Women's Suffrage

http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/startsuffragette-/

Early feminists, known as Suffragettes or Suffragists began what would be an ongoing battle for gender equality in the late 1800s. At the time however, their goal was to get women the vote. Anything more than that wasn't tackled until after WWI and even then, they only addressed female issues.
The violent acts of the Suffragettes gave the cause a lot of attention, and although not everybody agreed with them, it brought in more support for the cause.
The Suffragists believed in peaceful protesting and were possibly the ones responsible for building up the legal and constitutional support for women. Would they have been able to achieve this without the attention brought in by the Suffragettes however?
Although one group did not especially agree with the others method, their work paid off and women were given the right to vote in 1918 - almost 40 years after they started campaigning.

Changes to womens rights throughout history have been little and far between. In the last 150 years, it has been roughly 20 years between each major change.
For example:
1918 - Women's right to vote
1940s - After WWII some (but very few) women were able to go to work
1970-80s - Women campaign for equality in the workplace, legalised abortion etc.

From the onset, change has been very difficult to achieve. Does this have anything to do with the accessibility of the movements? The internet as we know it did not exist so there weren't many platforms for discussion without fear of discrimination.
How did they spread the word about the cause and how effective was it?

Feminist Art & Illustration

http://feministartandillustration.tumblr.com

I think Tumblr is actually a really good source of current feminist illustration. Not all of it will be properly published (does that even matter?) but it is a good scope of what feminist illustrators are discussing at the moment. A lot of the user base seem to have quite strong opinions on current social issues so I think it's a good place to look for sources.

I think the accessibility of the website and the fact that social media is often one of the first things people look at every morning has had an impact on feminism. It means that a younger audience will be more inclined to access it and get involved in discussions without fear of judgement. As I mentioned in the previous post, a very current topic of discussion within feminism is gender binaries and embracing yourself for who you are, not what society says you should be. One of the biggest differences between modern day feminists and those 150 years ago, is that they aren't only concerned with female issues. Modern feminism is beginning to address issues across all genders and aims to educate people on this topic so that people can understand anything outside the 'norm'.

150 years ago, feminists were fighting for women's rights. This is still true but the movement has also taken on the fight for rights across all genders. 

Ambivalently Yours (Illustrator)

"Part of being a feminist is about advocating for a woman’s right to choose. This right, however, does not imply there is only one choice. For example, my commitment to feminism could only occur once I gave myself permission to also embrace my love of fashion and the colour pink, two things often associated with the patriarchal domination of women. This refusal to choose between traditional femininity and radical feminism allowed for another space to exist: not a space of indecision but rather a space of undeciding. I call this space: Ambivalently Yours."

LINK

Ambivolently Yours is a feminist illustrator who uses Tumblr to share her work and her popularity on the website is proof that she is resonating with modern youth. She uses her blog as a platform to discuss feminist issues and question the way aspects of society make her feel. She illustrates her questions or feelings and sometimes those of others she has spoken to. 

The typically feminine, but lo-fi aesthetic of her work and her tone of voice/messages contrast with each other and shows the viewer that femininity does not mean weakness. Instead, she embraces the more feminine aspect of her work because it's part of her and she is just as much a feminist of someone who does not regard themselves as feminine.  Accepting yourself for who you are and not letting society define you, is a huge part of what A.Y is trying to put across. I think modern feminists are much more concerned about the issue of gender binary and discuss gender fluidity/transgender etc than in the initial wave of feminism. 

Proposal feedback review

Based on the feedback for my proposal, I've given myself some points to take note of. 

• Question is a little bit vague/open

I need to find a clear focus for my research. Specifically, what is it that made each wave of feminism different? Am I comparing modern day feminists to those who started the movement?

• Does each wave of feminism have a lasting impact?

I definitely need to review whether the 'goals' of each wave of feminism are/were relevant and how they differ from the movement today. I think it's also important to consider whether changes in society are actually a result of the feminist movement. 

• Do we, as individuals, really learn from history?

I need to question this without diverging from the subject too much. Is it worth referencing other historical events without having to go into too much detail? Is this even a relevant question?

