Monday, November 19, 2007

Pg. 170

All of the images are very masculine and not only because there is physically a male in them, but the text as well. "Your moments of joy have the precision of military strategy" is a perfect quote because I think it sums up the male ideal perfectly. It shows that everything in life can be controlled (by a strong man) and if you take control over your life and dedicate yourself to the outcome of your future, you know that in the end the reason you are happy is because you made yourself happy. No one else played a roll in the outcome of your life because you did it all yourself.
Science, history, and math have always been seen as more of a masculine thing. It was never "cool" in high school to have girls know more answers in the math room and it was never "cool" to have girls take over during the pig fetus disection and have the boys squirm instead. Those areas have always been geared towards men and I like these images because they touch on that. The differences in the world that experts in science and math have made have always been men, maybe because women can't handle such complex thought (kidding. I'm a gir.) It's weird though how I can only think of two women off the top of my head that have made a contribution to science: Curry and Henrietta Leavitt.
I believe that Kruger is challenging the norms and not so much the men themselves. It's like that one list that for women that says "25 reasons why shoes are better than men". She's plaing with the ideals that men are supposed to have when they are being socialized. They are taught to be little machismos and that men being or doing anything feminine is seen as a sign of weakness. They are supposed to be the opposite of what every female attribute is. It's funny because that fits in right with the images in the book.

No comments: