Sexual Politics and the Image

This course examines art and related visual fields in relation to sexual politics. Widely encountered in feminist criticism since the 1960s, the term 'sexual politics' has revolutionised approach to the image in art history and the humanities. This is because it positions the production of the sexed/gendered subject as a complex political issue that is neither fixed nor exclusively private but rather actively negotiated in the public domain of culture. A focus on 'sexual politics' in approaches to the image helps illuminate how images are produced and used by different social subjects; and how images play a role in the social demand for gender equality and the exploration of sexual difference. The deployment of the word 'politics' in this context suggests that the interests of diverse social groups are expressed in the image, which can therefore never be 'neutral' and completely autonomous -even if it appears so. On the contrary, both making and looking at images are understood as social practices. Ultimately, 'sexual politics' far from displacing the allure of the image, empowers us as spectators by helping us grasp the complex processes that draw us to the image as such. Credit Level: 10 Year taken: Year 3 Undergraduate