Gender Roles Set in Stone

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Gender Roles Set in Stone

The representation of men and women in prehistoric and ancient works of art reveals a massive imbalance that favors men over women. The Woman (Venus) of Willendorf represents one of the earliest representations of women in art. The ancient sculpture was discovered in Austria. It represented the interests of the society located in the cold and infertile land. Analysts argue that the sculpture amplified the body parts normally related with reproduction. Many other works of art depicting women were also focusing on their reproductive functions than any other roles in society. Apart from showing women to be merely reproductive agents, the ancient works of art also showed women to be dependent and reliant on their male counterparts. The Woman (Venus) of Willendorf sculpture had no feet and this could be understood as being dependent. Other ancient communities such as the Mayans also had skewed roles for men and women that were captured in their art. Most of Mayan art depicted the Moon Goddess who served to reinforce the role of women as farmers. This was the case within Egyptian communities as well.

Conversely, the portrayal of men in prehistoric and ancient works of art was mostly positive and in some cases, embellished. The Statue of a kouros (youth) that originated from Attica in Athens is one of the contentious pieces of art that underpins the gender differences that exist between men and women. The statue of the young man contained impressive physical and artistic styles. Physically, it showed the young man as highly geometric and complicated in structure. The jaw lines, muscles, and overall form could be described as perfect. Greek art is closely related to Egyptian art in terms of style and intention. The sculpture has long curly hair, chiseled features, and excellent physique.

The earlier discussion focused on the absence of women in prehistoric and ancient works. There are numerous societies particularly the Greek and Egyptians that exhibited a substantial amount of equality across the genders. Various aspects present in statues of couples have been analyzed and understood as indicators of female subordination. Oblivious to many people, most women in ancient works of art assumed the left side of their male counterparts, a position that is considered inferior. The artists also placed these females slightly behind the males. They were painted or sculpted in a small size. Even more conspicuous is the fact that the females leaned on the man in a way that reinforced the stereotype that men were dependable while women were not. These minute features represented deep-seated gender attitudes that existed between men and women in ancient and pre-historic societies. While it is true that the early artists overstressed the physical and social position of men as opposed to women, it is factual that there were significant gender differences.

In conclusion, the current representation of men and women in art is a far cry from the original state in ancient communities. The earliest instances of mean and women in paintings, sculptures, and murals had limited presence of women. Most of the societies were patriarchal and therefore, secluded women from their works of art. Liberal communities such as the Greek captured women in their art but even in such instances, the portrayal was made to entrench their submissive and dependent roles. Over the years, a combination of political, social and economic factors have eroded the barriers that restricted women from appearing in works of art. Currently, women have emerged as the core subjects of numerous works of art both in digital and tangible forms.