Pierre et Gilles: Gender and Sexual Orientation Essay

Introduction

Issues of sexual orientation, identity, gender and sex have always been of crucial importance for the existence of the human beings. In the modern world, the issues of sex and orientation can be found a rather higher level of development than in the past displaying more freedom for people in manifesting their likes and preferences in sexual sense. Nevertheless, considerable controversy still surrounds these issues as majority of the society still has not get accustomed to the existence of those who differ in their sexual orientation and do not hide it from public view. Thus, the special theory, “queer theory” was created by activists of the movements for the equal rights for people with different sexual orientation. This theory will be considered in this paper as a means to analyze the pieces of art that reflect the shift in public opinion about “queer” and about the issues of sex and sexual orientation. However, the major means of analysis in this paper will be the science about signs as main tools of exchange of messages between people, i. e. semiotics as “the words needed are to be found within semiotics” (Semiotics and Communication, 1993).

Pierre et Gilles

As far as this paper focuses on the tracing of the impact that the so-called “queer” art has on public perception of everything queer, the major subjects of this paper are pieces of art that deal with such issues as gay marriage, nude male and female body as a form of art, sadomasochism and all other phenomena that are considered to be abnormal by the society in the traditional sense of this word. Thus, the first work which is to be analyzed is the photo titled Les Maries by Pierre and Gilles which was shot in 1992. And the first impression made by the photo under consideration is the great amount of references to homosexuality. To be more exact, the very subject of the photo is the homosexual marriage which is difficult to see until one looks at the photo more attentively. The wife and the husband portrayed on the piece of art are actually both men one of which is wearing a traditional black tuxedo while another one is in a wedding gown with pink decorations:

What particular can be said about the photo and its meaning for the whole society? First of all, this is a piece of art that breaks all the standards and norms of the conservative society of human beings. It has never been “normal” to display in public such socially condemned feelings as homosexual ones, and due to this fact people considered “normal” consider homosexuals of lesbians to be dangerous, not for them personally but for the established way of social life: “They are ‘dangerous’ as certain social classes have sometimes been described, dangerous because they strike at the very heart of a world that is both narrowly self-assured and proud of its aesthetic and intellectual prerogatives. They challenge all forms of decorum without ever resorting to ostentation or militancy.” (Marcade and Cameron,1997:7).

Thus, from the point of view of semiotics, this picture is a sign of the change that has recently occurred in the public mind about homosexual relations. This photo, and the readiness of people to pose for it, can be interpreted as a sign of appearing freedom for the homosexual people and those supporting queer theory: “As an identity marker, queer is posted as a way to disrupt and simultaneously expose the construction of the reified binaries of heterosexual and homosexual and the static, constructed gender assignments male and female.” (Pinar, 1998: 17).

Gender perception of the audience of the photo is also disrupted by depicting a male in the clothes typical and associated with females. According to Pilcher and Whelehan (2004), gender is a rather conventional term and people usually label a person or a thing or a color with a particular gender on the basis of tradition and associations (167). Thus for example, if a pink color is thought of as feminine, then the men wearing this color is either confused with a woman or thought of as a homosexual. The photo by Pierre et Gilles proves this point of view, as spectators perceive pink color and wedding gown as feminine signs, while the person wearing them turns out to be a “queer” man.

Thus, from the point of view of the queer theory and semiotics, the photo by Pierre et Gilles reinforces the public perceiving of marriage and differences in sexual orientation. Despite all the criticism that one can receive due to such an opinion but seeing a man wearing a woman’s wedding gown and standing on the photo embraced by his husband is not perceived adequately by the modern society. People would rather feel disgust and experience confusion about the norms and standards of the society, while their attitude towards homosexual relations and issues of sexual identity would hardly be changed for the better. Finally, as Judith Butler says quoted by Bergman and Smith (1995), “in both butch and femme identities, the very notion of an original or natural identity is put into question and indeed, it is precisely that question as it is embodied in these identities that becomes one source of their erotic significance” (21).

Robert Mapplethorpe

As compared to the work by Pierre et Gilles which is a symbolic reflection of mocking the social standards and norms that are prescribed to the representatives of both sexes, the works by Robert Mapplethorpe reflect some other aspects of the same issues. For example, the major topics of works by Robert Mapplethorpe are the open manifestations of their author’s being homosexual and his great admiration for nude body, especially the male nude body. Moreover, in these works the special form of protest against the prohibitions imposed on the people by the society can be observed. The author under consideration protested against what he considered to be inhuman, i. e. against telling a person what he or she should do and what he or she should not. In other words, Mapplethorpe fought against stereotyping which was mainly negative, and proved the idea by Pilcher and Whelehan (2004), who considered stereotypes, especially negative ones, to be the reasons of all great concerns and misunderstandings in the society (167).

