Image of Woman

The aim of this article is to reveal with an overall approach, how the psycho-social background, starting from woman image in first periods and reach modern day, is embraced by outstanding theorists of modern psychology, and also how these collected works are reflected in their definitions of woman. If it is considered that woman has been discussed with reflections against and not from primary sources throughout history, it can be seen that the most essential roots of woman narrations can be found in oral culture and the parts of written texts are made over symbol, metaphor, proposition and story. However myths (stories) that take place in oral and partly written culture about primitive man, are sacred tales, they will also present data regarding human image. Therefore with a limited effort of human being to understand the infinite, it can be understood what human being think, feel and how they interpret rather than gods/goddesses ontology. From this point of view, this article that consists of two parts, first of all will mention especially about perception of Goddess in those reflected to image of God, maintaining its efficiency in conscious or unconscious as a system of symbols intrinsic to human nature and cultural code background and then the woman image will be roughly discussed with a descriptive style over the world of mythology, psychology and faith. In the second part, it will be examined in detail how all the written and oral information about understanding woman by modern anthropologists are interpreted with the perspective of modern psychology specific to theorists such as Freud, Jung and Fromm. Eventually, it will be emphasized that past and future are integrated with information, experience and feelings with an active relationship; perception and approach of woman have stayed up to date in time continually; mythology, psychology and religion are important factors within this matter.

Summary: Human being has also used historical, temporal and spatial attributions for God. Infinite human being has expressed their  thoughts about the finite God by analogy. Despite the dominance of male gender in the images of God in these analogies which are the products of human experience, female Gods that is to say Goddesses are not few. The matter of how the image of goddess come to the fore in a distinctly male-dominant society is a noteworthy matter. The narration of Earth Mother over female symbol in myths in which the harmony is constantly secured within the inner and exterior world  and mention about living in harmony with the universe is an important data in order to understand female characteristics attributed to God. Human being has also used historical, temporal and spatial attributions for God. Infinite human being has expressed their  thoughts about the finite God by analogy.

The woman subject is influenced by transferred life experience within the historical process, and it is an undeniable fact that ancient “woman perception” has reflections to the present day. Within the history of humanity, striking definitions about woman can be seen in sacred statements in symbol language. Therefore, it is proper to examine primarily the image of sacred and then examine female meaning that is charged on that image. The aim of this study can be summed up with two themes: a) try to understand the general framework of reflections of the present image of woman, style of narration and comprehension in psychological, sociological, and religious terms by getting help from myths which mention about ancient image of God, although there is centuries old difference between those stories and us, b) reveal the image of woman in Freud, Jung, and Fromm’s approach which establishes a bond between mythology that is a system of symbols special to human nature and human psychology and discuss this subject by using psychology of religion.

When reviewed ancient Far East and Middle East myths and also Ancient Greek mythology, it can be seen that gods are not cloistered supernatural beings who do not have abstract personalities and also do not lead a wholly metaphysic life. The crucial issue here is; the reality that Gods and Goddesses are shown as a model to both man and woman. Psychologists who examine religion in terms of psychology state that first outcomes about the image of God come up not with behavior but with emotion. The attributions of gender, related to the emotion in question are cited during the transfer of those emotions as well. Therefore; philosophers, culture and religion historians, theologians, anthropologists, archaeologists, psychologists, and sociologists have contributed to this transfer when they discuss the cult of God or Goddess throughout the history. It is interesting that the usage of the term of God maintains while the usage of the term of Goddess decreases.

Civilization historians claim that the appearance of divine religions particularly quickens the course of transition from goddess to god. According to them, during this period in which there is a transfer from polytheist image of God to monotheist image of God, the quantitative change in the perception of God comes with a qualitative change. According to Fromm, during this power gathering period, there has been a transfer from mother and feminine (woman) centered religion to father and masculine (man) centered religious experience/ God image. According to him, in the second stage of humanity development, “the children of Earth Mother turn into the children of divine father”, there is a transition from unconditional love of mother to authoritarian sympathy of father, from an image of supplemental and surrounding Goddess to authoritarian image of God who makes requests by his nature, lays down principles and laws, and supports the power and search for a successor to deliver the power.

