‘Feminism today: how much has changed in the last 30 years or so? Since the 70's second wave feminism are we closer to gender equality? (Focusing on the issues of domestic and sexual violence).
In this essay I am going to look at gender inequalities in current society, specifically at domestic and sexual violence toward women. I will looking to see if feminism has continued to move forward since the second wave. I will look at how today’s media and society at large are representing women, along with a look at the legal system. I will finally look to see if the art world is addressing these issues and how.
The second wave feminist movement of the 1970/80’s had a great impact on the lives of many women and brought about a lot of change. But So much still needs to change and the only way this will happen is for one, by the government supporting, addressing the issues and changing laws.
'Without a political change, it seems unlikely there will be a progress for equality for women' (http://lezgetreal.com/2012/01/wheres-feminism-at-today/)
With such a small amount of women actually in power in the UK government it is an even harder battle. On a government website the attitude and statistics are positive about the increase of women in parliament but it is still too low for real change, the power balance is uneven (male to female).
‘Currently there is a higher percentage of female MPs among the younger generation of politicians being elected than in previous parliaments. Of the 28 MPs currently under the age of 30 in the House of Commons half are female and half male. Although this could be seen as a sign of progress there is still some way to go; overall the number of women in Parliament is still less than 25%.' (http://www.parliament.uk/)
With so much gender inequality in today’s society, among many other things, women still fight for equal pay, for equal job opportunities and maternity leave is still, in this country, only available to women.
Looking at statistics on crimes against women, particular domestic and sexual violence there has been an increase since second wave feminist movements. It is said that 1 in 4 women have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lives. This is a big problem and there are not satisfactory ways of dealing with these issues. Education is not ahead of the game, which is partly where it needs to begin, with prevention. Even sadder are the statistics on children that are witness to the domestic violence experienced by their mothers which has a knock on effect to the next generation who see domestic violence in the home as ‘normal’.
'A study by the National Children's Homes Action for Children (1994) found that 75% of mothers subjected to domestic violence said their children had witnessed it.' (http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/1/65.full).
Another a big issue today is Britain’s gang culture, it is on the increase and is bringing up more cases of inequality, violence and sexual violence. It isn’t unheard of within the culture that girls are being initiated into the gang’s by having sex with the male members. It is lack of education that is enhancing the growth of this culture.
‘Being raped by a gang is normal – it's about craving to be accepted'. (Isha Nembhard used to belong to a gang in Peckham, south London.) (Mark Townsend, home affairs editor. The Observer, Sat 18 Feb 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/18/being-raped-by-gang-normal
There has been increase in the porn industry and general objectification of women in today’s popular culture. This must have some effect on society? The new generation of youth are seeing this culture all around them, its unavoidable. Magazines, films, newspapers and music videos all display sexually provocative and derogatory visual language associated with women. And with easier access to the world of hardcore pornography on the Internet it isn’t surprising that attitudes toward women is increasingly worrying.
Looking at crime figures of domestic and sexual violence show an increase in reported crimes. Are more people speaking up about these crimes? Could it be that media coverage has increased on such crimes? Has the victims fear in reporting such cases decreased because of better laws in place or better policing and attitudes toward these crimes in society and the media?
And not to seem sexist, domestic violence and rape are not just claiming female victims but male too although figures suggest that Women amount for 70% of domestic incidents that are reported. (Neil Blacklock. Mirlrees-Black et al, 1998. http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/1/65.full).
So of the few women that make it to court (Home Office research (1999 A Question of Evidence) suggests that the CPS drop around a fifth of the cases referred to them and that around 20% of all reported rapes make it to court.') (http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/brighton1.htm), many are put on trial themselves, scrutinized closely about their behavior, about the clothes they wore, the amount of sexual partners they have had. The justice system is failing many of them as society and the media still view female sexuality as a lure for men and by wearing provocative clothing she is seen as ’asking for it’.
Even though in 1976 the government passed the Sexual Offences Act which says that questions about the victim’s sexual history are not to be brought into a court case, it is still at the discretion of the judge, and so today, in many cases these questions are still allowed.
This seems to deter many women from speaking up, from fear of judgment and humiliation, not just in court but from police officers dealing with the case when first reporting the incident. The amount of actual constabularies that are properly trained and have sympathetic understanding of rape reports is small on the whole.
