masquerade
The photographs are a series of five showing various beautification rituals. They are techniques that are traditionally thought of as being feminine activities but are here performed by a man: myself. As a series they can be thought of as a process of creating the image of a debonair male. The first picture shows me shaving my armpits, the second waxing my chest, the hairless aesthetic being one that is increasingly popular with young males. The waxing particularly demonstrates that quite severe discomfort and pain is considered acceptable to create certain ideal body image. The third is of me wearing a facemask. The position of my head suggests a certain sadness, perhaps at the lengths undertaken to create the right ‘look’. The mask and the side lighting paradoxically evoke altogether more macho images of men, such as those in the final scenes of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979). The next image shows me plucking my eyebrows and the fifth me straightening my hair. The effect of light and shadow and distorted skin in the eyebrow plucking shot produce a grotesque image. The process of beautification here is depicted as unattractive and throws doubt over its value. The fifth shot contrasts to this with softer lighting from the front. These last two are the final shots in the series and should be thought of as final modifications in creating the mask.
Project Title: ‘Putting on the Mask’
At the outset of this analysis it is important to distinguish the category of sex from that of gender. Although the former is an indisputable biological category, the latter is far less concrete. As Butler (1993) has argued, the reality of gender is context-specific and is in fact entirely socially constructed. Thus, all behavioural forms of masculinity (and indeed femininity) are aspects of a culturally controlled performance; there is no inherently masculine behaviour or aesthetic. Feminist and queer theories in particular have emphasised the need for a closer analysis of contemporary gendered expectations in our society. In response, this project aims to address British conceptions of masculinity.
Culture is in a constant state of flux, and concordantly conceptions of gender also change markedly over time. An examination of the shifting ‘ideal’ form of British masculine imagery makes this point clearly. More than simple fashion, changes in the performance of men reflect modifications in attitudes towards masculinity and sexuality. The codpiece popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries drew attention to the genital area, conveying an impression of an impressive phallus. Therefore during this period the ideal male image was one of obvious sexual prowess. Later, in the decadent aristocratic environment of the eighteenth century, masculine imagery reversed somewhat. In rather extreme opposition to the raw sexual imagery of the codpiece for example, traditionally feminine clothing was favoured alongside a predilection for heavy make-up. Conversely during the Victorian era, Protestant culture encouraged movement way from sexuality. The Calvinist doctrine in particular emphasised the importance of rejecting aesthetic excess and focusing instead on a rather severe work ethic (Weber in Bendix, 1960). Since then, the legacy of Calvinist repression has remained evident in British society. Both masculine and feminine imagery has lacked the flamboyancy of earlier centuries, and gender roles have been based primarily on work-related expectations (man as bread-winner etc). However in the late twentieth century prevailing views did begin to mutate, and currently more liberal gendered attitudes are discernable in our society. Gender generally, although particularly masculinity, has experienced a radical change in recent years.
In contemporary Britain, firm delineation of that which is purely feminine (and thus unacceptable for men) has dwindled. Imagery and behaviour that were unthinkable for men even in the 1970s are now common. An acceptance of traditionally feminine characteristics in men is evident in today’s society, although this does not represent a return to the feminine styles of the eighteenth century. Instead of there being one acceptable image for men as there was at that time, there is now a multitude of images that can be regarded ‘masculine’. There has however been a return to certain aspects of the pre-Calvinist times. It is now acceptable, and even necessary, for young British men to be extremely conscious of their own appearance (Ken Men website). Indeed the term ‘metrosexual’ has been coined to describe the modern man who pays great attention to his looks, and the term represents an obvious breakdown of previous gender dichotomies. Although the greater freedom for self-expression that metrosexuality brings for men is positive, there are clear disadvantages also. An image-related insecurity previously common only to women now proliferates in the male population. As a result, men now subject themselves to painful rituals in order to project the desirable metrosexual image. It is the issue of metrosexuality that this series of self-portraits aims to address.
The photographs are a series of five depicting various beautification rituals. These are techniques that are traditionally thought of as feminine activities but are here performed by a man: myself. As a series they can be thought of as a process of creating the image of a debonair male. The first picture shows me shaving my armpits, the second waxing my chest, the hairless aesthetic being one that is increasingly popular with young British men. The waxing in particular demonstrates that relatively severe discomfort and pain is considered acceptable in order to create a certain ideal body image. The third picture is of me wearing a facemask. The position of my head suggests a certain sadness, perhaps at the lengths undertaken to create the right ‘look’. The mask and the side lighting paradoxically evoke altogether more macho images of men, such as those in the final scenes of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979). The next image shows me plucking my eyebrows, and the fifth me straightening my hair. The effect of light and shadow and distorted skin in the eyebrow plucking shot produce a grotesque image. The process of beautification here is depicted as unattractive and thus doubt is created regarding its value. The fifth shot is in contrast to this with softer lighting from the front. These last two pictures are the final shots in the series and should be thought of as final modifications in creating the mask.
The photographs are cropped to show that the subject is looking into a mirror. In terms of semiotics the inclusion of the mirror frame and the wall around it connotes an impression of the subject being alone. The use of side lighting creates shadows that distort the subject, suggesting a less glamorous aspect of the self that he is trying to conceal. Also the contorted facial expressions and stretched skin show literal changes in the physical characteristics of the subject, similar to the representations of putting on the mask in the film The Mask (1994). The use of black and white images here emphasises the contrast between light and shadow on the face of the subject. This contrast reflects the contradictions in the series between the aspiration of beauty and the pain and ignominy of achieving it.
Bibliography
• Barthes, R. (1980) Camera Lucida. London: Vintage Classics
• Bendix, R. (1960) Max Weber – An Intellectual Portrait. New York: Double & Co.
• Blessing, J. (2006) Rrose is a Rrose is a Rrose: Gender Performance in Photography. New York: Guggenheim Museum
• Gauntlett, D. (1998) Theory.org – Judith Butler [online] Available from http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-butl.htm [16/05/07]
• Ken Men Grooming (2007) [Online] Available from http://www.kenmen.net/ [Accessed 07/05/07]
• Klages, M. (1997) Gender Trouble – Judith Butler [Online] Available from http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages/butler.html [Accessed 16/05/07]
• Roush, P. (2007) Photographic Art [online] Available from http://photographicart.wordpress.com
• WIKIPEDIA (2007) Codpiece [Online] Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codpiece [Accessed 17/05/07]
• WIKIPEDIA (2007) Metrosexual [online] Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosexual [Accessed 17/05/07]
