Jesús De La Helguera is not my favorite artist, to say the least.

For the last day of our Northern Mesoamerican Art class (that's ancient Mexico, if you didn't know) on Tuesday, we looked at some modern Mexican depictions of the Aztecs. The most popular at the artists whose work we looked at was Jesús De La Helguera. As we viewed some of his paintings (shown below), the girl behind me whispered, "ooh, I like these! These are nice." I was disgusted at the objectification of women in these images and at the fact that members of my own sex were so used to seeing women in this light that they had been desensitized to it.

Jesús De La Helguera, "Legend of the Volcano"

Jesús De La Helguera, "Flor de Luna" In my opinion, the very worst one!

Jesús De La Helguera, "La Malinche"

Jesús De La Helguera, "El Flechador"

Jesús De La Helguera, "Grandeza Azteca"

And almost all of his paintings depict women in this way - helpless, flimsy, overly sexual creatures whose only purpose is to please the super-buff men they are attached to. This is not what women are; this is not what God made us to me.

Then the Professor showed us a Minerva Teichert painting similar to the one below:

Minerva Teichert, "Christ Blessing The Children At The Bountiful"

...and the girl behind me groaned in disgust. "Ugh, I hate Minerva Teichert!"

Some consider Minerva Teichert to be over-hyped, but I love her depictions of noble, virtuous, Godly women.

Minerva Teichert, "Esther."A copy of this hangs in the women'sdressing room at the San Diego Temple.

Minerva Teichert, "Mary and Martha"

These are the women I look up to - not the fantasized women Jesús De La Helguera paints.

Another reason why I don't like Helguera's art is because of his unrealistic body types. My first impression on seeing his paintings was, "Am I supposed to be that thin? Wow, I feel so fat!" On closer observation, I realized that his female figures are unnaturally, unhealthily skinny.Why is our culture so obsessed with equating beauty and thinness with worth?

Women, your worth is not based on your appearance. You have worth merely because you are a daughter of God. You have power and influence for good not by being a sex symbol, but by following Jesus Christ and using your gifts to bless those around you. You are so much more than a pretty face. 

I believe that actions speak louder than words - and images. My hope is that as we live virtuous lives, we can show people that true beauty comes from having character, and the true messages of the Gospel can drown out the false messages of a visual culture that objectifies women.

"True beauty can’t be painted on but is a gift of the Spirit. It is literally letting your light shine before men. When virtue is combined with obedience to the Lord’s laws of health and respect for the human body, young people truly become temples in which the Holy Ghost dwells, giving them a beautiful aura. It is this beauty that is most becoming and enduring." 

-Lynn G. Robbins, "True Beauty"

French Fashion, Feminism, the Priesthood, and my Opinions on All

Today in my Women in French Art and Culture class, we talked about designer Jeanne Lanvin. I just love her feminine, whimsical dresses and especially her mother-daughter ensembles. Don't you?

The artist herself.

My professor credited Lanvin for the invention of the rosettes we pin in our hair and on our dresses. Can you see why?

Check out these mother-daughter images - I think they're so sweet. I love how she often she represents women as mothers and her insistence that motherhood and fashion can go together.

 

Watch out for the scary cat!

For the same class, we were assigned to read the last chapter of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, arguably the most important piece of feminist literature in the Western World. Reading Feminist theory is difficult for me; the mixing of truths, untruths, negativity, and general hatred towards men turns my brain to jelly. I do not enjoy the debasement of men any more than I enjoy the debasement of my own sex. Somewhere in that chapter, Beauvoir wrote, 

"We have seen that it is possible to avoid the temptations of sadism and masochism when the two partners recognize each other as equals; if both the man and the woman have a little modesty and some generosity, ideas of victory and defeat are abolished; the act of love becomes a free exchange" (692).

