Feminisim

‘Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings’

Fisanick, Christina (2007) Feminism Opposing Viewpoints Series, Greenhaven Press

Our piece developed when we performed it to our fellow peers and Dan. The general feedback we had was questioning the relationship between us (Sam, Kirsty and myself) and Tom. The use of Tom sketching and making copies of us and him being makes him become a superior and the observer, watching the minor details that us (women) do to make ourselves look good.

The link between Tom and us in our performance shows the status and power that Tom has, him sitting on a chair watching us, implying the status that ‘men’ have on women. He is observing us, creating pictures and images of us with make up on, suggesting the illusion and the beauty that men see on women. Identifying the key features that women highlight when wearing make up, particularly when going on a night out, most women ‘dress to impress‘ making the opposite sex become attracted to them.

With us applying make up on, it suggests that we are applying a mask to make an idyllic representation of ourselves to be observed by other men. This is why we stand up and walk to the Venus de Milo drawing, and remove our mask highlighting that we are just copies of ourselves when we have make-up on, removing the make-up shows the true beauty and the naturalistic face, creating a honest picture of ourselves.

 The image of women to look good is pressurized by society through the use of magazines, television, radio etc. It becomes the ‘norm’ for women to to wear make-up. If a woman doesn’t wear make-up you tend to get the questions like ‘why are you not wearing make-up?‘. Why should we be questioned? Why is it, when we don’t wear make-up we feel naked? Because of the pressure to look good and to be an exhibition of ourselves we are creating the concealed illusion copies of ourselves.