Femininity:

Femininity is having qualities or characteristics that are traditionally associated to women or boys. E.g powerful, nurturing and strong

Masculinity:

Masculinity is having qualities or characteristics that are traditionally associated to men or boys. E.g strength, toughness and virility.

How can place, belonging or environment influence identity.

Identity within an individual or community can be hugely effected by the environment they are surround. For an example, if an individual is surrounded by a white supremacist group they will have tendencies to think like them, to think that the white race is superior and should dominate.

Identify can also be effected by they way an individual is brought up. If an individual is brought up surrounded by homophobia, they will probably follow their traits and therefore think that homophobia is okay. However, because of the individual being brought up in an homophobic environment, the individual might feel like they can’t express themselves and have a loss of identity because of their upbringing and fear of rejection.

However, an individual who is brought up with an open minded and non-prejudice parents/family/ group, may find it quite easy to express their gender identity or social identity. This is because they grew up with people who let them have free will and didn’t show any type of judgmental opinions about groups of people or a community.

An individual who grows up with same-sex parents will grow up learning that same-sex marriage/couples is very normal and okay. They will see it as a norm and in fact will see it as something that should be normalised unlike an individual who might’ve grew up in a very straight household that had homophobic and stereotypical tendencies which would imply that they would see same-sex couples as something that is wrong.

Furthermore, there are much more serious cases where environment massively effects identity. North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un massively effects the identity of his citizens. Jong-un made rules that drastically changes the identity of the North Korean citizens. An example of this, is a law where there is only government-approved haircuts. This strips his citizens identifies as they are not allowed to experiment with their hair and express and find themselves through their hair. Doing something with your hair can be a form of expression or change in identity so Jong-un stripping this choice from his citizens, strips their identity. Another law that hugely effects Jong-un’s citizens identity is the fact that they have prison camps. These prison camps are used for people who have allegedly committed political crimes. This men’s that no one in North Korea has freedom of speech and has no say when it comes to commenting about Jung-un’s rules. This form of punishment effects someone’s identity because they are not able to express their thought or opinion due to a heavily controlled system.

Whilst taking my headshots I attempted to also mirror and interpret some of Henry Mullins’ work with angles and positioning when it comes to headshots. Inspiration from Henry Mullins’ models poses helped me to work on my techniques and learn more about how to make my photography look more professional.

I really admire the poses that Henry Mullins’ models would use, such as:

• Looking over the shoulder
• Staring straight at the camera
• Looking to the left
• Looking to the right
• Tilted head left/right
• Looking upwards/downwards/left/right

Catherine Opie(from a vogue article)

Regarded as one of the greatest living documentarians of the American landscape, both sociopolitically and literally, Opie chronicles everything from queer subcultures to urban development, reflecting her interest in gender, identity and community. In 2009, her photographs of Lake Michigan caught the eye of Barack Obama, who had the works mounted on the walls of the White House, where they remained during his presidency.

“I get mistaken for being a ‘sir’ all the time. In Being and Having, I was thinking about my friends and how we performed masculinity and butchness — at the time, a lot of us did drag at a great club in Los Angeles, Club Fuck. In each portrait, I wanted to take [the subject] out of their environment; I shot them against a yellow backdrop and cropped it so you focus on the fake moustaches they’re wearing. At one of my exhibitions, someone confused these people for men. I said, ‘You do realise these are all lesbians wearing fake moustaches?’. I find it interesting that when people see facial hair, they just assume it’s a man. 

I would quite like to recreate her work with some of my own twists to the work, I could use some of my lightening techniques that I learnt to add a better effect to the photo. I would quite like my model to still do similar positions as poise models do, but I would try and get some feminine girls and masculine boys. This would make the artists work very different to mine yet very similar as her work is seen as more focused on masculinity and how every gender can express it, for example she has a theme of bikers, which is stereotypically more known for men. This is where I can add some of my own ideas where I switch it up to juts a feminine stereotype.

Identity is a collection of attributes, beliefs and experiences that shape how we, and other people see ourselves. A person’s identity includes but is not limited to a persons race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, gender and sexual orientation.

Identity politics is the discussion and political activity around a persons identity. Common groups associated with identity politics and culture wars in the United states Identity politics was Developed after the civil rights movement and include African Americans, Asian Americans, Muslims, Native Americans, Jewish Americans, LGBTQ community and Feminists.

The problem with identity politics now days is it now causes conflict and division instead of being inclusive like it once was. This leads us to the topic of Culture wars.

Culture wars is a cultural conflict betwen different social groups/identities who want to impose their own ideology in society.

Cindy Sherman often explores gender, identity, and how women are portrayed in the media. Her “Untitled Film Stills” series, which she portrayed characters resembling the traditional roles for women in Hollywood and European films from the 1950s and 1960s. The untitled film stills series is one of her best-known works. Cindy Sherman questions accepted standards and explores the flexibility and creates nature of identity through her artwork.

Cindy Sherman is recognised as one of the most important photographers in her industry and her work has had an influence on modern art and photography. Her ability to change her appearance and challenge traditional stereotypes/ideas of portraiture has made an impact in creative arts.

