Sexism

Sexism

Sexism: Exploring, Exploding, Expanding Expressions of Masculinities and Femininities

Sexism, the stereotyping and discrimination based on gender, is confronted in Linda Stein’s series SEXISM. Stories of women being told to put their legs together, to take up less space, and their defiant response to such narrow inscriptions of femininity are the content for the video and tapestry, Legs Together and Apart. 925 (2018). The top image on this page, titled “Gloria Steinem 1037,” is a tapestry created by Linda Stein in 2020, which is 64″x72″x3″.

Click here to see the art in this series

(en)COUNTERS with SEXISM

Tango

Tango is “an exchange of movement and touch, about a transnational negotiation of desire, of gender roles and communication” (Manning, 2006, p. x). As Horacio Ferrer writes, “before being an artistic expression, before tango came to light as such . . . tango was a certain attitude, a way of life adopted by those of diverse cultures” (1995, p. 11). Linda Stein asks: “In dancing tango does a women give and a man get?” Watch the 9-minute video of Stein discussing her tapestry in the sexism series titled “Loreen Arbus Says Tango is Egalitarian 974.”

Extinguish Gaslighting

Gaslighting is an abusive process of psychological manipulating a person into doubting self-worth, sensory knowing, and perceptions (Jackson, 2011). Once aware of gaslighting, you can extinguish its harmful psychological impact, although it is much more difficult to change the gaslighter. Artists, such as Linda Stein, in her sexism series, help us recognize gaslighting. Once recognized there are steps to extinguish. Begin by looking for gaslighting phrases in the tapestries of Stein’s sexism series.

Data Visualization Art

Zoom in on Linda Stein’s tapestry in the Sexism series titled, November 6, 2015, New York Times 865

What is the data? How is it presented in the tapestry? What is conveyed? When you look at the art section of the NYTimes, do you find artists promoted who share similar life experiences to you?

Data visualization art, documentation, methodology, and activism protect individuals from harassment while producing evidence of the massive scale of a problem such as is revealed in the hashtag movements of TimesUp, and MeToo, and the collection of signatures such as with the Not Surprised letter. Feminist theories and practices that have moved away from monolithic notions of women, engage difference by focusing on context-specific positionings of women in relation to other identities. Digital dust (Bernardi, 2018), webscraping, and reverse-engineer strategies can be used to gather data about issues important to you. 

Legs Apart

View the video Legs Together and Apart 925 Interview. Consider what gender expectations you have experienced. Draw or paint about your memory of gender expectations and how you navigated the expectations that seemed restrictive to your identity. Then look closely at Legs Together and Apart 925 and discuss the work in relation to how gender expectations are perpetuated and challenged.

Cosmetics

content

Double Standards

Gender is indeed complicated. It also is beautiful and inherently fluid. The ability to express gender identity, free from oppressive double standards imposed by unfair “rules” or “principles” on certain people, is paramount to thriving in a democracy. Double standards, or unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations are seen, for example, in unfair expectations of behaviors deemed acceptable for men but not for women. Unequal treatment often results from biases, leading to unfair judgments, discrimination, and sexism. Justification for the double standard is missing, and when justification is provided, it is typically inappropriate. What does it mean to experience a “double standard,” especially a gendered one? This lesson deconstructs double standards students may have been a victim of or witnessed in their experience through open and honest conversation and artmaking in a safe space.