Gender Roles, Subject and Power by Natalie

In the Middle Ages women were seen almost as equal with men and shared responsibilities with them.  Most people had no choice but to spend their entire lives slaving to hard labour, either to sustain themselves and their families, or in the name of religion. One of the many tasks that women could be responsible for was milking the cows as seen in one of the Illustrations in a Bodleian Library.

Illustration in a Bodleian Library Manuscript

 There is also evidence that women participated in masonry and embroidery. Although women were influenced and bounded by religious expectations, they were still able to help support their families and not be obligated just to caretaking. Women were making significant contributions to their family’s well-being, “Symbiotic modes of production and reproduction, no clearly defined physical boundaries between domestic life and public and economic activity, and the physical rigors of medieval life, encouraged women to take significant part in the management of family property and in general economic life” (Chadwick 44).

 During the Middle Ages women started to feel liberated enough to start doing things on their own. Women started to join nunneries where they could learn and pray more devotedly. Women started to choose not to get married and even to leave their families just to become nuns. Even though women were not yet able to teach, they were able to learn from all different subjects. Women were able to use joining nunneries as an alternative to marriage, and women could join to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. 

Women also benefited from the development of trade and the growth of towns. In the Middle Ages, work was not defined by sex and/or gender roles. Women had very similar, if not the same, jobs as men.  Women even were able to take ownership of land after their husbands died. Although women were still expected to act ladylike, they had a lot of opportunities to be equal as men. 

The way that women were treated and looked at completely changed during the Renaissance era. Chadwick explains, “the development of capitalism and the emergence of the modern state transformed economic, social, and familial relationships in Renaissance” (Chadwick 66). The development and improvements of institutions helped progress the roles of men letting the power of women degrade. Women started to become unimportant in various parts of life, becoming just background people. Women started to become symbols of wealth, products of their husbands, and started to become more objectified. 

During the Renaissance women were excluded from decision making and basically became secondary citizens to men. Only men participated in anything art related, as it was directed more towards men. Very few women were artists at the beginning of the Renaissance. The few percentage of artists that were known to be female mostly consisted of nuns that were able to paint in their convents. Many women at the time focused on the art of lacemaking and cloth production. They were limited to the art of embroidery and art work. Women were left the more mundane jobs while men were tasked with the more skilled arts, like painting or sculpting. 

The division between public and private ownership continued to expand the distance of power between men and women. Societies started to become male oriented, where the success of men was highly valued. The man also became the most powerful in kinship systems. Parents, stopped sending females to school and believed that they should focus more on religion and home-making. Women became servants of the men in their lives, victims to the gender separations. The separation of gender roles during the Renaissance have recently been analyzed: https://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/Women_from_the_Renaissance.htm.

  Women’s femininity became more defined as women were seen more as objects rather than intelligent and powerful. Women were able to show off their husband’s wealth by accumulating expensive, intricate dresses and jewelry. Women were complete objects to their husbands. Men wanted to be respected and adored by their wives. Women were generally not taught how to paint, leaving women to be painted. However, there were a few women artists that were able to become successful through already creative and artistic families. 

One extraordinary female artist was Sofonisba Anguissola. Anguissola was trained as well as the male artists of her time which allowed her to prosper in her profession. She was extremely famous for painting women, especially of high class, and self-portraits. “Here she paints herself as if she were being painted, perhaps the first historical example of the women artist articulating the complex relationship between female subjectivity and agency, its positioning within patriarchal structures if knowledge, and the role of women as an object of representation” (Chadwick 78). One of her most famous pieces of art was “Self Portrait” 1561. She paints herself and it is noticeable that she comes from a well off family. Her artwork was so well done that they were easily confused with similar significant male artists of her time. Unfortunately, she was not able to sell a lot of her work because of her social class and usually gave them away as gifts. Although a great artist, Anguissola was limited to factors such as her class and gender.  

Sofonisba Anguissola "Self Portrait"

As the 19th century started to flourish, new technological advancements started to develop. Mass production of art, as well as photography, started to make up the art form of the time period. Photography was a great opportunity for women because it was new and everybody could learn at the same time. Women were not pushed away or excluded from learning. “Photography was great for women artists: because it was brand new, there was no canon for them to be excluded from” (Guerilla Girls 47). Women had more opportunities to start sculpting, more commonly in Europe. Other forms of artwork, like quilting also became a huge medium for storytelling through art.
The 19th century was a time for women to stop tolerating the inequality and demand respect. Before, women were used to constantly being belittled by the men in their society. Women were not allowed to take charge and ownership of anything, including their children. Women were not allowed to divorce their husbands. It was very hard for women to build a profession to support themselves. Now women were finally fighting back and grabbing the equality that they deserved. There were finally more women traveling, sculpting and being recognized for their artwork.

"Pictorial Quilt" by Harriet Powers

https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/sofonisba.htm

https://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/Women_from_the_Renaissance.htm

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 5th ed. Thames & Hudson Inc., 2016

The Guerrilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006