LIB202: Women, Culture, and Society (LIB202)

This journal will go over how women's artistic expression and movements for social change intersected in the late 20th century. It will provide two examples of creative women from that time whose art helped make social change possible. Lastly, I will discuss art and social change intersecting in my community.

In this Journal, I will compare how the statuses and attitudes toward women during Gilman's time compared to the lifestyle of women in Herland. I’ll speak about how Gilman challenges widely held views about women’s nature in times of the Renaissance, the Victorian ideal, and during the time she published Herland. I will give my opinion on what attitudes about women (gender ideology) and limitations on women's lives I see in my lifetime? And lastly, what are some changes that have occurred ...

The two creative women I will discuss are Artemisia Gentileschi (159–1653) and Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677). While reflecting on the topic, I will consider questions such as, did these women benefit from having family support or professional networks, or were they excluded from them? Did these women have access to education or artistic training? Did they challenge the existing power structures? And if so, were they successful?

Since the very beginning of time, there have been exceptional women who refuse to be told who or what they can be. Today that is not unheard of; however, in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Baroque period, artistic women were few and far between. It took a strong and fearless woman to stand up for what they believed in and push back against a system composed of mostly men that were built for them to fail. As time went on, gender ideologies and society began to change, realizing that women ...

This journal will discuss how gender ideology impacts women's creative expression and illustrate examples of creative women from the Renaissance period. I will explain how a woman's nature and role impacted their work. Lastly, I will reflect on how the contemporary activism of the Guerilla Girls addresses similar issues in today's art world.