In this image above it shows a woman wearing a towel and staring into a mirror. The photo has her central which shows that she is the focal point, the image is in monochrome this gives the image more of a serious emotion to it. The woman in the photo has no clothes on and only has a little towel to cover herself, by doing this the focus of the image is now her body and how she looks. This photo is called subverting the male gaze, the male gaze is the act of portraying women and the world from a masculine, heterosexual perspective. Presenting and representing women as sexual objects for the enjoyment of the heterosexual male viewer. The title of this image suggests that she is trying to get rid of the male gaze. The tone of this image gives it a serious, creepy effect this is because she is alone in the bathroom and it looks like this image has been taken without her knowledge.

What is Femininity?

Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviours and qualities, typically associated as characteristics of women and girls. These include traits like nurturing, intuition and grace. Femininity creates stereotypes for the ways a woman should both behave and look. The societal expectations for a ‘feminine’ appearance include long hair, softer features and clothing choices like dresses and skirts. Traditional femininity sets societal expectations and standards to create toxic femininity. Toxic femininity can create societal pressures for women due to the enforcement of unrealistic beauty standards and behaviours. This causes some women to feel judged, constrained and pressured to fit these expectations, possibly even causing them to experience struggles such as isolation, anxiety, and hiding their true identity. Additionally, Femininity is highly impacted by what is seen on social media, on television and in magazines.

Perceptions of femininity have changed over time…

1950s

1960s

1970s

Women’s Liberation

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

This day

Femininity appears different in different cultures…

What is Masculinity?

Masculinity is a set of socially constructed characteristics, attributes and behaviours generally associated with males. It constructs the ways in which a man is meant to act and look to fit societal standards. Stereotypically, a male has sharper features and shorter hair than a woman, as well as being more muscular and independent. This harsh stereotype is created by toxic masculinity expectations, similar to toxic femininity but less spoken about. Societal expectations encourage men to show strength and stoicism, concealing their emotions and hiding vulnerability. Men are also expected to perform roles like protecting, leading and providing. As a result, the pressure to be ‘masculine’ leads to challenges with mental health for men as they feel that they have to internalise their feelings rather than openly speaking about them.

Search results for ‘Masculinity’:

Binary opposites

Femininity vs Masculinity is a Binary Opposite. Binary opposition is when two mutually exclusive terms or concepts are put together to create a contrasting effect. These two terms are defined as opposites, although they relate to each other. Binary Opposition is often used in photography to emphasise contrast, creating visually striking photographs. The most common examples of binary opposites shown in photography include light and dark, rough and smooth textures and bright and dull colours.

Femininity vs Masculinity Mindmap

Ways how identity can be influenced

Identity is defined as the characteristics, beliefs, experiences, appearance, personality traits and qualities that make up a person. It can be influenced by a variety of things such as someone’s social environment, cultural background, personal experiences, family upbringing, gender and sexuality, economic background, religion and even what they are exposed to by media. Identity is dynamic and changes over time as people change and grow older.

Gender Identity

Gender Identity is how a person describes their gender. For example, some people may not see themselves as a male or female so they identify as non-binary. This is the result of someone’s inner feelings and possibly the lack of confidence or even social factors.

Cultural Identity

An example of cultural identity is the Māori people, the second largest ethnic group in New Zealand. This group originated from East Polynesian people who canoed to and settled in New Zealand, developing their own distinctive culture. They’re well known for their cultural tattoos called Tā Moko, most commonly on their face for men and chin for women.

Social Identity

Social identity refers to how a person categorizes themselves or others. Examples of this are race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status and (dis)abilities. These categorizations are often assigned to us or are something we are born into.

Geographical Identity

Geographical Identity refers to ‘an individual or group’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city or village in which they live’. This is affected by the characteristics and stereotypes in which a place is associated.

Political Identity

Political identity is how a person or group thinks of themselves in relation to the politics and government of a country. Examples of Political Identity include identification with a political party and positions on specific political issues, such as gender equality.

Lack of/Loss of Identity

The loss of identity refers to a range of experiences in which an individual may feel disconnected from their sense of self, purpose or values. This can be the result of major life changes, trauma, metal health issues and societal pressures. Additionally, loss of identify can be the cause of mental health issues for some people.

Stereotypes

A stereotype is a generalized image, belief or set of characteristics that people believe represent a particular type of person or thing. Examples of stereotypes that influence Femininity vs Masculinity are:

• Men should not cry
• Women are too emotional
• Women are mothers
• Men are providers
• Men are strong
• Women are weak

Prejudices

Prejudice is most often defined as ‘unfriendly feelings directed against an individual, a group or a race’. An example of prejudice is being homophobic. This is when people show dislike towards gay people. Additionally, being prejudice towards gay people may be based on religious beliefs or just irrational fear. Another example of prejudice could be racial prejudice, which is when others may look down on a certain race.

Identity Politics

Identity politics is a term used to describe people of a particular race, religion, gender, social background, nationality, social class or another identifying factor and how they are more or less vulnerable to oppression. Some social groups are more likely to be presses, such as women, sailed people, ethnic minorities or sexual minorities due to them having less power or privilege. On the other hand, some social classes are less likely to be oppressed such as white people or men are they are seen to be more powerful and privileged.

An example of identity politics are LGBT Movements as they promote self-affirmation, dignity and equality for people within the LGBT social group.

A positive example of identity politics is the fact that, in construction, it is very popular now to make the building inclusive and accessible for the people who use it. This is good because it allows people with disabilities, such as having a wheelchair, to be able to use the building just the same as other and move around it easily.

Culture Wars

Culture Wars are conflicts between social groups who struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs and practices. Culture Wars commonly refers to topics in which general societal disagreements are seen. An example of a culture war is the Feminist Movement, where Women battled for equal right against men through protesting and political campaigns.

photography- The word Photography literally means ‘drawing with light’, which derives from the Greek photo, meaning light and graph, meaning to draw. Photography is the process of recording an image – a photograph – on light sensitive film or, in the case of digital photography, via a digital electronic or magnetic memory.

10 years earlier Joseph invented the first ever recognised camera the heliograph, the reason is is the first recognised camera is because it created the first photograph to last till today with the help of the camera obscura

A camera obscura is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. The image of lensless camera obscuras is also referred to as “pinhole image”

Photoshoot 1

For this photoshoot, I want to explore the binary opposites of masculinity and femininity, inspired by the works of Martin Parr.

In this photo, both subjects are positioned either side of the frame, implicating a difference between the two. This will be the general theme of the photoshoot, that both subjects will stand on both sides of the picture. To further experiment with the difference between masculinity and femininity, I will make changes to either subject to further emphasise their masculinity/femininity.

This photo is a perfect example of the type of contrast I will be attempting in this photoshoot. In the photo, the woman is dressed flamboyantly, to impress, but the man is only wearing speedos and a hat, as that is all that he needs.

Like in this example, I want to try and create a contrast between the masculinity and the femininity by demonstrating the difference between the two with a hidden message. This could be, in the context of clothing, that the man is wearing the essentials and the woman prefers to accentuate her taste in fashion.

Photoshoot 2

For this photoshoot, I want to explore the theme of identity, inspired by the works of Claude Cahun.

In this photo, everything but the hands and arms of the subject are visible. This introduces a sense of ambiguity to the identity of the subject. This is the type of ambiguity I want to experiment with in this photoshoot.

This is an example of what I can do to the photos in photoshop. I could attempt to recreate this effect with multiple different photos.

Liz Johnson Artur

The Russian-Ghanaian artist had two solo exhibitions in 2019, at the South London Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum, New York. Since moving to London in 1991, she has continued to dedicate herself to documenting the lives of communities from the African diaspora, adding to her ongoing project Black Balloon Archive.

“I wanted to approach the subject of masculinity from a woman’s perspective. My mum made the needlepoints [of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper and Mona Lisa and Iphigenie by Anselm Feuerbach]; she began making The Last Supper when I was 15 and it took her two years to complete, so I grew up with this image. She did so many needlepoints. They were made at home and she never showed them to anyone. Like the voguing classes I documented — the girls went there for themselves, it wasn’t to entertain anyone.”

Liz Johnson Artur type of photography is very cultural and has a very specific type of clothing used, most of the photos show what the girls wear such as short crop tops and shorts, some would wear vest or maybe some basket ball shorts which doesn’t really show masculinity.

Femininity

Femininity, Femininity is an umbrella term used to describe characteristics, behaviours and gender roles that women and girls share, for example girls and women are expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating and affectionate. Femininity can be imagined as a social construct, there is evidence that some of the behaviours that are considered feminine are shaped by culture and biology. Femininity has changed a lot over the years, for example the roles of women, personal attitudes of femininity have also developed through history. Things that were not accepted for women in the past are now accepted and encouraged.

Masculinity

Masculinity, Masculinity is also an umbrella term used to describe characteristics, behaviours and gender roles associated with men and boys, similarly to femininity, masculinity can be known as socially constructed however there is also evidence that some behaviours thought as masculine are controlled by both cultural factors and biological factors.

How identity can be influenced

identity can be influenced by place, belonging, your environment or someone’s upbringing. Identity and place or belonging are closely connected. A person’s childhood and surroundings have an impact on how they see themselves, especially when it comes to their gender. The expectations and standards that are placed in modern society have an effect on how people see their gender roles. The acceptance of different gender identities is influenced by the way someone was raised in a place. A person’s gender identity is shaped by friends, family, and social standards in their hometown. The freedoms and possibilities that are accessible to people depending on their gender are influenced by legal structures which shows the experience of gender identity. Other things like location, class, culture and race can also influence identity.

Gender Identity

Gender Identity describes how someone feels about their gender. For the majority of people there gender is the same as the sex they were at birth however for some people it is not the same.

Cultural Identity

Cultural Identity, Cultural identity is a part of a persons identity the way they see themselves. Cultural Identity can also be

Binary Opposites

Masculinity vs femininity is a binary opposite. Binary opposites are sets of related phrases or concepts that are seen as being the opposite to each other. The theories of socialists and semiotics study how language and signs contribute to a purpose are the foundation of the idea of binary opposites.