I'm always intrigued by the differences in the way men and women carry and present themselves. For instance, men typically sit with their legs apart and their arms away from their bodies, while women sit with their legs together and their arms close to their bodies (as illustrated in these pictures). Clearly this is an overt show of dominance by men whereas it is a overt show of subordinance by women (the more space you take up, the more power you are presumed to have).
I find it very interesting how ingrained our ideas of body posture are. Society as a whole shares common body posture and presentation, but does not realize it until someone violates these norms. Another thing that came to my mind was that fashion is a medium in which these norms are reinforced and/or reflected; for instance, tight, restraining corsets from the Victorian era prohibited body movement, making women appearing in a graceful state. The mini skirt, introduced by Mary Quant, does the same thing -keep in check what you do below the waist in one of these babies (like the clothes legs in the bathing suit and skirt pictures)!
This might just be me over analyzing our society's ideal gender performances, but I would like to take it a step further than Heather's comment about the "masculine" posture exemplifying dominance and the "feminine" posture portraying subordination. I feel as though these generalized body positions speak to the psychological power of social forces. In regards to women and femininity, our social forces tell us and show us what it means to be "beautiful," what it means to be a woman. But what I see in the postures of men and women is more than dominance and subordination. I see the men sitting with a kind of "fearless ease," for what do they have to fear as men? They are in a position of power at birth are they not? And the women, I see the women "closed up" almost as if they were trying to hide their vulnerability or perhaps their insecurities of not fitting into society's ideal. I think these pictures along with Bartky's article leave room for much interpretation (as does most artwork/pictures).
Yeah I guess I never really thought of it like that but I definitely agree with you. After all, men really don't have much to fear (or at least not as much as women). In this case, I immediately think of instances of physical abuse and rape done by men to women. It is certainly much more likely that a woman will be a victim of physical and/or sexual abuse than a man; after all, men typically do not worry about getting assaulted if they are walking around a busy city at night. Definitely interesting to think about!
I'm always intrigued by the differences in the way men and women carry and present themselves. For instance, men typically sit with their legs apart and their arms away from their bodies, while women sit with their legs together and their arms close to their bodies (as illustrated in these pictures). Clearly this is an overt show of dominance by men whereas it is a overt show of subordinance by women (the more space you take up, the more power you are presumed to have).
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how ingrained our ideas of body posture are. Society as a whole shares common body posture and presentation, but does not realize it until someone violates these norms. Another thing that came to my mind was that fashion is a medium in which these norms are reinforced and/or reflected; for instance, tight, restraining corsets from the Victorian era prohibited body movement, making women appearing in a graceful state. The mini skirt, introduced by Mary Quant, does the same thing -keep in check what you do below the waist in one of these babies (like the clothes legs in the bathing suit and skirt pictures)!
ReplyDeleteThis might just be me over analyzing our society's ideal gender performances, but I would like to take it a step further than Heather's comment about the "masculine" posture exemplifying dominance and the "feminine" posture portraying subordination. I feel as though these generalized body positions speak to the psychological power of social forces. In regards to women and femininity, our social forces tell us and show us what it means to be "beautiful," what it means to be a woman. But what I see in the postures of men and women is more than dominance and subordination. I see the men sitting with a kind of "fearless ease," for what do they have to fear as men? They are in a position of power at birth are they not? And the women, I see the women "closed up" almost as if they were trying to hide their vulnerability or perhaps their insecurities of not fitting into society's ideal. I think these pictures along with Bartky's article leave room for much interpretation (as does most artwork/pictures).
ReplyDeleteThat's good shiz, Jac. :)
DeleteYeah I guess I never really thought of it like that but I definitely agree with you. After all, men really don't have much to fear (or at least not as much as women). In this case, I immediately think of instances of physical abuse and rape done by men to women. It is certainly much more likely that a woman will be a victim of physical and/or sexual abuse than a man; after all, men typically do not worry about getting assaulted if they are walking around a busy city at night. Definitely interesting to think about!
Delete