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The Guerrilla Girls: Feminism's Wonder Women

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The Guerrilla Girls: Feminism's Wonder Women
The Guerrilla Girls: Feminism’s Wonder Women In the classic tales of good versus evil, there are always one or more superheroes that fight for an ideal world, society and way of living. Take Batman and Robin as an example of these sort of superheroes. They fought crime in Gotham City to make it a more fair and just city for its citizens. Their identities were a secret in order for them to continue with their crime fighting and to avoid their personalities be the face of their cause. Put in terms of real life and in today’s society, there are those who choose to speak up, be active and try to make changes within their respective communities. Well, in the Art World, the roles of masked avengers who fight both sexism and racism are taken on by a group best known as the Guerilla Girls. The concept of the Guerilla Girls began in 1985. At that time, The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened an exhibition titled An International Survey of Painting and Sculpture. It was supposed to be an up-to-the minute summary of the most significant contemporary art in the world. Out of one hundred and sixty-nine artists, only thirteen were women. The curator, Kynaston McShine said, “Any artist who wasn't in the show should rethink his career” (The Guerrilla Girls). There were protests and picketing outside the museum by artists and feminists alike, but for a few other feminists, the idea that something more radical and progressive had to be done came about. Then, a new feminist activist group came to fruition and hit the ground running. That is when the Guerrilla Girls went out armed with gorilla masks to protect their identities. It spoke out against the curator’s statement and lack of female artist coverage (The Guerrilla Girls). Later it was a mission to eradicate racial inequality in the art community as well as other feminist issues. Many of its protesting tactics included producing posters, stickers, books, printed projects, and actions that expose sexism and racism


Cited: Guerrilla Girls and Politics in the Art World, 1985-1995, Introduction. 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/ggirls/intro.htm>. Guerrilla Girls BroadBand. 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://ggbb.org/>. Guerrilla Girls On Tour! 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <guerrillagirlsontour.com>. GUERRILLAGIRLS: Fighting Discrimination with Facts, Humor and Fake Fur. 01 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.guerrillagirls.com/>.
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