Abstract

In art, the female body has forever been objectified and controlled by patriarchal systems, reducing women to passive subjects for the male gaze. The definition of body collecting is the act of gathering and displaying human bodies or body parts in a space, whether private or institutional. The normalization of ‘body collecting’ in art has been apparent throughout history. Whether it is a collection of Greek Goddesses in the Louvre★, paintings from the Renaissance era★ or sculptures commemorating women, such as A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft★. The objectificationThe act of treating someone, particularly women in this context, as an object to be used or consumed, rather than as a full human being with agency and autonomy. in society is further exemplified by the nostalgic desire to fetishizeBehaviour in which someone shows a sexual interest in an object, or in a part of the body other than the sexual organs. idealized representations of feminity, almost always being tied to a past that glorifies patriarchal values. With prejudice not only confined to the art world but embedded in societal structures, influencing cultural norms and how women are viewed and valued ubiquitously.

Focusing on feministAn individual who actively supports and advocates for gender equality in political, economic, personal, and social spheres, aligning with the collective movements and ideas that challenge systemic inequalities and promote equal rights for all genders. theories, more specifically the concept of the Feminist Killjoy written by Sara Ahmed¹, this thesis critiques the male gaze and the privatisation of the female body, highlighting how such representations continue to support gender inequalityThe unequal treatment or perception of individuals based on their gender, often leading to disparities in areas such as employment, authority, and social roles. . The feminist killjoy interrupts these narratives, offering a more critical perspective that challenges the patriarchal control in society, making space to contest. Through the topics covered, the thesis provides a critical perspective on the ongoing discourse surrounding body politicsThe ways in which bodies, especially women’s bodies, are regulated, controlled, and represented in society, often through patriarchal structures. , art and how gender shapes the distributions of power at all levels of society. The main research question of this thesis is: ‘How does the normalization of body collecting in art, shaped by patriarchal ownership and nostalgic desire, manifest in society, and how can a feminist killjoy perspective critique male privatisation of the female body‘

Introduction

Throughout history in Western art depictions, women in art have always been depicted in a strikingly polarized way - they are either good, respectable, a saint even, or a sinner, erotic and morally corrupt – with the latter being more dominant. This polarizationThe division of something between two contrasting or opposing groups or ideas. can be traced back as far as foundational and religious narratives, such as the Biblical belief that God created Adam, and Eve was created from Adam’s rib★ to appease his loneliness and desperation for a companion . Humans typically have between 24 to 26 ribs; the symbolic reference to losing one reflects the early gendered notionsIdeas or beliefs that are specifically tied to a person’s gender, often reinforcing traditional roles or stereotypes about how men and women should behave. of ownership and control over women. Not only this, but after naming all the living organisms in the world, Adam finally named Eve after ‘The Fall’ in Genesis 3:20. According to the bible, Adam had to name his helper, Eve, because if he named her before anything else, he wouldn’t be able to demonstrate his authority over her fully. Despite Eve being referred to as the ‘life-giver,’ Adam had to name her first.²

This thesis examines how patriarchal structures have shaped the representation of women in art, forever alluding to the image that their bodies are commodities subject to male control. Nostalgic desire additionally contributes to this by idealizing past representations of femininity, reinforcing traditional gender roles and expectations★. The effects of this normalization of the objectification of women in art extend way beyond the canvas, manifesting into the societal views of gender, sexuality and power dynamics in society, subsequently contributing to broader cultural norms of objectification and marginalization.

The persistence of gender inequality, despite contemporary legal, economic and political systems designed to combat it, implies that there are still ongoing social processes that perpetuate gender inequality. The term gender and using it as a primary framework in interactions leads to making unintended consequences due to how gendered meanings extend way beyond areas related to sex or reproduction. Researchers and social scientists have gathered substantial evidence demonstrating that stereotypes and assumptions that are made about women and men influence daily interactions and contribute to gender inequalities in areas such as employment, wages, authority and, of course, family roles. This reinforcement of gender inequalities and stereotypes normalizes violence against women by perpetuating harmful beliefs about gender roles and women's perceived inferiority. As a result, femicideThe gender-based killing of women, typically rooted in societal beliefs that women are inferior or less valuable than men. becomes more accepted, as it is often driven by these deeply ingrained societal attitudes.The reinforcement of gender inequalities through interactions can normalize violence against women, making it easier to justify their mistreatment. This culture of the dehumanization of women can contribute to femicide by perpetuating attitudes that both tolerate and overlook violence, thus increasing the risk of women being targeted and killed.

