Men in Media

Monday, April 2, 2007

Artist Statement

Theory and Thesis:

Theory:
The project it centered on a critique of male and female representation in the media. Many critiques have approached this issue from the side of modesty and moral indecency; predominately females, it has been said, have been forced into a structure with a power imbalance that caters to males and sell products through sex.

It is not that I entirely disagree or agree with this perspective but personally I see an even greater problem in the representation of males and females in media. Sut Jhally (a film theorist) suggests that the problem is not the form of representation but rather the homogenous nature of this representation, or that women are portrayed as sex objects with little diversity of that representation. For women to access power, Jhally says, they must conform to this trend of catering to male sex fantasies to even attempt to enter the system of power (or to receive relatively profitable commercial successes).

Whether Jhally is entirely correct that for women to “succeed” they must be only sex objects is an important consideration, but for me the issue of the homogenous nature of female representation in media cuts to an even deeper issue: the issue of power and representation across boundaries of gender. Both females and males are subjugated to varying forms of repression and homogeneity in media.

It does not take long to see in many forms of popular media a female with long legs, voluptuous curves and blond hair, but it also doesn’t take long to see a tall, dark, chiseled male figure, either. In fact, in many magazines these are the only representation of gender that can be found. For many minorities (when found at all) such as black males, they are often represented as violent gang members or alternatively extremely wealthy athletes, and the lines cross with hip-hop and rap artists who appear to be both. For minority females, the mere lack of representation in most fashion magazines is a statement in itself of the lack of voice minority females have at all.

Thesis:
For me this raises the question: Is this the way that most people see themselves? Do females see themselves as sex objects that have to be thin, blond and naked to access media? Do males have to be powerful, strong sex maniacs to access media? These ideas counter most of my real life experiences. Most people I know are very diverse individuals who are loving and caring at points, athletic and strong at points, and violent and angry at other points, but they are not just the images I see in magazines.