'The Mask of Life'

‘The Mask of Life’

The image I will be writing about is included in a gallery by Monica Fernandez entitled ‘Domestic Glamour’ and features different photographs that celebrate women in domestic situations. The image comes from the online BBC News ‘In pictures’ section from the week February 14th and depicts an elderly lady preparing to go out, simply combing her hair in the mirror.

My first thoughts on this picture are that the majority of people who view it will take it face value and not decode the different levels in which it works i.e. an elderly woman preparing to go out. This, unfortunately, is how most of society works today, not questioning the values and norms in place, but just blindly accepting them and not asking why or what if? Because of this pressured or conditioned limitation on our analysis on the media and so on, I think of this photo as an emphasis on a mask. The mask of life. A socialised and conditioned mask that females and males are made to put on in order to fit comfortably into their assigned gender roles as part of a Capitalist Western society. For females in particular, for which the photo represents, it includes looking attractive, maintaining the home, the domestic duties and of course bearing and bringing up children. Basically incorporating anything under the subordinate role to the man or husband.

The picture itself shows the woman with a decorative silver mirror checking to see if her curls have fallen in the right place. What I find quite striking is her age, and how she appears to be defiant in allowing that to be a reason in stopping her from caring about her appearance. Many people may think that the pressures of society may reduce for this group of people i.e. senior citizens, however this picture says quite the opposite and the fact that her hair is noticeably dyed confirms this. Maintaining youthful looks, elasticity of skin, fitness, and sex appeal is a huge issue exaggerated and reinforced by the media, school, society and our own families. This lady is most likely someone’s grandmother and when placed in that context it forces us to understand the position gender roles takes, whether it be at work, the home, or in society as a whole.  It is fair, however, to say that women take the majority of this weight of this burden and in a patriarchal Capitalist society, this makes complete sense and will be a core part of society unless a revolution or education, allows people to understand what is happening in society.

The lights shine brightly in what appears to be a bathroom almost parallel to that of backstage preparations before gracing the stage. Metaphorically, I see the ‘stage’ as social life, the patriarchal society in which we live. I believe it is a mental hurdle as well as a physical struggle to compete with these strict gender roles but that we are closing the gap very, very slowly as with any discrimination e.g. racism, sexuality. The photograph definitely forces us to question what is masculine and what is feminine, who created these roles and definitions and how society has enforced or questioned this. Personally it has allowed me, through significant works including Michel Foucault – History of Sexuality Vol 1, Henrik Ibsen – A Doll’s House, Judith Butler – Variations of Sex and Gender, Sigmund Freud, and my own analysis and research, to focus more on the re-education of society at least on the awareness of the institutional functions and limitations on gender roles. Somehow a balance must be found.