Essay Question: In what way can the work of Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell be considered political?

Through their work, both Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell tackle controversial ideas surrounding gender and identity; despite the difference between the times their work was produced they do share many similar political and cultural messages. Identity politics can be defined as the political alliances formed based upon gender, race, religion, or other contextual factors that may influence ones identity. Originally, identity politics emerged as a result of discrimination against those of a certain background by those who are presented as ‘normal’ through false dominant ideologies. Some key examples of different identity politics would be the emergence of Civil rights, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights due to the amount of discrimination previously held against them, new actions were demanded in order to secure political and social equality. Identity politics is a key ideology that can be used in order to decode the messages in the work of artists such as Claude Cahun and Shannon O’Donnell.

Identity politics and Cultural wars both have massive impacts on society both positively and negatively. For example, the idea of having a group that allows individuals to feel connected and valued based upon shared ideas or themes is obviously positive and emphasises greater actions to be taken in order to protect and support these groups. On the other hand, due to these groups societies have been completely changed, which could be viewed as a positive or negative based upon individual thought. Similarly, it also allows for the development of more extremist groups, who may use their group in order to gain power and therefore influence and enforce their own ideas rather than allowing each individual to harness their own. Which then links into an idea suggested by Noam Chomsky called ‘Manufacturing Consent’, which is the idea of how mass political powers (those at the head of Governments i.e Trump) use their power in order to control and manipulate the population and those that are underneath them via mediums such as propaganda, forcing the public to follow his views, falsely imitating the idea of consent. Those who may oppose his views would therefore be positioned against those who agree which would then lead to matters such as a cultural war. Without identity politics, movements such as the ‘Suffragettes’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’ would have been a lot less likely to occur and have the impact of which they did. 

In relation to Claud Cahun, who’s work primarily focuses on tackling gender norms or societal constructs evolving around individuals in terms of identity and gender, identity politics can be used in order to decode some key messages in her images. Born under her birth name, ‘Lucy Schwob’, later changing it to the non-gendered ‘Claud Cahun’, was born in France in 1894. Put simply, Cahuns work can be considered political as her work is radical in relation to the norms generally accepted by society, the norms usually being ideas expressed by higher or ruling powers such as government. In her autobiography, Disavowals, she wrote: “Shuffle the cards. Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me”. Claude Cahunwas a prolific writer and she famously wrote, ‘Under this mask, another mask. I will never finish removing all these faces’. A common variable or ‘theme’ evident throughout Cahun’s work would be the representation of a double or fragmented identity. This can be decoded in terms of semiotics and specifically, Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic signs.

In terms of iconic signs, this image can be decoded as the mask is a literal, physical representation of a second identity, a way of disguising her true or ideal self. Even based on this initial analysis, there is a clear opposition between two narratives, the positioning of the mask used to suggest Cahuns dominance and rejection against the dominant ideology. When refering to indexical signs in relation to this image, the mask can signify more hidden and metaphorical ideas such as the idea of identities being a combination of different, fragmented ideals – identities aren’t solid and are forever changing based on factors such as ones socio-economic climate, gender, sexuality, religion and occupaiton. Finally, this image can be decoded in terms of symbolic sings and symbols. For example, in more arbritary terms the message Cahun is intending to convey to viewers is culturally specific, and will likely change between each individual based upon their own thought porcess.

When these images were taken (during the WW2 period) camera technology would have been significantly limited, especially during the occupation of Jersey whereby many resources were scarce. The time these images were taken and the radical messages in which they intended to convey also suggest Claud Cahuns political stance and ideologies. For example, for the time period (early/ mid 1900s) hetronormativity was very prominent and ideas realting to fluidity in sexuality were very restricting. Cahuns work is a visual representation of her hatred and opposition to this, her and her partner, ‘Marcel Moore’, as same sex relationships were highly oppressed during this time, their photographic work allowed them to protest against a patriachal society. Ideas around gender norms were also expressed in the article – ‘Investigating Identity’ (on MoMA Learning), stating that ‘Since the mid-twentieth century, philosophers, social scientists, and historians have theorized that gender—the roles, characteristics, and activities that distinguish men from women—are not innate but socially constructed.’ This idea of gender norms being a social construct are very evident in the works of Claud Cahun, especially through her opposition against dominant ideologies and powerful institutions such as government (notably during the Nazi occupation over Jersey during WW2)

Similarly, Shannon O’Donnells work can also be considered highly political, especially in terms of gender, sexuality and identity. For example, in this image, Shannon can be seen dressed in a stereotypically ‘male’ viewed outfit. This first representation focusses on tackling gender norms in society and how generally, especially applicable to the media industry, women are expected to dress a certain way in order to ‘satisfy the needs of men’.  This is expressed in many theories, one being the ‘Male Gaze’ theory, coined by Laura Mulvey, which is the concept that texts present females through the eyes of a heterosexual male, often objectifying the physical form for gratification. Furthermore, the setting also plays a significant role in the representation of gender, sexuality and identity. The setting of this image is evidently very religious and holy, with intricate architecture, symbolic figures and holy-like patters/ cloths used to represent this. This background juxtaposes the foreground of the fluid subject as historically, many religions have been against evolutionary ideas around gender and sexuality, the comfortable/ careless positioning of the subject can also be viewed as a representation of opposition against these heteronormative ideas.

O’Donnells work was highly influenced by artists such as Claud Cahun, suggesting that the political ideologies surrounding gender and sexuality in both pieces are similar in their intentions to combat social norms. When relating the two artists, it is also important to consider the dominant ideologies present in society during the production of their work as this could change the messages conveyed significantly. In an article titled ‘Claude Cahun: The trans artist years ahead of her time’ from the BBC, Claud Cahun is described as “100  years ahead of her time”, which is one reason why I believe that her and Shannons work share so many ideas, as ideas on gender were highly controlled during the 1940s, her work would have been highly opposed; in contrast to modern society, where ideas on gender are so much more fluid and abstract and highly more accepted.