This issue is not only affecting women, but it has an acute effect on men too; as Bell Hooks³ states in the novel Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, “Cultures of domination attack self-esteem, replacing it with a notion that we derive our sense of being from dominion over another. Patriarchal masculinity teaches men that their sense of self and identity, their reason for being, resides in their capacity to dominate others”.

To unpack this ongoing issue, this thesis will introduce and use the feminist killjoy’s perspective, conceptualized by writer and scholar Sara Ahmed as a tool for critiquing the dominance of male privilege and the marginalization of female agency, unpicking the lies our culture tells us. A feminist killjoy approach challenges these normalized narratives by disrupting the male-centred gazeA perspective or viewpoint in which the experiences and bodies of women are primarily viewed through the lens of male desire, authority, and control. , questioning the objectification of the female body and advocating for more inclusive, diverse and empowering representations. Through this framework, the feminist killjoy perspective will offer a way of dismantling and resisting the normalization of body collecting, calling attention to the violence or harm inherent in the objectification and privatization of women’s bodies.

By examining the intersection of art, patriarchyA societal structure in which men hold primary power, dominating roles in leadership, authority, and control, often at the expense of women’s rights and representation. and the privatization of the female body, this thesis seeks to resist the normalization of body collecting – the process by which women’s bodies are objectified and subject to commodificationThe process of turning something into a commodity, or something that can be bought, sold, or traded. .

(1.0) Body Ownership and Control: An Artistic and Cultural Overview

Body ownership is often understood as an individual’s fundamental right to have autonomy over their own body. However, in the context of patriarchal control of the representation of women’s bodies in art – both visual and literary – this definition becomes deeply problematic. Throughout history, the concept of body ownership has been shaped by male-dominated societal systems, reducing women’s bodies to objects that are regulated, commodified and consumed by others. This recurring theme in artistic traditions reflects and reinforces the societal norm of male dominance, where women’s bodies are not indeed seen as their own but as property to be surveryed and controlled.

Before the shift to early modern European society, women in feudal societies often had more autonomy, particularly in rural and agricultural contexts. Women were active participants in household and agricultural work, contributing significantly to the survival and functioning of the community. However, with the rise of patriarchal systems and how the feudal system became more centralized and hierarchal, this autonomy began to be compromised. In this period, women who deviated from traditional roles or held unconventional views were often labelled as 'Witches'★. Witches, usually seen as mighty women, were blamed for anything that disrupted social order within a community. In medeivel times, the – now-interpreted - feminist ideologies, including first and second-wave movements surrounding witchcraft, were rooted in women’s resistance to patriarchal structures and their challenge to male-dominated religious and societal norms. These women, particularly healers or midwives, were sometimes seen as threatening the male authority and knowledge, leading to witch hunts★. In a sense, the witch trials can be seen as an early expression of the repression of female autonomy linked to societal fears of female power outside the control of men.

With the transition from feudal to early modern European society, women’s roles shifted from active participation in agricultural and household work to being more confined to domestic duties (needed everybody to work for society systems to continue). As early modern society emphasized patriarchal values, women were increasingly defined by their relationships with men and their roles as wives and mothers. Cultural expectations reinforced passivity, obedience and morality, limiting women’s participation in everyday life and academic pursuits and defining their work primarily through beauty, sexuality and family.

While modern legal systems promise equality, the intersectionalThe understanding that social identities such as gender, race, class, and sexuality are interconnected and cannot be examined in isolation from one another. reality is far more complex. Despite laws that assert equal rights on paper, women’s autonomy and ownership over their bodies are often limited. For example, sex workers continue to face criminalization and violence while their bodily autonomy is ignored. Women’s rights to make decisions about their reproductive health, like abortion★, are removed and limited in many parts of the world. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 40% of women worldwide live in countries with restrictive abortion laws, highlighting the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights and autonomy. Furthermore, women who are gender non-conforming, disabled, immigrants, or undocumented face compounded discrimination as patriarchal systems intersect with racism, ableism, and xenophobia to strip them of bodily autonomy. In this context, the concept of body ownership remains a contested and complex issue, with art and culture continuing to reflect, reinforce and perpetuate patriarchal control over women’s bodies.

