Gender and Bias in Visual Media.

From the beginning there has always been bias. Whether it’s by gender, race, or even simple things like intelligence or looks. So it only makes sense that these biases have been translated in visual media also.

Like we have almost beaten racism, and are currently fighting against sexism, these fights have been happening in visual media also. Whether it’s in movies, satire, or advertisements, there is a constant battle to be seen.

One of the main fights against bias at the moment is the current fight against sexism. There has been a lot of sexism throughout visual media, a prime example being nude paintings. Life drawing is an important activity to train your skills at realistic anatomical drawing, and the female body is a beauty to behold, but when you’re painting a woman looking submissive, or coy, it takes power from her.

(My example of gender bias in art.)

Generally when we see a woman in art, she’s beautiful and has the ‘perfect’ body. She’s generally objectified, and sexualised. Whether she’s coy or confident, she still has that image of the woman with no thoughts or ideas of her own. Merely a creation of today’s society.

The objectification of women in art is certainly a common thing, particularly in manga and other graphic novels, as the girls are drawn disproportionately and rather perversely in some cases.

(Yamada, no date)

Personally, I think the depiction of women in manga can look great. It is, after all, an art style. But in this case, as well as many others, it’s pretty ridiculous and over the top. Not only are the breasts like beach balls trying to float away, but also the girls are in freakish positions purely so that their breasts and buttocks show at the same time. 

(Brantz, 2014)

Whilst this post makes an excellent point, and the images are powerful, I still believe that is an art style, and the artist’s choice on how he or she portrays a woman (or a man). 

Bibliography

Brantz, L. (2014) Sleeping Beauty with realistic waistline. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/disney-princess-real-waistline_n_6076634.html (Accessed: 23 March 2015).

Glitchy, Tobuishi and Francisco, J. (no date) Escher Girls. Available at: http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/page/8 (Accessed: 23 March 2015).

Phelps, D. (2015) AD4003 & AD4004 Visual Culture Modules: Gender and bias in visual media. Available at: http://visualcultureillustration.blogspot.co.uk/p/gender-and-bias-in-visual-media.html (Accessed: 23 March 2015).

Sieczkowski, C. (2014) ‘Disney Princesses With Realistic Waistlines Look Fabulous’. The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/disney-princess-real-waistline_n_6076634.html (Accessed: 23 March 2015).

Yamada, Y. (no date) Cage of Eden Book 17 Cover. Available at: http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/post/107715311631/morgan-submitted-found-this-while-shopping (Accessed: 23 March 2015).

Anthropomorphism and Zoomorphism.

Anthropomorphism is the human personification in anything that is not human.(1) Animals with human characteristics (the ability to talk, walk on hind legs, wear clothes, etc.), forces of nature (Mother Nature, Father Time, etc), and anything else you can think to personify. Main uses of anthropomorphism over the past 40,000 years, have been the creation of zoomorphic art, and political satire. 

Zoomorphism is the giving of animal Characteristics to other things.(2) Such as the Sphinx, a centaur, or a harpy. 

(My example of anthropomorphism/zoomorphism)

This is an anthropomorphic drawing of my friend. His hair is big and fluffy, like a lion’s mane, so I drew him that way. But he still has human anatomy from the neck down and wears clothes. which is what makes it anthropomorphic and zoomorphic.

A prime example of anthropomorphism can be found in Aesop’s fables. (3) Stories such as the Tortoise and the Hare are a childhood favourite to many of us, and we can all remember the moral “Slow and steady wins the race.”

Another childhood favourite is the stories by Beatrix Potter, and her beautiful illustrations that go with them. Anthropomorphism and Zoomorphism is an excellent way of making stories with serious meanings and lessons more entertaining and memorable for children.

(Peter Rabbit Illustration, 1902)

References

1) Wikipedia, 2015

2) Yahoo Answers, Xyrsostom, 2009 

3) Phelps, 2015

Bibliography

‘Anthropomorphism’. 2015. Wikipedia. Wikipedia. [Online]. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Differences Between Anthropomorphism and Zoomorphism?. 2009. Yahoo Answers. [Online]. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081217104744AAifZ3O

PHELPS, DOLORES, 2015. AD4003 & AD4004 Visual Culture Modules: Anthropomorphism and the Cute. [Online]. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: http://visualcultureillustration.blogspot.co.uk/p/anthropomorphism-and-cute.html

POTTER, BEATRIX, 1902. Peter Rabbit Illustration. [Online]. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit/

Word as Image.

Language is a relatively new invention. Written communication even more so. Before we were taught to read and write, words were just symbols compiled together in certain orders. I don’t speak Japanese, so Kanji may as well be Egyptian Hieroglyphs to me. Just images and symbols that mean nothing to me.

If I were to see a poster in Japanese which was merely words written on a page, I would not want to know what the poster said. Hence why it is so important to make words in images as beautiful, bold, and captivating as the image itself. Words as image. 

(My example of word as image)

This shows my point well, if you look at these two words as if you don’t understand that they're words, one stands out more to you. By simply writing a word in a calligraphic way, it instantly makes it more visually pleasing and interesting. 

If a person wanted a meaningful word or quote tattooed on their body, they would want the lettering to be beautiful and interesting. You don’t find many people out there who have plain handwriting tattooed on them.

The same principle applies to logos. Generally, plain logos are not very popular or recognisable. The Coca-Cola logo is a good example of word as image. It’s swirly and appealing, and very recognisable. Anyone who has seen the logo before would be able to recognise it again.

(Coca-Cola Logo, no date)

Bibliography

PHELPS, DELORES, 2015. AD4003 & AD4004 Visual Culture Modules: Word and Image; Word as image. [Online]. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: http://visualcultureillustration.blogspot.co.uk/p/word-and-image-word-as-image.html

Coca-Cola Logo. [Accessed 22nd March 2015]. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coca-Cola_logo.svg

Gestalt.

Gestalt is a German word with no direct English translation. However, there are similes such as completeness, form, totality, and wholeness (1). It is a whole that can be and is perceived differently from the sum of its parts. 

(My example illustrations of gestalt.)

Here are three example drawings of gestalt, both in lettering and in shape/image.

The top left image is compiled of black shapes, which when if you focus on the negative space, or if you cover the top and bottom borders of the image, makes it possible to see the word ‘GESTALT’. The image below also clearly reads ‘GESTALT’ even though it is merely compiled of straight lines. The image on the right is formed of four black shapes. But we can still see four black circles, and a square in the negative space. These are all forms of gestalt called closure — the filling of missing information (2).

These images work well as although they aren’t perfect vectors, your mind can still create the closure to complete the images and make sense of them, and you can see all ways of perceiving the images.

Example of figure-ground is gestalt

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/gestalt.html

You can clearly see a black vase/candelabra and two white face profiles. You see it more as one image in front or behind the other, rather than two images slotting perfectly together. Hence the name figure-ground. Many would call it an optical illusion.

References:

1) Phelps, 2015.

2) Rutledge, 2009.

Bibliography:

PHELPS, DELORES, 2015. Gestalt and Ambiguous Figures. [Online]. [Accessed 20th March 2015]. Available from:

http://visualcultureillustration.blogspot.co.uk/p/gestalt-and-ambiguous-figures.html

RUTLEDGE, ANDY, 2009. Gestalt Principles of Perception - 5: Closure. [Online]. [Accessed 20th March 2015]. Available from:

http://www.andyrutledge.com/closure.php