Subversive body image media hunt and response → What would be a gender subversion to you? Can you find an example/image and write about why it is a subversive image? Connect with some of the ideas we’ve been discussing in class and in the readings
Dictionary.com defines Subversive as: tending or intending to subvert or overthrow, destroy, or undermine an established or existing system, especially a legally constituted government or a set of beliefs.
This week, I am focusing on tattoos for women. I found an article along with some images that I will attach. From the article this line stuck out to me, “Tattoos in Western culture have always been subversive for women, especially in the 19th century when they violated the assumption that “women should be pure, that their bodies should be concealed and controlled, and that ladies should not express their own desires, which is implicit in the very act of permanently marking the skin with imagery that reflects individual tastes.” (https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/the-colorful-subversive-history-of-women-getting-tattoos/274658/)
The article pictures for me would not load, maybe the link will work for you! I did a separate Google Search for images.
Images from: https://fyeahhistory.com/2019/01/14/the-women-who-transformed-the-history-of-tattooing/
These images are subversive because they go against what society says women should be and look like. In history, woman have always been controlled by men. In a New Yorker article, it states, “Tattoos appeal to contemporary women both as emblems of empowerment in an era of feminist gains and as badges of self-determination at a time when controversies about abortion rights, date rape, and sexual harassment have made them think hard about who controls their bodies—and why.” (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-secret-history-of-women-and-tattoo). Tattoos are a form for women to have ownership over their own bodies.
The textbook from class writes about inscribing Gender on the Body, “as a process, gender creates the social differences that define “woman” and “man.” In social interaction throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order. Gendered norms and expectations are enforced through informal sanctions of gender-inappropriate behavior by peers and by formal punishment or threat of punishment by those in authority should behavior deviate too far from socially imposed standards for women and men.” We can thank the feminist movement for this change in history.
