Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?: The Guerrilla Girls Approach to Artistic Activism

The Guerrilla Girls are a pioneering group of female artists who challenge the inequalities and lack of representation in the art world. The group formed in 1985, and chose their name in reference to guerrilla warfare due to their hands-on approach to activism, which they hoped would create an interruption to the status quo. Although affirmative action was in the works when the Guerrilla Girls were starting up, women, African Americans, and people of varying sexual identities were still being heavily discriminated against. A recurring issue we see within the feminist cannon is the movement catering mostly towards white women. The Guerrilla Girls campaigned not only for the inclusion of female artists but also for the inclusion of people of color. They had a solitary goal to cause this “interruption” within the art world, and rewrite art’s patriarchal and white washed history. In order to fulfill this mission, the group went around New York City hanging up flyers during the night. Their bold visuals, witty humor, and shocking statistics captivated city pedestrians, and brought attention to disparities within the art world. The group voiced their perspectives through posters and protests, and had no desire for any individual credit. 

An aspect of the Guerrilla Girls that I found particularly compelling was their anonymity. Even back in the 80’s before social media was a thing, women were judged and critiqued heavily based on their appearances. Ms. Fleigal talked about the question of What does our society value?; and the sad reality is that our society values attractive women more than unattractive women. By taking out the entire aspect of appearance, the Guerrilla Girls demanded that they be valued for their perspectives and activism rather than looks. Other people–especially men–were unable to discredit the women’s opinions solely based on their physical characteristics. This also connects to the group's famous poster which reads “Do women have to be naked to make it into the Met. Museum?” and proceeds to list statistics comparing the amount of female artist representation vs. female nude representation in the Met. The idea that a woman's beauty and her figure is more esteemed than her intellect is highlighted over and over again in the art world, which greatly contributes to society's objectification of women. To this day, the media remains flooded with overly sexualized depictions of women and girls, and many still view the ideal woman as catering directly to the male gaze.