Robert Browning⁴ exemplifies this concept in his 1842 monologue poem My Last Duchess . Like many cultural expressions of the time, from fairytales such as Snow White⁵ to Christian theological views on the female body, the poem is a cautionary tale about the consequences of a woman’s perceived ‘fall from grace’. The poem is seen as an undeniable warning towards what will happen to the women following his Last Duchess if they ‘behave in the same way’ as the Duchess of Ferrara. The Duke’s perspective implies that her actions, such as her perceived flirtation or disobedience, directly led to her downfall, reinforcing the idea that women are to blame for their misfortune. In his eyes, she deserved to die because of how she behaved, echoing the ‘look what you made me do’ mentality that is often seen in patriarchal systems. Through the lens of the portrait, the woman is reduced to a commodified object for the Duke’s ownership and pride. Her ‘unruly’ behaviour catches up to her, with her death serving as a brutal consequence, revealing how patriarchal systems commodify women’s bodies, turning them into symbols of male status and control.

The way the Duchess is portrayed in the painting is a prime example of a metaphor for patriarchal control of women’s bodies. Throughout, the Duke speaks of her as if she can be owned and displayed as a work of art, as a symbol of male authority. In lines 37 – 39, "Just this or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, Or there exceed the mark," he commands her to stop, explaining to the guest that if the former Duchess had changed her behaviour and not resisted the degradation that it would’ve saved her life. This possessive attitude is a symbolic cultural tendency to treat women’s bodies as possessions, either physically or representationally, reducing them to the needs and pleasure of men.

During the Victorian Era, the art scene was populated by men, exacerbating male dominance in society. Even the act of commissioning a painting of a woman can be viewed as an extension of patriarchal power. A period of time in which, at the end of the 1800s, the artistic representation of women became erotic and lustful, an era of the ‘idealization of the female virginity.’ The Victorian age brought about the introduction of the industry of mass-printed pornography★, making it widely available to society and leaving an everlasting impact that can undeniably be seen today. Male artists at the time made art another component in the social discourse of gender equality in society, making it a subtle way of undermining feminist power. The central belief at the time was that women should only concern themselves with having a prosperous household and being birth givers. To quote Angela Saini⁶ in The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule, ‘Their freedoms and privileges are slowly eaten away. At the same time, over the centuries, working women have gradually disappeared from the historical record. If there’s attention on what women are doing, it is increasingly on their loyalty as wives, mothers, and citizens.’ It can be seen from this that the pattern has been recurring throughout all of history, in both visual and literary art. Continuing to show how women were and are treated in society, My Last Duchess is one of the earliest critiques from a male of these patriarchal structures. The opinion of the Duke goes unopposed in the poem, leading the reader to create the opposing opinion themselves, depending on their stance at the time, serving as a precise case study of patriarchal ownership and control over the female body. In the end, she is just an object on the wall. It demonstrates the deeply ingrained cultural practices of male control and objectification. As stated previously, this reflects the broader normalization of patriarchal power in not only Browning’s time but until the modern day. This concept of controlling behavior, being a theme both in art and culture, will be further explored in later chapters relating to the commodification of women’s bodies.

(2.0) Nostalgic Desire and the Idealization of Femininity in Patriarchal Systems

The definition of nostalgic desire or yearning (according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary) is the ‘Longing for or thinking fondly of a past time or condition’. It is often placed within selective memory; in this case, concerning patriarchal systems, it usually refers to a time of gendered ideals. From this, patriarchal systems capitalize on both idealized and outdated representations of femininity. In art, nostalgic desire can manifest as a fetishization of the past, where the female body is represented not as an evolving subject but just as a static object of desire stuck within gender norms. The ideal within the patriarchal system is to restore and control the ‘ideal’ version of femininity, of purity and beauty. The concept of femininity has been historically constructed by describing a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles that are associated with women. In early representations in art, women were portrayed as mother figures, muse or sexual objects, still relating to societal roles.

