Jacqueline Russell

Introduction  The feminist art movement began in the late 1960s and lasted through the 1980s.  Artists in the movement sought equality and recognition in a male-dominated art world.  Second-wave feminism was prominent during the movement and focused on issues of cultural and political inequality and began partly as backlash against the 1950s stereotyping of the ideal woman as a suburban housewife.  Artwork that emerged from the movement worked to reflect women’s lives and experiences,protest oppression, illuminate female sexuality, and more.  Using a wide variety of mediums, feminist artist (which did not exclude males), made bold expressions in hopes to evoke unity in their cause.  The feminist art movement, though situated in relation to the goals of feminism, has been perceived as ineffective by mainstream America and may be deemed harmful to women’s struggle for equality in the art world.  Feminist artists have made bold and edgy statements through their artwork, and though they may have received attention, it’s uncertain whether the message they intended came across.  Through interpreting the following pieces, you may see how overt “female-created” art images and ideals may have been the movement’s own worst enemy.

Conclusion  The feminist art movement and the goals of second-wave feminism have been somewhat ineffective in unifying women artists because of society’s interpretation of the movement.  In achieving equality, women artists need not to focus on feminism in their artwork, but rather have pieces recognized in context with their personal background.  However, in publicizing the difficulties of oppressed women, today, more women than ever pursue careers in art.  It can be argued that women artists may not have succeeded without recognizing feminism and oppression, and that it was crucial to show disapproval of masculine dominance in the art world.  It can also be argued that the edgy expressions of second-wave feminist art were not representative of female experiences and only illuminated the experiences of white, middle-class women, and therefore failed to unify the cause.  Female artists may have been counterproductive in working against the patriarchal world that has dominated them.  Social change is not achieved overnight, but ridding labels from artwork and focusing on the context of the artist through each piece, will enable women artists to be more prevalent in the world of art.