The table (diag 1)On the site below shows the percentages of rapes in England and Wales convicted in the courts in recent years. (http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/brighton1.htm)
Despite the sad crime statistics and lack of support in government (or low numbers of female support in actual governments jobs) and the media representations of women, there are luckily feminist organizations campaigning & educating today’s society and numbers are increasing in support.
A human rights organization that are fighting the sexual objectification of women are ‘OBJECT: women not sex objects’. ‘Object’ started in response to the increase in ‘lads’ mags, Internet porn & pole dancing clubs. They are very active, among other work they are doing they joined forces in a project called ‘Demand change’ with another group, 'Eaves' in an aim is to address prostitution and violence against women. They have been successful in brining about a new law around prostitution and policing.
‘Clause 14 (formerly 13) of the Policing & Crime Act was passed, putting the rights of exploited women over those of pimps and punters. In focusing on the demand for sexual services, Clause 14 shifts criminal liability away from people exploited through prostitution and places responsibility firmly on the shoulders of those who contribute to commercial sexual exploitation by choosing to purchase girls, boys, women and men for sexual use.’ (http://www.object.org.uk/take-action-feminist-fridays)
Another interesting group are ‘Go Feminist’ are addressing issues of marginalized groups, they aim to include and connect feminism to other movements so that more women can be reached and included. It is about addressing more than just patriarchy but about reaching all forms of oppression.
http://www.gofeminist.org.uk/index.php/2012/go-feminist-moving-from-the-margins-to-the-mainstream/
And so to the art world which is well known to be dominated by men, as the figures below show.
• 83% of the artists in the Tate Modern are men (7)
• 70% of the artists in the Saatchi Gallery are men (8)
• 70% of the artists that have been nominated for the Turner Prize have been men and only 3 women have ever won (just 12% of all winners) (9)
(http://ukfeminista.handsupstaging.com/news/press-releases/men-still-on-top-in-the-arts/)
Who are supporting women in the arts? as there is much need for support to change. ‘Uk Feminista’ are one such group, But they are not just focused on supporting female artists but addressing all forms of gender inequality, with the aim to include and educate all women, not just educated groups.
Further groups that I have come across that are supporting women in the arts are, ‘Storm in a Teacup’ who run a zine, workshops and events (http://joinourteaparty.org/) and ‘Underwire Film Festival: celebrating shorts by women’ who are supporting women in the film industry and giving them a platform in which to have their films shown. (http://www.underwirefestival.com/?page_id=7).
So support is building in feminism again it seems or has publicity just been building around those that have been working for gender equality.
Now to the question of who (artists) are looking at issues of gender inequality and specifically domestic and sexual violence within their practice today? A very difficult and sensitive area to address.
The first person that comes straight to mind is Nan Goldin and her famous self portrait ‘one month after being battered’ (1984) a powerful image of domestic violence, intimate, brave & personal as with all of Goldin's work. Also, ‘Nan & Brian in bed’ (1983) this time a more subtle approach, but it shows the power of Brian in the relationship and Nan’s love for but reveals her vulnerability.
Suzanne Lacy is an artist who especially in the second wave was producing a lot of work around the theme of violence and rape. Particular important to me is a piece ‘Voices in the desert’ (Las Vegas, 1978) in which Lacy installs dead animal carcasses’ adorned with beads and feathers, hanging from the ceiling. The audio accompanying is of women sharing their experiences of rape. This kind of work is strong and confrontational and I believe this work still needs to be produced. Angry, confrontational, obvious. It needed to be shouted out in galleries, cinemas and in the street, the taboo needed to be ‘outted’. Feminism hasn’t died but the voices still need to be just as strong as they were in the 70’s/80’s.
An artist who created a very evocative piece is Ana Mendieta. "Untitled (Rape Scene)" (1973) is a documentation of a performance she enacted in her own home. Mendieta wanted to recreate a scene of a murder that happen shortly before she created it. The image is disturbing and the actual performance was said to have created a lot discomfort in her fellow students who experienced the performance.
Mendieta cleverly showed this image as part of a series, the series being mundane pictures of streets, this disassociation effect replicates the state that is often associated within trauma victims.