If men and women are to be "equal partners," as the Proclamation on the Family suggests, both men and women need to see each other as such. Men do not only need to honor and respect women, but women need to do the same for men. Man-hating, backbiting, criticizing, and proclaiming that one "doesn't need a man" can have not a place in our lives if we are striving to end sexism and work together as one. 

Some in the Church claim that only men hold the Priesthood because they are inherently less virtuous or righteous than women. I find this argument degrading, depressing, and out of line with the loving nature of our Heavenly Father. 

I believe that the Priesthood is not just a power but a responsibility and an opportunity to serve as Christ did, and thus become like Him. I believe that motherhood/womanhood are the same things - opportunities to serve as Christ did and become like Him. These offices involve different skills and different assignments, but their purpose and their promised blessings are just the same. 

As a mother, a woman gives life to a physical body and maintains it through daily care. She teaches, encourages, uplifts, comforts, counsels, and bears testimony. She serves the needy, cares for the sick, and clothes the naked. Most importantly, she leads her flock to make covenants with the Lord through sacred ordinances. Through this service, she finds joy, fulfillment, and exaltation.

As a Priesthood holder, a man gives life to a spiritual body and maintains it through daily care. He teaches, encourages, uplifts, comforts, counsels, and bears testimony. He serves the needy, cares for the sick, and clothes the naked. Most importantly, he leads his flock to make covenants with the Lord through sacred ordinances. Through this service, he finds joy, fulfillment, and exaltation. 

Both men's and women's are important, Holy, and necessary for our salvation. Why should one sex and their foreordained role be heralded as better than the other? Every single one of us needs the blessings we receive from women and men. 

Michèle Le Dœuff wrote that, "a feminist is a woman who does not allow anyone to think in her place," and I try to live up to this definition. I also believe that a feminist should be someone who understands the pain of injustice and does not wish that pain upon anyone else. Therefore, a feminist should not belittle men, but honor them in righteousness and work with them to create a better, happier world.

"It's a good thing a feminist didn't overhear you"

"I read this thing the other day that was SO unfair," one of the girls in my dance class griped earlier this afternoon as we were changing into our street clothes after class. "It said that guys' blood has more red blood cells, which means that they get more oxygen to their body when they excercise, which gives them more stamina when they play sports. How unfair is that?"

Being the Pollyanna that I am, I replied, "Well, maybe Heavenly Father made us [meaning women] that way so that we wouldn't get super good at sports so we would stay home and be good mothers."

Someone chuckled, and I noticed some girls I didn't know giving me funny looks. "It's a good thing a feminist didn't overhear you," another friend remarked, trying to cover up the awkward aftermath of my statement. The conversation continued but in my mind that line kept playing over and over again.

The definition of feminism is "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men." I believe in that. Men and women are equal in their worth and importance. But I also believe that men and women have different gifts and different responsibilties from the Lord.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states, "Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

I believe that raising a child to the Lord is the most I could ever ask from life, the greatest calling a woman can have. Careers, positions and posessions all fade, but souls last forever. God gives us the opportunity to shape lives, to participate in creating something that will last through the eternities. Nothing else is as important. Nothing else is as demanding. Nothing else is as rewarding. Nothing else can compare.

Brethren and sisters, material possessions and honors of the world do not endure. But your union as wife, husband, and family can. The only duration of family life that satisfies the loftiest longings of the human soul is forever....Our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in this life; so will it be throughout all eternity. -Russell M. Nelson

It is so tremendously important that the women of this Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord. They must begin in their own homes. They can teach it in their own classes. They can voice it in their communities. They must be the teachers and the guardians of their daughters. When you save a girl, you save generations. I see this as the one bright shining hope in a world that is marching toward moral self-destruction. -Gordon B. Hinckley

I think there is a misunderstanding of feminism in the world and in the Church. The essence of feminism to to celebrate the strength and beauty of women, But I think that purpose is forgotten when some seek for equal rights in trying to make women just like men.

