The Guerrilla Girls: Gorillas of the Century

 The first thing that comes up when I google search “are gorillas violent” is: Gorillas rarely attack without being provoked, however, they might defend themselves by attacking if they feel threatened or intruded upon. This is a perfect description of the Guerrilla Girls, who represent themselves as Gorillas to remain anonymous. The Guerrilla Girls formed in 1985 as a response to discrimination against women and people of color in the world of art, film, politics, and pop culture. Discrimination came from a belief in meritocracy, being that your status was based on your merit. Many people of this time just believed that white males had the best artwork, and thus it was most commonly represented in museums. Similar to gorillas, these anonymous women felt the need to attack as they noticed all the opportunities and money in the art world went to white males, and they were quite effective with their tactics. 

The biggest reason I think the Guerrilla Girls were so impactful and we still remember them today is due to the fact that we didn’t know them. We see so many faces every single day that it is impossible to remember them all, therefore it is a lot easier to remember the ones that we don’t see, hence the gorilla masks. By remaining anonymous and protecting their identities, the Guerrilla Girls were able to depersonalize the issue at hand and speak about women artists as a whole rather than speaking about individuals who wanted something. Also, they did not face prejudices based on their race, gender, or anything else related to looks. This allowed the Guerrilla Girls to be heard based on what they were saying, rather than how they looked.  Another strategy that made the Guerrilla Girls so effective was their willingness to call out names and use statistics in their posters. When a person sees their name on a poster, they are much more likely to pay attention to it, thus gaining a lot more coverage for the issue. 

There was one poster in particular from Ms. Fligel’s presentation caught my eye. This poster read: Use the “F” word: Feminism. I thought this was interesting because the “F” word that most people automatically think of is the swear word. In some cultures, the “F” swear word is viewed as a masculine/businessman word. Using a word that relates to men, which is the target audience of the poster, is going to help grab the attention of these men. Therefore, this poster is bound to turn some heads, probably including the men that are the root cause of the issue. Therefore, the Guerrilla Girls were so influential and are still remembered today for their unique tactics towards protesting, contributing to the advancement for women’s rights and art.