Gender Identity is a person’s private sense about his or her identity. Although we are given an ascribed gender at birth based on our sex organs; gender is a far more complicated interrelationship between one’s physical appearances and an internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither. Robert Mapplethorpe articulately portrays various gender identities in his photographs, especially his self-portraits. Many of Mapplethorpe’s self portraits show him dressed up as an archetypal male or female in similarly posed pictures. My favorite photographs are two similar pictures of Robert Mapplethorpe in different gender roles. The first portrait shows him as a male icon of masculinity. He is dressed in a black leather jacket that gives him a virile appearance. Mapplethorpe’s eyes are sharp and focused. He has a tousled hairstyle that portrays him as a carefree, fun loving man. There is a cigarette casually dangling from his lips, which further stresses him as a tough guy. Mapplethorpe has decked himself in everything that is associated with being a man. The second portrait, which is similarly posed, shows Mapplethorpe as an icon of femininity. He wears makeup, which gives him a beauty-conscious and girlish look. His hair is fluffy and dressed up. Furthermore, by baring his chest, Mapplethorpe gives an appearance or frailness and vulnerability.

Through these two pictures, Mapplethorpe was trying to convey to the audience the significance and sometimes the misleading role that clothing and appearances play in determining one’s gender. The gender of an individual is commonly assessed from the way that he or she looks. We look for outside clues and behavior that tell us whether a person is male or female. Mapplethorpe’s motive in comparing and contrasting these two pictures is to tell his viewers that gender is a private sense. It is not evaluated based on the way an individual looks but on the way an individual feels. Gender is not a polar segment with male and female represented at each end, but a whole spectrum that identifies people with different identities.

References:

“Understanding Gender.” Understanding Gender. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012.

http://artobserved.com/2013/06/new-york-robert-mapplethorpe-self-portraits-at-skarstedt-gallery-through-june-15th-2013/