*Statistic source: Womens Media
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Still on my soap box
Throughout history women have struggled to have their work recognized, whether they be visual artists, writers, etc. Blah blah blah they had to work under pseudonyms blah weren’t permitted in schools blah blah and as of 2001 were still paid only 74.3% of what men made!* This wage difference gets blamed on lots of things- like women aren’t as competitive (they aren’t raised to be, it’s “unfeminine”), or that they gravitate towards lower paying jobs (i.e. being a nurse vs. a doctor). That really only proves the degree to which gender differences are encultured. Yeah, yeah, everyone knows this, same thing with racism- but sometimes we fail to see the degree to which these injustices still exist. Artist collaborative Guerrilla Girls, Inc. ran a billboard and bus advertisement campaign in 1989 in New York City that displayed the statistic that less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art section of the Metropolitan Museum were women, while 85% of the nudes were female. 15 years later in 2004, they did a recount and the below image shows what they found. WTF world, come on!
*Statistic source: Womens Media
*Statistic source: Womens Media
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4 comments:
Three things:
#1: Yes the world is unfair.
#2: I bet the 3-5% of women artists who got their art placed weren't focused on statistics. The more you focus on statistics, the more likely you'll become one. Sometimes the most you can do is keep shouting (through art... I guaruantee nobody will listen to vocal disagreements) until you're noticed.
#3: Most art museums are funded by the crème de la crème pricks who wouldn't know their own *sshole from a hole in the ground, much less the difference between art and stick figures. I mean, look at what we now call "priceless pieces of art"... most masterpieces aren't noticed until after the artists are long dead.
it no longer suffices to say that the world is unfair- that simply shifts blame to someone other than ourselves. at this point what's called for is awareness and proactivity, on both the parts of women and those who love them :)
Hey, I'm always willing to support people, but I'm also a realist (also known as pessimists, lol). I'm telling people the worlds unfair to blame the world, but to remind them of how difficult it can be to influence people. But, by all means, it is not impossible. Fight the good fight.
I didn't spell check... there should be a "not" between unfair and to, and there should be an 's after world. The missing "not" would completely change the context.
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