Slaying the Giant of Gender Inequality

Today I had a thought that helped me settle into what I believe will be the theme of my thesis. The thought was a result of reflecting on my personal relationships and my experiences studying art in Florence.

In Florence, my class spent a lot of time looking as depictions of David during the Renaissance. One that always really frustrated me was Donatello's bronze David. I wasn't bothered by anything about the artwork itself; what was frustrating was the sculpture's relationship with Donatello's bronze Judith and Holofernes. Originally the two statues stood together as equals in a garden in the Medici palace, sentinels of the triumph of goodness over tyranny, symbols of justice and virtue. Despite their original intention as equals in material, subject matter, and installation, a disparity in the status of the statues quickly grew. David was praised and celebrated, but Judith and Holofernes did not receive the same accolades. One of the reasons she was less celebrated was that people were uncomfortable with and politically opposed the image of a woman violently conquering a man.

Reflecting on this led me to thinking about vulnerability. The society of that time was uncomfortable with a power dynamic in which a man was vulnerable to a woman. I feel that in general comfort with vulnerability indicates greater security overall; a willingly vulnerable person will not feel the need to exert power over or dominate others. Even in my own life, I have found that my most healthy, balanced relationships have been with men who are willing to be vulnerable on the same level with me as I with them.

  

IMAGES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Donatello)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_and_Holofernes_(Donatello)