When British feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey⁷ introduced the male gaze in 1973 it gave people more ability to describe something pre-existing in society regarding femininity. She defined this concept in her 1975 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” published in a film critic magazine called Screen⁸. The essay looks at how women in the media are perceived through a heterosexual male point of view★, emphasizing how the male gaze impacts individual perceptions and knowledge of femininity and gender norms. Although the essay is refers to the cinematic world, focusing on three gazes - audience, character, and camera - these lenses she refers to are also present in everyday life – in a different form. In this essay, Mulvey further emphasizes the present sexual imbalance by referring to the 1950s Western American movie director Budd Boetticher, quoting him: ‘What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself, the woman has not the slightest importance.’

Nostalgic desire is a tool that reinforces gender hierarchy, glorifying the past of women being less than men; it perpetuates the notion that the ideal woman is one whose appearance is coded for eroticismThe representation of sexuality, often tied to the objectification of women, emphasizing their bodies as sources of male pleasure. , pleasure and the benefit of men. Art that looks at nostalgic femininity often reimagines women as objects of male desire and purity, as historical representations of society’s gendered roles. This femininity then becomes idealized and becomes a harmful stereotypical standard that real women must live up to. By idealizing a past where women were even more tightly controlled (whether in domestic life, art or society), it keeps women in a state of regression, even when significant strides have been made towards equality. In contemporary art, feminine idealization may be subtle, but it does remain to exist. Artists – mainly males – continue to reinforce the nostalgic representations of femininity, often without giving a critical response to the problematic historical context that the stereotypes perpetuate. It persists in softness, vulnerability or eroticism, the ideas of femininity from patriarchal standards, but hidden behind being ‘empowering’. However, this is being critiqued in contemporary art by feminist artists/critics/viewers who deconstruct and bring a voice to women of the past who could not have a voice.

(3.0) Patriarchal Ownership and the Commodification of the Female Body

Patriarchal ownership refers to the historical and ongoing control by patriarchal systems over women’s bodies, sexuality and reproductive rights. This term intersects with the concept of commodification, which involves reducing women’s bodies to objects that can be bought, sold or consumed, reducing women’s bodies to be based on physical appearance, sexual appeal or use for other’s pleasure. Historically, women’s bodies have long been subjected to patriarchal regulation and ownership through laws, social norms and cultural representations, often being seen as property rather than individuals with autonomy. This ownership is perpetuated through various means, from cultural representations in the media to legal control over women’s healthcare rights, with fathers, husbands, boyfriends, and later social structures often acting as the supposed owners. In art and culture, women are frequently reduced to passive subjects in unattainable forms, existing solely for the viewer’s gaze, thus reinforcing patriarchal ideals. It is not just the representation of women’s bodies in art that is problematic, but also the broader issue of how women’s bodies are consumed in advertising, pornography, and visual media, where their value is often tied to their appearance and sexual appeal.

Beauty standards are shaped by a complex intersection of racial, capitalist and gendered factors that reinforce societal inequalities. Regarding race, Eurocentric features, such as whiter skin and straight hair, are often deemed the ideal, marginalizing individuals with darker skin or different hair textures. This leads to colourismDiscrimination based on skin tone, typically favoring lighter skin over darker skin, which can perpetuate racial inequalities. and cultural appropriation, where elements of non-white beauty are taken and appropriated without respect for their cultural significance. CapitalismIt is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. thrives on these beauty ideals, with industries profiting from promoting products and services that promise the buyer a way of attaining these unattainable standards. Gendered beauty standards put pressure on women to achieve specific physical traits like thinness, youthfulness and softness, while men are expected to conform to ideals of muscularity and strength. These standards often marginalize non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals. Ideals are also influenced by class, as they often correlate with higher socioeconomic status, leaving lower-income individuals feeling excluded or unable to access the products necessary to meet these standards.

