Investigation of the Concept of Gender in Artworks Using Textile

Abstract

Gender is the attitudes and behaviors expected of men and women as a result of cultural codes and stereotypes adopted by society. As a concept, it began to be used more after the 1960s. With the feminist movement coinciding with the same period, it started to occupy the agenda of society and gained recognition. It is still an issue that remains up-to-date today. This study is aimed to examine how artists from past to present have addressed the concept of woman and womanhood in their artworks, by emphasizing which subjects, and how they associate it with textiles. It is aimed to explain what the changes/immutables in this field are and how the perception of women in the minds manifests in the production of artworks. The development of the concept of gender in the field of art and the forms of expression are explained with examples by making a literature review on the subject. In this context, the artworks produced using textile material within the framework of the concept of women and womanhood of artists who have been accepted in the field of national and international contemporary art are included in the study. As a result of the research, it was seen that the artists used bodily contents and objects identified with women intensely in their artworks. On the other hand, textiles offered metaphorical expression to the artists according to the way of expression in the artworks.