Mickalene Thomas, “Racquel Leaned Back” (2013)
Quote: Thus she turns herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.-Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses
Women allowing the male gaze to consume their personal opinions become something to look at and something she allows them to view with her approval. Mickalene Thomas's picture of an African American woman laying on her couch is a sense of making her presence known and showing how dominant she is. She is portraying how she is the main focus, and she is proud that she is the main focus, she is confident in her establishment.
John Berger: Ways of Seeing:
Chapter 3 Page 46
Quote:
“Her presence is manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste-indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence.”
Response:
A women’s presence expresses her attitude, how a woman looks and talks, and dresses are how she is as a person. Everything a woman does is who she is. Women do not have to be in sight to feel their presence lingers so although they aren’t there, their presence is still there. Women hold so much power that even when they aren’t around the thought of them still lingers for people to think about especially men. When they voice their opinions to others that opinion is how people will view them. Women are always going to be the certain of attention in any circumstances even if they aren’t around, their presence will always be effective in every circumstance. The female gaze looks at feelings and focuses on emotions instead of actions and just sexuality.
Chapter 3 Page 46
Quote:
“Men survey women before treating them. Consequently, how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated.”
Response:
A woman's first appearances to a man are always objective. Men judge women on how they dress or how their hair looks. A women's presence in a man's life is determined by their status. The first thing that attracts a man to talk to or adequately treat a woman is if she's pretty or acceptable to his eyes or acceptable to society. Eyes are always on women to see if they reach society's standards of how attractive she is, if she dresses in a certain way or if she acts a certain way. The male gaze is women viewed as passive objects to male desire.
Bells Hooks, What is Patriarchy?
Quote:
"Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating superior to everything about everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the wear and maintain that dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance terrorism and violence."
Response:
Patriarchy is all about masculinity, girls can't do what boys do and boys can't do what girls do. Boys aren't allowed to show any emotion, girls cant be tough. Girls are meant to care for and nurture the people around them and make sure they are okay, boys, on the other hand, have to act tough and enjoy violence. In a family when a girl does something wrong the person that punishes her is the dominant male in the family and for most families, it is the father. Society uses patriarchy every day without knowledge of the word because it is so often for us as people to expect men to be tough and have no feelings while alone females to be the emotional ones.
Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged and Painted Muses:
Quote:
“By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.”
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