【女味】 －身體．扮裝創作歷程之探究

Abstract

In a patriarchal society, women are objectified, stereotyped and alienated, to the extent that even feminine men are disparaged and ostracized. This phenomenon initiated my interest in issues of the female body and multi-gender role playing, and related creative practices. Chapter One of this paper discusses two creative approaches, “Scenic Exterior” and “Internal Storm,” to document the development of my individual creativity, a woman’s real life story. Chapter Two lays adopts a theoretical foundation for role playing, drawing on the idea of gender performativity as proposed by Judith Butler with reference to theories from queer and gender studies. Using examples from the transformative, role playing masquerade of Cindy Sherman and portrayals of androgyny and the body in the work of Taiwanese feminist artists Liu Shih-fen and Lin Hsin-yi, “A Woman’s Senses – Role Playing” is called upon to emerge as an argument for a subversion of gender repression under a heterosexual patriarchy. Chapter Three focuses on “A Woman’s Senses” as a break through from the voyeuristic desire of the male gaze, a liberation of the body’s multiple senses, from sight, hearing, taste, smell to touch, forcefully conveying a strong impression of the work’s image. The creative process is manifested in six series: “Black Confession,” “Golden Rock and Roll,” “Colorful Magic,” “Body Ritual,” “Theatrical Atmosphere,” and “Role Playing Show.” The exploration of heteromorphism, multiple gender and other non-mainstream, alternative issues serves to combat life-spending emotions, and is interpreted in a theatrical atmosphere that is other-worldly, stunning, complex and lavish, through forms ranging from graphic images, installations, video art and fashion show. “I Role Play, Therefore I Am” justifies skirt wearing in feminine role players. Overall, the works represent a transcendence of stereotypical single gender style, and demands a re-examination of experiences of the body in their diversity through the strategy of role playing, as a report on the cross-dressing body and role playing trends. The conclusion in Chapter Four offers the “A Woman’s Senses” series as another reference for feminist art in its future search for the diverse possibilities of the body. The hope is to create a local spectacle on an urban stage through collaboration with diverse creative groups in the community and achieve an identification of contemporary humanist concerns.