Female sexuality through art

Since we were born, society has always educated us in different ways to boys and girls by giving them specific elements towards each genre. The sexism created by this macho culture affects every atmosphere of everyone’s life. Sexuality is a concept that we all understand, and we are all fed by a capitalist system that has created norms for each gender by creating different sexual stereotypes for each one. While the woman is passive and submissive, the man has the power of the act and dominates over it. Although, at the time of having sex they want the saints to act like whores in bed. Likewise, the objectification of women through porn and the media has created the collective imaginary of looking at women as parts of their body separately, and not as a person as a whole. Beauty standards in turn reinforce this type of notion and increase women’s insecurity regarding their appearance and self-esteem. Moreover, Sex stereotypes and beauty are related to the sexual desire of women and men, affecting their freedom of sexuality specially for women. 

Through art we can observe the feminist approach regarding this topics. Indeed, the mediums of photography, sculptures, painting, performance and more are a good source to represent this issues and have a reflection about them. Many contemporary artists touch the female sexuality and the stereotypes of it. Sarah Lucas is a british artist that addresses misogynist and macho issues of society and its structures, creating criticism and questioning female stereotypes. Although, her starting point is not the concept of feminism and its conflicts, but she focuses on the materials to create feminist content. In this way, she represents the genital parts of the genres through food, furniture and clothing.

Lucas is an artist who frequently touches on sexual stereotypes, adopting the perception of the same aggressor, as well as issues about death and gender. In the same way, she uses the appropriation of conventional materials within everyday life such as cigarettes, furniture, food and clothing, where she transforms them and gives them a new meaning. Often her sculptures with these types of materials represent the body or the human form

Moreover, the viewer can observe the notion of objectification in her work, where the women’s body is seen as an object and not as a human body. Through her sculptures she presents a different way to show the materiality of the body and as well the objectification represented in the mass media and in our collective imagination. Likewise, Lucas reveals in her sculptures and photographs a humor and at the same time a criticism but not necessarily a response to these problems of gender. In effect she shows a mirror of the social agents and the sexism, therefore she explores the dilemma by incorporating it, but not necessarily trying to solve the problem.