See image attributions below

by Nevaeh Lugo

Online discourse has often rehashed the ideas of what makes positive or negative female portrayal in the media, but how far back do these concepts really go? Of course, misogyny is an ongoing conversation that does not seem to get any easier with time. A look into history reveals dire and even harrowing constraints put on women, and though they have since lessened significantly, they have not yet fully given way. 

One such hold claimed to remain over women is in the media: the appeal to “the male gaze”. Film theorist Laura Mulvey coined this phrase in her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, observing that the male gaze “projects its phantasy on to the female figure, which is stylized accordingly”. 

Though the male gaze is not my conceptual focus today, this idea has led many to ask and explore the same question I raise today: 

What impact does the way a work is composed have on the way its female subjects are perceived? 

How could even the smallest, often overlooked, elements of composition add up to allow us as the viewers to formulate big ideas about the women in each work, as well as the women around us? In addition, as a reflection of the world around us, could the media simply mirror any preconceived notions we hold about women in general? Furthermore, it is also worth considering that both of these concepts may exist in tandem, forming a vicious cycle of media creation and digestion at the expense of the women in our wider society. 

Misogyny in The Garden of Eden 

Adam and Eve in The Garden of Eden is an oil painting by renaissance artist Titian circa 1550. Also sometimes referred to as The Fall of Man or simply The Fall, the painting depicts the Garden of Eden scene from the Bible, in which Eve takes the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge moments before God kicks the two out of the garden for this noteable act of disobedience. 

Interestingly enough, the serpent is depicted as an infant here, which I would make the case is representative of Eve’s naivety in this scene. Snakes are already widely associated with lies and deceit. Through representing the serpent as a child, we are seeing this widely known story from a new perspective: Eve’s. A child is innocent, untouched by the darkness of the world, so of course Eve would be inclined to trust one, especially as someone who, prior to eating the fruit, had no idea what deceit even was. Thus, Eve blindly trusted the serpent, because as someone who was unaware of the concept of deception, she viewed its innocence as that of a child. Pure, like hers. 

As for Adam’s position in this painting, there is much to be said about him reaching, not for the apple, but for Eve. Initially, I believed he was reaching for Eve’s breast, but upon closer examination, I realized he was actually grabbing at her shoulder, as if he was pushing her away from the serpent, though not very effectively. Had he been actually attempting to keep Eve away from the serpent, one would assume he would push her with more than just his fingertips, but he reaches out to Eve, almost in a gentle caress, the shadow of his grasp extending to the outline of her breast. Perhaps he is not attempting to stop her, but chasing after his own “forbidden fruit”, so to speak, marking Eve as the object of his desire. 

But where does this leave Eve? Foolish enough to believe a serpent, desperate enough to reach for the one thing she was explicitly told she could not have, and so hopelessly self-destructive that the only other person living in paradise with her–a man–needed to save her from herself, but not without the implied attempt to grope her. It is in this way that Eve is cast under the archetype of beautiful but ignorant. 

Tragically, this was how a woman from the renaissance would be viewed. Felicity Graham of The Burning Man Journal reflected on this Martin Luther (the great philosopher, not the civil rights activist) quote: “God has created man with a broad chest, not broad hips, so that in that part of him he can be wise; but that part out of which filth comes is small. In a woman, this is reversed. That is why she had much filth and little wisdom.” 

Thus, woman was demoralized in art and in life, in spirituality and in physical capability, rendered to nothing above a maker of filth. Eve in this painting was no different, as she was portrayed as tainted and idiotic. The renaissance was a time of gorgeous art and groundbreaking ideas, but it was also a rather disappointing time to be a woman. 

Though She Be Little… 

This photo was taken by Carlos Vera Mancilla of Reuters in 2016. The girl in this photo, who remained anonymous for her own safety, attended a demonstration on the anniversary of a military coup that negatively impacted the country’s democracy. 

Though the riot officer takes up most of the frame, and is clearly taller than the girl, many were moved by the girl’s unwavering gaze. She stands below him, in uncomfortably close proximity, commanding his attention to the point where he essentially has nowhere else to look. The girl locks eyes with him, distaste evident in her expression. 

The accompanying BBC article by Kelly Grovier had this to say about the act of staring: “The ability to command another’s gaze, to transfix their mind and muscles by using nothing more than the resolve of one’s unblinking eyes, requires discipline and courage of purpose. To stare is to assert one’s existence in the world – to rivet oneself to the now.”

The riot officer is intimidating, standing among others, while the girl is small and distant from the other protesters. Physically, she is powerless and isolated, and yet, that gaze draws in both the officer and the photo’s viewers (and, perhaps, even the photographer, who was compelled to capture the moment with his camera). Of course, this dichotomy that empowers her firm standing is mostly emphasized by the backhanded idea that her size and stature are traits normally associated with weakness. Thus, the bold face and strong message carries undertones of this moment being an exception, or rare feat achieved despite such weakness. 

In addition to this, the back of the riot officer is cut off by the edge of the photo, while the girl’s silhouette is left intact. This effectively forms the idea that, though there are no walls, she is backing him into a corner. The girl’s eyes carry a message, and her placement in this photo relative to the officer is crucial to conveying that grave impact, commanding the attention of everyone who looks as she “exerts her existence”. 

Putting Them Together 

Both the painting and the protest photo were captured by men to portray a feminine archetype, of which Eve and the girl are the paragons of their own, acting as seemingly harmless female figures amidst culturally critical actions. Eve holds the negative half of this title as the woman who was tricked into disobedience, in an event which the Christian religion attributes the origins of the typical physical struggles of womanhood, while the girl looks up at the riot officer, making a silent political statement that moved hundreds of thousands on the internet in admiration of her bravery. 

Each type comes with its own backhanded commentary on the woman’s place in each work’s world, which may not be so easy to see. In the world of communications, intention does not always equate to perception, and such is the way of representation. Though both Titian and Vera Mancilla may have had good intentions with their creations, their attempts to represent women were less than perfect. Thus, this exemplifies the importance of paying attention to the little things, as well as thinking critically about what it is we are being shown.