But that is not what God made us to be! He made us differently so we could complement one another. Instead of trying to become so much like men, I believe that we should celebrate the beautiful, divine attributes that God has given us as women - and use them to do the work He has called us to do.

So maybe I should have responded to that classmate, "No, I am a feminist. I believe that women are strong, capable and important, but I also believe that the greatest thing we can do is use our capabilities to raise a family in righteousness to the Lord."

Because really, what could be better than this?

Photo by Sheena Jibson.

"Who does she think she is?"

Today for my art theory class we watched a beautiful documentary titled "Who Does She Think She Is?" about artists who are mothers and their struggle to balance those two passions when society condemns it. At first I was nervous (again) because I strongly believe that the most important thing for a mother to do is to take care of her family, but again I learned that that there is a place for creation in motherhood.

One of the women was LDS and a BYU grad, and I think she was able to explain it all very well. She said that she had tried to live without making art, and she had gone crazy. She needed to create. And she said that making art was good for her family and her husband. I think that as these women express themselves - and take care of themselves - through art, it helps them to be better mothers. Of course, there needs to be balance in all things and priority given to what matters most, but creativity is necessary and good. Elder Uchtdorf taught us this truth in the 2008 Relief Society broadcast.

I am grateful for a church that understands this need to create! Of all the women in the documentary, the LDS one was the only one who had a husband that valued her artistic endeavors and stayed by her. I'm glad that there are others in the world who recognize the beauty and need for art in our world.

"I think our society today tends to qualify success as financial success, but...the biggest success is to have inner happiness with what you're doing and the people around you and that certainly happens when I create, whether it's been my kids or relationships in my family or int the studio, I think it's core. That's success - it's being happy with what you're doing." - Maya Torres

"But then I began to understand the power of living on purpose." - Angela Williams

Even though I am not an artist or a particularly creative person, these women left me feeling empowered. I feel that I have my own opportunities to create, which I will discover in time. I am going to live on purpose.

Feminism

Today in my art theory class we talked about feminism. I had been afraid of discussing this topic because I have always had a negative prejudice towards it - angry women complaining about oppression and doing nothing other than being angry. The blessing of attending BYU is that after yesterday's discussion I have been able to reconcile feminism with teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there are, of course, extremes in feminism, I feel that there is a place for feminism and I am now able to understand that.

God sees men and women as different, yes. We have divinely appointed in specific roles. However, this doesn't make one gender superior to another; men and women are equal partners in this great journey of life. We both need each others' skills, perceptions and strengths to help us in our own weaknesses. As my Doctrine and Covenants teacher Brother Perkins explained, husbands preside in the priesthood with their wives as counselors. Wives preside in parenthood with their husbands as counselors. In both of these divine offices, both men and women have the opportunity to do the work of Jesus Christ, to better ourselves as we stand in His stead.

And so, what feminism means to me is to advocate a perception of women based on how God perceives us. Women have been, are now, and will be a powerful force for good in the world. Men need us, and we need men. We have been divinely appointed to teach and nurture, which is not an oppressive role, but a glorifying and exalting one! There is great satisfaction and joy in doing the work to which God has appointed us. Women are worth great thought and study.

One of my professors asked on her blog for readers to describe their favorite "femocentric" art work and explain why. Here is mine - the statue of Joseph and Emma Smith on Temple Square. (Unfortunately I do not know the name or sculptor.)



I'll admit that I am a bit biased in this because I absolutely love Emma Smith; she is my hero. But I love this work because it represents the perspective on women that I have just shared. This statue depicts Joseph giving Emma a coin as a symbol of how she is to direct the Relief Society in caring for the poor. In this way, it shows the power of good women. Her face is resolute, determined and eager to do the work God has asked of her. Both her husband and her God trust her to do great things, and she did do them. I feel that this work portrays both the equal importance and different roles of men and women in God's eyes. Here's another angle.



I just love it. How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ which opens my eyes and helps me to see.