Quindecim

Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: Features

The Guerilla Girls visited Goucher on March 3.

Over the past few weeks, more and more gorillas have been spotted around campus, on the walls in Stimson and Pearlstone, asking questions like "Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum?"

Why? Because on March 3, the Guerrilla Girls made their first ever Goucher appearance. And if you thought gorillas only cared about bananas, think again.

The Guerrilla Girls are kind of like feminist superheroes. They keep their identities secret by wearing gorilla masks as they travel the world speaking out for the rights of female and minority artists. They name themselves after female artists of the past, and according to their website, no single Guerrilla Girl knows who all the others really are.

The group was started in 1985 by a number of female artists concerned about inequality in the art world. Their posters began to appear all over New York City, raising questions about the definition of "great art," which in the museums of the city seemed to mean "great white male art."

They conducted what they called a "weenie count" in the Metropolitan Museum, looking at the sexes of the nudes in the paintings and sculptures there, and coming up with this statistic: "Less than 5% percent of the artists in the Modern Section are women, but 85% of the nudes are female."

Since then, their posters and actions have started conversation and controversy worldwide, and their focus has broadened to include the film industry and causes like abortion rights. One of their latest endeavors, a book available in the Goucher library, is about female stereotypes in American society: "bitches, bimbos and ballbreakers," to quote the title.

The Guerrilla Girls' appearance at Goucher on Thursday night drew an overflow crowd to Merrick Lecture Hall. By the time 9 p.m., the set starting time for the performance, people were being turned away at the door.

Though the audience was mostly female (reflecting both the Goucher population and the draw of a well-known feminist group), there were a good number of men present as well, and it seemed that no one was quite sure what to expect.

As a sort of icebreaker, two the Guerilla Girls, both dressed in black slacks and gorilla masks, came down through the audience handing out bananas. They showed slides of some of their posters and read from letters they had received from fans and detractors alike. Some seemed almost too ridiculous to be real, like one from a man criticizing their work who ended with: "I would say more, but there's some really good porn on."

The Girls have worked hard to make sure that humor is always a part of their message, and this was obvious throughout their presentation.

For many, the word "feminism" is still hard to stomach, and this was alluded to by the Guerrilla Girls a number of times during the course of the evening. The "f-word" still conjures up others like "man-hater" and "b****." In truth, the work and ideas of feminism surround attaining equality and justice for all people, even the fifty percent who are female.

This is just the sort of stereotype that the Guerrilla Girls are trying to change. As Frida Kahlo, one of the Girls at Goucher on Thursday, pointed out: "Isn't it a sad day when a feminist has to wear a gorilla mask to be taken seriously?"

Morgan Cashwell, '05 who organized the event on behalf of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), said she was amazed by the turnout.

She was especially excited by "the critical conversations" she heard after the show was over, and the possibility that Goucher students will become more aware of issues of gender inequality in the rest of their lives.

For Cashwell, the most important lessons Goucher students should take away from the performance are the need for local activism (like that which launched the Guerrilla Girls in the 1980s) and recognition of their own privilege, be it racial, sexual, or socio-economic. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to do this," she said.

Attendees of the event were also impressed. "As someone who didn't know anything about [the Guerrilla Girls], it was interesting to learn about a women's movement, a feminist movement," said Michelle Lynch, '05.

Iris Kirsch, '05, echoed Cashwell's statement about the implications for students here, saying, "I hope that members of the Goucher community will be inspired to take their own independent actions to further the cause of equality."

For more information, visit their website.

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