1. Women in the Arts: Final Presentation
By: Sejla Garbo

2. Pre-Women in the Arts:
Before this course, my knowledge on women in the arts was quite limited to only current musicians of our time (who in my opinion rarely make music meant to break social barriers or empower other women).

3. What I learned during the course and in France:
Cultural injustices are stronger in some places than in others (aka Satrapi being forced to wear a veil and not be able to follow her own personal culture)
There have been so many women artists in the world for years, but they often remain unknown due to not having equal opportunities as men to get their names and art out into the world or due to men taking claim for their art
Male gaze IS a thing

4. Examples of women being forgotten or men stealing a woman’s art:
Mary Shelley (Frankenstein)
Margaret Keane (Large-eyed painter)
Kanye West claiming to have made Taylor Swift famous
Elizabeth Magie (true inventor of Monopoly)
Rosalind Franklin got no credit for her contribution to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Plus numerous other artists, scientists, inventors, etc.

5. The Male Gaze:
I saw so many examples of the male gaze in artwork in France as well as in pop culture and media in America. This is frustrating because even in the 21st century it seems as though it is still a man’s world and that though we’ve moved one step forward, we’re still two steps behind, leaving it to men to ‘mansplain’ things to us and “show us how it’s done.”

7. Now that I’ve learned about all of this, what’s next?
Having acquired all this information, I’ve learned that even though women have been forcefully left out of certain male-dominated activities, we still find a way to make our mark in the world and show people that we are strong and can hold our own (like Clara Peeters and countless others refusing to let their art get lost in the abyss). Now I can identify injustice as it comes, bring awareness to it and make it known that it is not right, educate others, and work altogether towards a more equal society where everyone can get the recognition they deserve.