A prime example of the pressures of beauty standards can be seen in the experience of Julie Chen Moonves★, a Chinese American news anchor and TV personality. At the time, she was a well-known news reporter but wanted to achieve her dream of becoming a news anchor. When she approached her news director about the possibility, he told her ‘Because of your heritage – because of your Asian eyes – sometimes I’ve noticed when you’re on camera and you’re interviewing someone… you look disinterested’. She sought further advice, and reached out to a talent agent, who took it a step further, telling her, ‘I cannot represent you... unless you get surgery to make your eyes bigger’. In response to this pressure, she then conformed to undergoing a surgery called blepharoplasty, otherwise known as ‘double eyelid surgery’, to alter her appearance and advance her career.

As previously discussed, the male gaze acts as a mechanism of patriarchal ownership, making a woman’s primary value lie in their physical appearance and eroticism. It is a term used to describe how the media and culture present women through the eyes of the desire of the heterosexual male. It can manifest in various forms, where women are primarily assessed by their physical appearance, removing their sense of individuality and removing their autonomy to fulfil male desires. The objectification of the female body is linked to the commodification process, where femininity is no longer only viewed as an aesthetic but also something that can be sold and consumed. Consumer cultureA societal system that links self-worth and identity to the ability to consume, where femininity is commodified and marketed through products aimed at women. undeniably links femininity with consumption - what you wear and how you look will determine your femininity and how the male society perceives you. Brands constantly promote products that will enhance certain parts of the female body, whether it is anti-wrinkle cream or natural breast enhancement pills. This gives the message that femininity is something that can be bought and sculpted, reducing a woman’s worth to her physical appearance.

In 2004, the American brand Dove launched its ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’★. The main message was that women’s unique differences should be celebrated rather than discriminated against and that their insecurities should be transformed into confidence. The campaign was widespread, appearing in TV advertisements, magazines, talk shows, and social media. While it gained significant popularity and commercial success, it also faced criticism for its mixed messages. Critics argued that, despite promoting self-esteem, the campaign still profited from women’s insecurities, raising concerns about its manipulative approach within consumer culture. Although Dove was focusing on ‘Real Beauty’, the fact is that many young girls may still feel compelled to compare themselves to these so-called real women. This raises the question: Could dove’s ad campaign be more harmful than traditional ad campaigns? Despite promoting body positivity, young girls may feel inadequate compared to the women in the campaign, especially if they lack the tools to analyze these comparisons critically. Some studies suggest that women watching ads with ‘average’ -sized bodies may become more self-conscious about their bodies due to the focus being on ‘real’ women. This heightened self-awareness may trigger a plethora of negative feelings, such as a fear of gaining or losing weight. Even when these ‘real’ bodies are features, viewers might still be reminded of societal beauty ideals. From a young age, women are often raised to conform to unrealistic beauty standards, and adolescence, being a time of uncertainty and self-discovery, intensifies this challenge. Education is crucial to help young females who have become overly focused on their physical appearance as they start to see other aspects of their lives, such as their education, as less important. This campaign can also feel hypocritical, as it attempts to empower women while still reinforcing the very pressures it aims to challenge.

The media plays a pivotal role in the fetishization of femininity, not only creating idealized images of womanhood that align with the patriarchal standards that emphasize youth and beauty but also sexual roles. Due to commodification in the media, there is an expectation for women to not only perform in everyday life but also in the bedroom. There is an expectation of women to perform in certain roles to fulfil the sexual fantasies of the male gaze, completely disregarding the needs of women. This sexual hierarchy reinforces power dynamics between men and women, reducing women’s value to their ability to please men rather than their unique values of autonomy.

The culture of fetishizing femininity has a profound impact on women’s sense of identity, with the constant internalization of beauty standards as a measure of self-worth. When women fail to meet these standards, it often leads to feelings of self-hatred or body dysmorphiaA mental health condition where an individual becomes overly preoccupied with perceived flaws in their appearance. , diminishing their self-esteem and sense of personal value. As discussed earlier, this pressure frequently results in engaging in harmful behaviours, such as diets and cosmetic surgery (e.g., BBLs, facelifts, lipoplasty), which have become increasingly popular in today’s world. At the heart of this commodification of beauty lies the fetishization of femininity, where women are expected to embody narrow, idealized traits such as being youthful, vulnerable, naïve, thin, white, able-bodied, and passive. These characteristics are shaped and reinforced by the male gaze, limiting the representation of women and perpetuating harmful stereotypes about what it means to be female in society. The commodified ideal places immense pressure on women to conform to unrealistic standards while also fueling consumerism, leaving those who do not fit these harsh expectations marginalized. Overall, beauty standards shaped by racial, capitalist, and gendered forces perpetuate inequality and consumer culture, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and ideals that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

(4.0) Feminist Killjoys and the Disruption of Power Dynamics in Body Politics

When referring to body politics, feminist killjoys emerge as a critical disruptor of patriarchal norms; they take a more critical look at the objectification and ownership of women’s bodies in art and society. The concept of a killjoy is an individual who rejects the narratives that uphold male privilege, instead disrupting the norms and the uncomfortable truths about gender inequality. When delving into the intersections of feminist theories, body politics and power dynamics, Sara Ahmed’s work on the feminist killjoy provides a critical framework for understanding societal norms that enforce patriarchal control. Ahmed’s concept of the feminist killjoy offers an essential lens through which to examine how women’s bodies are commodified and objectified – particularly in the context of art and culture. By challenging the normalization of body collecting, where women’s bodies are fetishized, it exposes how the system enforces ownership, which is often masked by nostalgic desires. By unravelling the lies that promote complicity in society, it highlights how these systems persist and pursue not only through privatization but also the erasure of having control over one’s actions and decisions. This not only disrupts dominant power dynamics but also offers a pathway towards resistance – encouraging a broad societal revolt with gendered violence, objectification and the pervasive influence of patriarchal control over female representation.

One of the most prominent and impactful examples of a feminist collective was founded in 1985 New York City. The Guerilla Girls were formed as a group of anonymous, feminist female artists who dedicated themselves to fighting sexism and racism in the art world. They have produced a series of different artworks, most famously billboards and public interventions, which they have then displayed in prohibited places, for example, outside museums or galleries, to bring light to issues. To grab the attention of the viewer, they use facts and figures as well as humor in their work to captivate, covering their faces with a gorilla mask to keep anonymity. This is a key example of where there is disruption of the male gaze, a feminist interventionA method of disrupting patriarchal norms and challenging the status quo, often through art, activism, and public engagement, to confront issues such as gender inequality and objectification. . Their work directly challenges the power dynamics surrounding the ownership and control of women’s bodies, both in terms of representation and underrepresentation of women artists. Through appropriating the imagery of traditional art and calling attention to the systematic exclusion of women from major galleries and museums (i.e. the Met. museum) and exhibitions, the Guerrilla Girls confront how women’s bodies have been confined to certain idealized roles within the art world.

Referring to the Met example, which was previously stated, the poster ‘Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum?’★ in 1989 is a primary example of this confrontation. The Guerrilla girls visited the Met to compare the number of female artists that are represented in modern art galleries, juxtaposing them alongside the number of naked female bodies in the artworks that are on display, including the statistics in the poster. The Public Art Fund, which initially proposed the idea to for a billboard, ultimately rejected it, saying there was a ‘lack of clarity’ in the work. So, they then found a new way of demonstrating: on New York City buses. Along with the bold graphic design, the poster uses a naked female figure from the painting Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres★, made in 1814, which is displayed in the Louvre, Paris. It spoke on the lack of gender diversity at the museum and the art world in the 80’s and was later reissued as a poster in 2005-2012 due to the continuation of an issue that was never resolved.

By highlighting the removal of women’s agency in both the creation and display of art, the Guerrilla Girls also critique the commodification of the female body. Their work challenges the notion that women’s bodies exist solely for the pleasure or consumption of others, mainly the male viewer. Through their activism and art, there is the disruption of unwanted control and ownership, transforming the tools of art and representation into a means of resistance and critique. In doing so, they embody the feminist killjoy role by upsetting the comfort and complacency of a system that thrives on the objectification of women. The Guerrilla Girls exemplify how feminist killjoys can use art as a radical site of disruption, breaking down the patriarchal structures and striving for a more inclusive and realistic representation of women’s bodies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the normalization of body collecting in art, shaped by patriarchal ownership and nostalgic desire, manifests in society as the commodification and objectification of women’s bodies. Throughout history, art has served as a tool for patriarchal control, objectifying the female form and reducing it to something to be consumed and controlled by the male gaze. Women’s bodies have consistently been portrayed as replaceable and available for male consumption, evident not only in art but also in advertising, media and culture. Patriarchal ownership and nostalgic desire continue to fuel the commodification and idealization of women’s bodies, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and reinforcing gender inequalities.

From a feminist killjoy perspective, this normalization is not something to accept passively. As Sara Ahmed states in The Feminist Killjoy Handbook, the feminist killjoy ‘reclaiming the feminist killjoy for ourselves, we turn the judgement into a project, because if feminism causes misery, that is what we might need to cause,’ disrupting the oppressive systems and structures that prioritize the comfort of unjust power dynamics. Feminism demands this disruption, even when it causes discomfort, as it forces society to confront the societal norms and injustices we tend to overlook★. The feminist killjoy critiques the male privatization of the female body, rejecting the notion that women’s bodies exist solely to serve male pleasure and nostalgic desire. By doing so, it challenges the objectification and commercialization of women’s bodies, making it undeniably clear that such representations are harmful.

Feminist art and theorists, such as the Guerrilla Girls, Sara Ahmed and Bell Hooks, create space for more inclusive definitions and narratives of femininity that are not rooted in patriarchal ideals. The feminist killjoy’s disruption of the normalization of body collecting in art serves as a form of resistance. It calls for a reassessment of how women are represented and how they are allowed to define themselves as individuals, reclaiming ownership of their bodies from the controlling forces of patriarchy. Through this resistance, the feminist killjoy demands that women’s bodies be seen as their own, not as objects for the consumption of others.

Footnotes

1. Sara Ahmed is a British-Australian scholar and feminist theorist who is known for her work in critical race theory, postcolonial studies, queer and affect theory, feminist theory, and lesbian feminism, as well as their intersections. Ahmed has had several extremely influential books, including The Feminist Killjoy Handbook and The Cultural Politics of Emotion and Living a Feminist Life, which discuss topics such as identity, power and social justice. ⋆｡°✩
2. (1 Timothy 2:13) "For Adam was formed first, and then Eve." ⋆｡°✩
3. Bell Hooks was an American author, feminist theorist, cultural critic and educator renowned for her work on race, class, gender and media. Her writing often explored the intersections of oppression and how patriarchal systems affect marginalized groups – focusing on love, social justice and spirituality. Some of her most influential works include Ain’t I a Woman?, Feminism is for Everybody and All About Love: New Visions. ⋆｡°✩
4. Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright. He was widely recognized for his dramatic monologues and psychological insight. His works including My Last Duchess and The Pied Piper of Hamelin all explore themes of love, power, and human nature. ⋆｡°✩
5. An example of this concept in a fairytale is Snow White. In the story, Snow White's beauty is portrayed as her most defining characteristic, and her downfall stems from the jealousy of her stepmother, the Evil Queen, who feels threatened by Snow White’s growing beauty. The Queen's obsession with maintaining her beauty and youth and her desire to eliminate competition reflects a more profound societal expectation that women must embody physical perfection to retain their worth. Snow White's "fall" comes not from her moral failings but from her beauty, which makes her a target, illustrating how women's value can be reduced to their physical appearance and how their loss of that beauty leads to their downfall. ⋆｡°✩
6. Angela Saini is a British Science journalist and author. Her work addresses the intersections of gender, race and science. Her books, including The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule, explore how historical and cultural factors have shaped patriarchal systems and social dominance of men. ⋆｡°✩
7. Laura Mulvey is a British feminist theorist best known for her groundbreaking essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, where she introduced the concept of the ‘male gaze’ in cinema. Her work critiques how visual media often objectify women and reinforce patriarchal power structures. ⋆｡°✩
8. Screen was a leading academic film journal at the time (1975) that published critical essays on cinema, media studies, and cultural theory, often focusing on issues like gender, ideology, and narrative. ⋆｡°✩

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