Here, the semiotics comes into play again because stereotyping is a kind of signs that are attributed to this or that norm, sex, person and standard of behavior. They also form people’s behavior and their expectations from others. And the work by Mapplethorpe to be analyzed in this paper reflects this statement perfectly. It violates the social prohibition for displaying nude bodies and is a matter of controversy due to its courageous idea and brilliant composition:

The first impression this 1985 photo titled Ken, Lydia, and Tyler makes is allusion to the classical art of the Ancient Greece where the beauty of the human body was admired and embodied in art. Thus, from the point of view of semiotics, this photo is the sign showing the desire to go back to the times when art was not politicized and served for pleasure of people. Moreover, the sign demonstrating the freedom of a human being who can easily undress and feel comfortable among others can also be observed in this picture.

What is also important about this picture is that it symbolizes the racial and sexual equality by portraying both white and black males holding hands, and a woman between them. Such a harmony was probably the major idea of the author of the photo who claimed to pursue the classical beauty of human body in his work saying that photography as it is has never been his hobby, while the objects of his works have always attracted him. Moreover, according to Butler (1993) “the body posited as prior to the sign is also posited or signified as prior” (30), and in works by Mapplethorpe bodies create signs and express meanings and not vice versa.

On the whole, from the point of view of the queer theory, works by Robert Mapplethorpe are divided into several periods in which he started with a cruel photos of leather-wearing nude females and males and came to the depiction of the monumental beauty of the human body, which, according to Nead (1992) was the main difficulty in his works: “Of course, Mapplethorpe always makes it more difficult for himself by deliberately framing everything and everybody in the same strait-jacket style – the world reinvented as logic, precision, sculpture in obvious light and shadow.” (8) This, however, adds to the credibility and importance of his works for change of public attitude towards “queer” making it better in all respects with the help of beauty which is not spoiled by any confusing semiotic signs that could distract attention of viewers.

Grayson Perry

As contrasted to both above discussed works, the pieces of art created by Grayson Perry have their specific features. First of all, as Pilcher and Whelehan, (2004) notice: “The gender order is a pattern system of ideological and material practices, performed by individuals in a society, through which power relations between women and men are made, and remade, as meaningful. It is through the gender order of a society that forms or codes of masculinities and femininities are created and recreated, and relations between them are organized.” (61) But Grayson Perry managed to break this belief by living as a man and a woman at the same time, i. e. being a transvestite.

As it could be expected from such a free person, his works are reflections of his outlook of the world which try to persuade its spectators that sexual orientation and preferences can be dictated only by the inner feelings of a particular person but not by the society. Thus, Perry’s works are full of various scenes from sexual life of people that include sadomasochism, homosexual and lesbian sexual relations, men wearing women’s clothes, etc. The work under analysis, for example, is the scene where roles of women and men are vague while characters portrayed as women may in reality turn out to be men:

Ceramics, as the major sphere of artistic interest of Grayson Perry, displays some features typical for Ancient Greek ceramic art but also combines them with the modern trends in art and in social thought. Thus, the main idea of the works under consideration is an attempt to change the social perception of non-traditional sexual orientation and issues connected with sex and identity on the whole. From the point of view of queer theory, the work by Perry is a manifestation of readiness of homosexuals and lesbians to stand for their equal rights with other members of the society. From the point of view of semiotics, this piece of art is the sign of the possible change of social roles of men and women in the society as well as the sign of the vague boundaries between the two sexes for such people as Grayson Perry and many of his supporters and fans. This work provides for the change in the public opinion about sexual orientation and identity by its direct appeal to spectators and purely artistic form deprived of any elements of violence, dirt or cruelty.

Conclusion

Thus, to conclude the paper, it is necessary to state that pieces of arts analyzed in this paper are able to change the social perception of the non-traditional sexual orientation and contribute to people’s understanding of the issues of sex and identity in the modern world. All the three works considered are pieces of art displaying the features of queer theory and have considerable meaning according to the semiotics’ point of view. The photo by Pierre et Gilles reaches its aim of persuading people in normality of homosexual relations by mocking the standards and their makers, while two other works try to do the same by appealing to the beauty of human body and people’s understanding of it.

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