Sculpture – Post #4

Finding the Wonder Woman in Sculpture

            Linda Stein, a lesbian artist born in The Bronx, has struggled her whole life with her sexuality and femininity. Sculpture and the creation of her art exhibit “The Fluidity of Gender: Sculpture” is where Stein has truly explored the aspects of both her own life and the gender stereotypes in American society.

            In her exhibit, Stein shows a variety of metal female bodies, many of which display masculine qualities. According to Stein, in an article by Noelle Brooks in The Colonnade, “A girl doesn’t have to be nailed down to behaving a certain way to be feminine, and a man doesn’t have to be nailed down either to be masculine. There should be more fluidity.” Stein pushes, through her work, the idea of a fluid gender—that both men and women should be allowed to express typically “masculine” and typically “feminine” attributes. Stein is later quoted saying, “the definition of gender is constantly changing, moving away from gender stereotypes. It’s becoming much more fluid, it’s getting better.” Although Stein is right in the fact that gender stereotypes have bent a bit—it is now socially acceptable for women to wear jeans and for men to wear tighter-fitting pants that give them a more womanly figure—it is still unclear whether or not these gender stereotypes are actually “getting better.”



Figure A



            In many of Stein’s sculptures, she depicts women as the savior, over the damsel in distress. Wonder Woman (Figure A), a popular American superhero, helps Stein create many of her works because she “represents the possibility of strength no longer being simply a male attribute, but something that can transcend both genders.” But before we can explore Stein's work we need to stop and examine the idea of Wonder Woman herself. First appearing in a 1941 All Star Comics book, she has since been published almost non-stop by DC Comics as a muscular, large-chested woman in what is primary a bathing suit with high boots and a princess crown to keep back her long, flowing hair. Yes, it is a step in the right direction to have such a powerful woman superhero, but as a society are we really doing gender stereotypes any good with her depiction? As far as gender stereotypes go, Wonder Woman is no more than an independent, strong sexual figure for men to enjoy and women to emulate.



Figure B



            So how does this connect to Stein’s sculptures? Let’s take a look at her sculpture entitled W 629 (Figure B). The figure is, primarily, a woman with a wooden head and a metal body, but with one major difference—her stomach is taken up by a large shield with Wonder Woman’s emblem on it. As a viewer, it is necessary to take a critical eye to the placement of such an important aspect of Stein’s work. Why did she decide to put this symbol of power in the area of the uterus? Since Stein believes she is reclaiming the concept of a female hero, the placement may suggest the idea of women becoming the heroes of their own bodies, especially of what makes them innately “female.” On the other hand, viewers of Stein’s artwork may see this in a more negative light. Depictions of Wonder Woman show her wearing skimpy clothing and by placing her symbol over the figure’s uterus, Stein may be referring to the fact that in society today even though a woman shows power and tries to push forward, she is always pulled back by the idea that childbearing is the main “use” of a female.

            Either way, I feel that Stein is doing her best to push against gender stereotypes through the use of both sculpture and a popular American figure: Wonder Woman. The fact that there aren’t more female superheroes like her means a couple of things. First, that society has not broken far enough away from gender stereotypes to make any considerable difference. Second, Wonder Woman in of herself is a very influential character. And third, we—as a society—need to work harder to change this stereotype of the “sexy superhero” (Figure C) and make females a more prevalent body in the realm of strong, independent heroes. With Stein’s help, we were able to see just how much influence gender stereotypes around women has on the art world, society, and women in general. Although society is moving slowly into a more “fluid” state when it comes to gender roles and stereotypes, our work’s not done yet. Next time you’re surfing the web aimlessly during your lunch break or between classes, take a moment to type “superheroes” into your search engine of choice and realize just how few females are represented, along with how they are represented, and are decide for yourself: have gender stereotypes really changed?

Figure C

Works Cited

Brooks, Noelle. "The Fluidity of Gender: Sculpture." The Colonnade. Georgia College & State University, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. <http://www.gcsunade.com/2011/10/20/the-fluidity-of-gender-sculpture/>.

Stein, Linda. "Sculpture -- Linda Stein." Linda Stein. Calligraphy Studios, Inc., 2003. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. <http://www.lindastein.com/gallery/index.php?s=sculpture>.

"Wonder Woman." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman.