Post 2: Middle Ages

Women in Europe Middle Ages

Marie Gabrielle Capet "Atelier of Madame Vincent (Labille-Guiard)"  

Before the relentless discussions about gender roles, the society had defined roles for both men and women. It is important to acknowledge that there has been a significant improvement in the manner in which men and women were perceived some decades ago. The media plays an essential role in creating and enhancing perceptions about gender. The media presents images that depict gender roles, through movies, pop culture, music shows, advertisements, TV programs, magazines, etc. The general culture industry is responsible for the manner in which men and women are represented and perceived in the society. The notion of gender roles is nurtured in people from a very young age through the media. However, the media representation of men and women has experienced tremendous changes with time. With time, there are roles that have become acceptable for both men and women. Before, men were represented as the dominant gender; women were portrayed as subordinates who were pictured as submissive and sensitive. Closely-knit family units and subsidence commerce characterized living in Europe in the middle age. The family tradition was a very important aspect of social construction and men were regarded as the family protectors and providers. The homestead was a reserve of the woman and most women indulged in domestic work like cleaning, cooking, tending to children and livestock. Away from the home women supplemented their husband’s roles by taking up non-domestic jobs. According to (Bovey, par. 1), “during the busiest times of the year, such as the harvest, women often joined their husbands in the field to bring in the crops. Women often participated in vital cottage industries, such as brewing, baking and manufacturing textiles.” However, throughout the renaissance and into the 19the Century, the role of the woman began to encompass administrative roles like attending public rallies, activism and other decision-making roles that were previously perceived to be un-lady like.

Protest Poster: Google Images

Protest Poster: Google Images

The fresh call to have more women representation found a voice through art that advocated for more women to stand up for themselves. The new visual rhetoric proved that women were intellectually as capable as men were. The exhibitions carried a string of feminine messages that precisely called out the kind of injustices being faced by women in the society. The emergence of the gorilla girls broke the barrier of art and craft to offer exhibitions that came to be known as ‘Women's Art Movement’. They used 48 posters to protest against gender inequality in the society (Chadwick). They firmly noted that the issue of gender alienation was not only an American problem; that is to say, the subject was equally bad in Europe. “Revisiting their iconic 1986 poster It’s Even Worse in Europe, the artists sent out a questionnaire on diversity to over 400 European museums. Only a quarter responded” (Jansen, par. 2).

Amidst the relentless quest to champion to troubling facts about gender representation the guerilla girls maintained a humorous facade to drive the message home. They called out specific names and institutions that were responsible for fair representation and made facts available to the public. Through the art renaissances, the girls maintained that their outfit was geared at positive criticism and the need for social change (Chadwick).