An awareness campaign back in February 2007 ran by ‘The domestic violence charity’ had me scratching my head in a kind of confused state. The ‘Act until women and children are safe’ campaign’s aimed to raise awareness of domestic violence and used images of actresses made up to be battered. What made me confused was the photographer. The photographs were taken by Rankin, Rankin to me is famously known for his provocative fashion photography that one might call it objectifying woman? Although domestic violence and objectification have no direct links and of course I cannot give Rankin a sexist hat, but I do find the choice of photographer for the campaign a little odd.
So to conclude I can safely say that second wave feminism has done a lot for gender equality. There are still people fighting the causes that feminism wishes to address and change, but these are small groups and there is not enough support within our government as yet. With the new intake of under 30's to UK parliament being half male, half female, maybe this is the start of a stronger chance for some equality within government and that should then bring about change in our society. With the general imagery and attitudes in popular culture still being so derogatory toward women, it is easy to see why we are still having such huge problems with domestic and sexual violence toward women. There is a need for education among the government, policing, schools and society In general, without adequate understanding, without empowering women and young girls to speak up and feel safe to do so, we will not move forward.
The art world has a responsibility to address and educate on these issues. They delicate, precarious subject’s that needs artists who are willing to take risks. Feminism is not dead but a lot of the same issues need to be addressed as in the second wave to help change societies views and attitudes toward women and gender equality.
Bibliography:
http://lezgetreal.com/2012/01/wheres-feminism-at-today/
Posted by: PaulineM on January 23, 2012
http://www.themuffia.co.uk/
http://www.parliament.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/06/feminism-global-challenge-one-voice. Mariella Frostrup. The Observer. Sunday 6 March 2011
This article appeared on p19 of the Observer Magazine section of the Observer on Sunday 6 March 2011. It was published on guardian.co.uk at 00.09 GMT on Sunday 6 March 2011. It was last modified at 17.38 GMT on Monday 14 March 2011.
http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/1/65.full
Domestic violence: working with perpetrators, the community and its institutions. Neil Blacklock
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/18/being-raped-by-gang-normal.
'Being raped by a gang is normal – it's about craving to be accepted' Former gang member reveals how women suffer shocking sexual abuse in return for 'status'. Mark Townsend, home affairs editor. The Observer, Sat 18 Feb 2012.
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 11.46 GMT on Saturday 18 February 2012. A version appeared on p8 of the Main section section of the Observer on Sunday 19 February 2012. It was last modified at 00.17 GMT on Sunday 19 February 2012.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/30/serial-domestic-abusers-register. Serial domestic abusers should not be hidden 'Stalking the stalkers' through a domestic violence register challenges the archaic notion love can be expressed in violence. Jane Monckton-Smith. guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 January 2012 10.01 GMT. This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 10.01 GMT on Monday 30 January 2012. It was last modified at 10.04 GMT on Monday 30 January 2012.
http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/1/65.full. Domestic violence: working with perpetrators, the community and its institutions. Neil Blacklock. Mirlrees-Black et al, 1998.
http://www.bunker8.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc/brighton1.htm
Harriet Hoff. HOF10297650. BA Fine Art. Stage 2. Tutor katrine Hjelde. Page 8
http://www.gofeminist.org.uk/index.php/2012/go-feminist-moving-from-the-margins-to-the-mainstream/. ‘Go Feminist: moving from the margins to the mainstream’ This post originally appeared on the F-Word, the 17 January.
http://www.object.org.uk/take-action-feminist-fridays
http://www.themuffia.co.uk/
http://ukfeminista.handsupstaging.com/news/press-releases/men-still-on-top-in-the-arts/. UK Feminista. Men still on top in the arts.
http://joinourteaparty.org/. Storm in a teacup London. The Great East London Art Audit | With The East London Fawcett Group
Posted on February 22, 2012
http://www.underwirefestival.com/?page_id=7. Under Wire Festival. Posted Jul 22, 2011. 3:25 pm
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/exposure/default.shtm. Exposed. Voyeurism, Surveillance & the Camera. Tate Modern 28 May-3 October 2010
http://www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/parliament-explained/women-in-politics/. Women in British Politics.
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