The cultural expression of women has changed a great deal over the recent years alongside women’s rights. Gender balance in the society cannot be termed as immune to gender discrimination as it is influenced by different forms of social classifications, for instance, poverty levels, religion, social class, ethnicity, race, physical disability as well as marital status among other categorizations that compound to social disadvantages ( Nancy , 1969). Gender being part of the culture as well as a key pillar in social construction defines the relationship between male and female and also their values in relation to masculinity and femininity in behavioral expressions.
Women’s rights have been recognized as a fundamental development objective in shaping their cultural expression. Over the recent years, there has been commendable progress in the international campaigns aimed at promoting women empowerment in development agendas and encouraging men to take part in social transformation with the aim of closing the gender disparity gap and giving equal opportunities to all ( Whitney, 1990). Also, in the past decades, the idea of cultural diversity, cultural expressions, cultural practices as well as cultural knowledge has been identified as an essential driver and an enabler of social-economic development. Culture stands at the center of creativity, innovation and greatly contributes to social-economic advancement thus improving the livelihood of the concerned individuals.
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Developmental policies that have also promoted the cultural expression of women in the society especially through policies that ensure easy access to education. Access to education and education facilities especially to women has promoted access to both the national and international resources as well as opportunities equal to those given to men ( Nancy , 1969). The cultural expression has, therefore, enabled a full realization and utilization of opportunities and resources.
The complexity of the cultural diversity as well as human rights, especially the rights of women, is focused on through gender equality as it applies to culture. The discrimination of ladies for instance through early marriages or Female Genital Mutilation has taken over talks during the international meetings on culture as well as gender equality. This brings a standoff between what some people refer to as ‘culture’ and the harmful traditional practices ( Whitney, 1990). The two brings a contest for women’s cultural expressions on the ground of what is termed as human rights and the concept of culture. The sole idea of cultural expression and women’s rights has also been interfered with by the western culture as well as the ethnocentric idea that drawbacks the applications of some governance systems and applicable laws. Therefore, the debate on relativism and universalism remain firm on human rights on the agenda of women’s rights.
Throughout the human history, women have been regarded as intellectually inferior as compared to men. Only a past one century that a few countries allowed women to go on ballot boxes and exercise their democratic right of voting. In contrary to social expectations of a few individuals in the society that believes women cannot make it in some careers, it is evident that hundreds of women have already made it in fields such as photography, illustrations, design among other artistic areas ( Whitney, 1990). Some of these artistic features poof that women have talents equal to those of men and a number of attributes as well as experiences that contributes to their artistic greatness. For instance, different women have won some prestigious awards, others have written great books, others have acted in great films while others have very high profiles equal to those owned by men in the society. Reasonably, it is clear that the society has changed a great deal particularly on cultural expression whereby women were discriminated, and their rights violated. Most of these individuals are very influential in our society today and live as great icons that fought for gender equality through their bold actions.
Women used artwork to express their thoughts. For instance, through painting, some women artists expressed their dissatisfaction with the society that gave unequal opportunities between females and males in the society. Some went ahead to question and challenge the artistic works produced by men who were branded as heroic although they negatively painted the women’s image to that of oppression. Followed by the civil rights societies campaigns held during the 1960s, the feminists’ movements insisted on the inclusion of women in politics, group-collaborations as well as involvement in the artwork ( Whitney, 1990). The efforts of these civil rights societies trimmed the dynamics by which the current female artists are made up-to-date. Women lives were keenly looked at and the relationship between gender, social-economic status, and culture.
Despite formidable efforts by civil rights societies and human rights movements to fight for women in the society, there remain a huge unsolved issue that arises among female artists. For instance, there is the issue of lesbianism among other behaviors considered as bad social behaviors. This changes to an issue as well as a contradiction between the artists that worked genuinely with passion and those who worked for money ( Whitney, 1990). Reasonably, this tarnished the name of female artists who made efforts to rise on the radar of greatness within a male-dominated society.
Art History as an academic discipline has significantly faced another challenge in the way different feminist artist view the discipline. Some of the artists classify the discipline as a cultural artifact, therefore, giving more advantage to specific objects as well as individuals who took part in the production process ( Whitney, 1990). However, the term-of-arts can be analyzed as unbiased or neutral, but in this case, the stress is on the producers and publishers in a real sense, the reader should be given the priority as the consumer and the intended audience of the artwork.
In conclusion, the cultural expression of women has changed a great deal over the recent years alongside women’s rights. Gender balance in the society cannot be termed as immune to gender discrimination as it is influenced by different forms of social classifications, for instance, poverty levels, religion, social class, ethnicity, race, physical disability as well as marital status among other categorizations that compound to social disadvantages. Women’s rights have been recognized as a fundamental development objective in shaping their cultural expression. Developmental policies that have also promoted the cultural expression of women in the society especially through policies that ensure easy access to education. The complexity of the cultural diversity as well as human rights, especially the rights of women, is focused on through gender equality as it applies to culture. The discrimination of ladies for instance through early marriages or Female Genital Mutilation has taken over talks during the international meetings on culture as well as gender equality. Throughout the human history, women have been regarded as intellectually inferior as compared to men. Only a past one century that a few countries allowed women to go on ballot boxes and exercise their democratic right of voting. Women used artwork to express their thoughts. Despite formidable efforts by civil rights societies and human rights movements to fight for women in the society, there remains a substantial unsolved issue that arises among female artists.
References
Nancy G. (1969). Wom e n Art is t s . An Illustrated History . Fourth Edition, 2-370.
Whitney C (1990). Women, Art, And Society. F ifth edition . Studies in Art Education , 1-16.
