Women in the Picture

What Culture Does with Female Bodies.

Art historian Catherine McCormack examines how culture shapes the way we see—and value—women, their bodies, and their lives.

From Venus to maiden, wife, mother, and monster, women have long been confined to narrow roles reinforced by patriarchal traditions—so familiar that we often fail to question them. McCormack uncovers the assumptions behind these stereotypes, whether boldly displayed or subtly embedded in visual culture. Moving across Western art—from Titian, Botticelli, and Millais—to today’s image-saturated landscape of fashion photography, advertising, and social media, she contrasts these portrayals with the work of women artists such as Morisot, Ringgold, Lacy, and Walker. Their art offers richer, more complex ways to understand women’s identity, sexuality, race, and power.