• Are women now, internationally, better off than they have been throughout history?
• Would it be more useful to look at Western society during the last 150 years?

I think it would be better to focus on the West for my research. Simply because some countries just aren't at the same stage as we are and feminism is only just affecting change there. However, it might be good to reference recent events, such as Saudi Arabian women getting the vote - almost 100 years after Western women. 

I think it would also be interesting to look at individuals who refuse to identify as feminists because they think it is unfair to other genders. 

• Find more academic references

A lot of the content I look at will more likely be very biased towards feminism. If I look for academic texts they are more likely to contain balanced, cited arguments. Although it is important for me to form an opinion on this subject in order to investigate it, it's also important to question my own opinions in order to form a balanced argument. 

• How does illustration tie into this argument? Zines? posters? pins/badges? social networking?

I need to find a few examples of feminist illustration/media from the different 'waves'. I also want to explore how the internet has helped feminist messages spread like wildfire to young girls, who ten or twenty years ago, might not have understood what feminism is. 

COP 6 Proposal

Name:

Sophie Hargreaves

E-mail:

Sh110155@students.leeds-art.ac.uk

SUBJECTS OF CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH ALREADY UNDERTAKEN

Level 4:

How do Metal Album Covers Differ from Pop Album Covers?

Level 5:

How has the female role changed in the last 100 years?

AIM AND/OR OBJECTIVE OF YOUR PROPOSED C.O.P.3 PROJECT:

How has feminism changed with each ‘wave’?

1.     What research needs to be undertaken into the general and specific contexts of your practice?

What each ‘wave’ of feminism was about and what it was trying to achieve Social/political factors that influenced changes New technologies that have influenced change in society and furthermore, feminism ideals How feminism has influenced society and attitudes towards issues such as gender, race etc.

2.     What approach(es) will you take and what processes, methods, materials and  tools  are to be involved in research into your practice? ·       Familiarise myself with the specifics of the history of feminism through reading books, essays and journals ·       Seek out any notable documentaries or films ·       Research popular culture/icons/movements that had an influence on the way feminism adapted. E.g. the punk movement influenced the ‘Riot Grrrl’ subculture, which involved DIY ethic, zines and activism. ·       Ask people what they think feminism is about and whether they think it is still relevant ·       Compare the issues feminism deals with today, with the issues it dealt with in its first wave – are they the same and is there a wider understanding of whom it affects?

3.     What preparation or investigations do you need to undertake for your creative practice to take place?

·       Find out what kind of imagery/ephemera is already being made in relation to feminism? (zines, posters etc) ·       Think about how I can extend the range of ‘products’ that are being made in response to feminism and why they are being made – to promote/raise awareness? To unify? ·       Prominent illustrators/practitioners dealing with a similar topic?

4.     What research do you need to undertake regarding who your creativity is for?

·       Who does feminism affect? ·       Why might some people shy away from feminism? Uneducated/don’t understand? ·       Can a specific age group be targeted to further the feminist cause? ·       How can it be made more accessible and appealing to a specific age group? Will it belong in schools? Shops?

Primary Sources of Information
1.         Description	Peer Questionnaire
Location	College or perhaps town centre for a wider range of results
2.         Description	Feminist zines/ephemera
Location	Etsy, Zine fairs/conventions, http://grrrlzines.tumblr.com/
3.         Description	Feminist films?
Location

Secondary Sources of Information
1.	Documentaries (e.g. MissRepresentation, After Tiller, Dark Girls)
2.	Books/Journals/Papers (e.g. Gender Role Attitudes, Third Wave Feminism; A Case Study etc)
3.	Websites (e.g. thefword.com, everydayfeminism.com, bitchmedia.org)
4.	Online Videos/Youtube channels
5.	Feminist speeches (e.g. “We Should All Be Feminists” Adichie, C.)
6.

Perceived problems or difficulties: Quite a broad topic, need to make sure when writing I allow myself to do an in-depth analysis of the information I have selected rather than trying to include everything Use sources that might contradict each other (or that offer alternative reasons etc) to create a balanced, inquisitive argument/piece of writing.