, Dasia. "The Double Standards Of Gender In Society," The Odyssey. 8 May 2017. Web. 01 May 2018. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/double-standards-inequality  

Hooks, Bell. "Understand Patriarchy" The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press, 2004. Print.

The Guerrilla Girls. Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls . HarperPerennial, 1995.

Thompson, Nato. “Seeing Power Art and Activism in the 21^st Century,” (Melville House Publishing, 2015)