The perception of women who led to Prophet Adam deviated from the truth and expelled from heaven is spread around especially the regions of one-God religions. This has strengthened the idea that divine religions have a negative view towards women. Including Islam, the reason of all divine religions’ encountering with claims that they have a negative approach against woman stem from applying to that religions’ human resources rather than essential religious sources which are existing or lost earliest forms.

Oedipus complex is an important thesis of Freud which explains the development of religion and morals; establish the base of his psychology, and in fact, important in terms of his making connection with difference of kinds and flow or non-flow of request and needs while explaining human behaviors. According to Freud who points to sexuality and aggression which are the most powerful two instinct in the biology of male or female; the first three or five years of a newly born human- this is the period in which the basic part of personality is formed- the definition of self is extremely influenced by his/her gender (in both biological and sociocultural terms). Freud who put forward father-son conflict in the struggle to survive between Zeus and his sons in Moses and Monotheism (1998c) and Totem and Taboo (1998a), makes an explanation about the origin of religion and humanity over two male characters. Jung pays attention to goddess image as much as the image of god and do not approach this situation only as a polytheism or sociocultural explanation or childish appearances of a primitive mind. He accepts goddesses as a reflection of archetypes in human. Male has a feminine side, female has a masculine side, and a unity occurs when both complete each other. According to Fromm, a taxonomy referring to woman and man is primarily a sociology-based approach rather than a biology-based one. Fromm (1995) thinks that the whole depiction shows individuals’ own desire and needs, that is to say, their psychology rather than a theology. Transition from mother (woman) centered religion to father (man) centered religious experience and God image is essentially one of the most important breaking/inversion points of human being, not humanity.


As a result, it can be said that it is an important point to clearly understand the story of mankind to examine that intense freshness at hand and centeredness of quantitative and qualitative changes of divine or God image of ancient societies come down after psychological, sociological, religious, economic, political, and cultural changes.

Barbie, one of the world’s top-selling toy, is discussed and criticized by academicians, feminist groups and popular media commentators in terms of her wide range of symbolism. Barbie’s statement is ‘girls can do anything’,which presents the idea that women are able to overcome any obstacle or make any choice in life.
The Barbie doll was created as a fashion phenomenon in form of a perfect, well kept, good looking image of a woman. At an early age, children meet with this
perfect woman image and want to be like, look like her and act like her. Consequently, children grow up with this ultra feminine women image in their mind, and therefore effects children’s socialization process and gender roles negatively
with its unrealistic body image and perfect life-style. As a response to this ongoing problem, the firm was forced to make some major changes on Barbie’s overall concept. Barbie’s image and role was converted from the always-consuming, perfectly beautiful woman to a successful career woman. However, the new physical features of the Barbie doll still remains the same. The doll does not portray an ideal representation of the role of women in society. Barbie still continues her life far away from the realities of life, in the same beautiful and desirable looking
figure. In this study, a literary review has taken place as well as the historical transformation of the Barbie doll has been examined. In this process, the meaning and value imposed to woman and the changes over woman’s image has been
explained conceptually.

In the 1920s, the Soviet government made a serious attempt to deconstruct the patriarchal idea of female subordination, empower women and cut traditional ties with archaic traditions that had existed for centuries in Central Asia. This policy was embodied in the Hujum movement, often symbolized by the burning of the face-veil – paranji. Central Asian films (silent cinema) served the new ideology and were dedicated to an Eastern woman who is both traditional and seeking a new life. Since female characters personified socio-political transformations, significant changes in the social status of women were directly related to their artistic representation. In this regard, Uzbek films of the 20s are highly illustrative (“Muslim Girl”, “Second Wife”, “Jackals of Ravat”, “The Veil”, “The Leper Girl”, etc.)
The author shows that these films are based on a direct binary opposition (“new-good-Soviet”, “old-bad-traditional”), similar plots, orientalism (none of the film directors were local), partial mythologization, and purposeful character construction. Female characters have no choice but to follow the “liberation” path of a Muslim woman.

This study aims to carry out an initial analysis of how the Brazilian woman image is shaped by a discourse that is historically constructed and reinforced by colonial photography. This visuality has endured through the ages and represents a form of contemporary colonialism, as it is characterized by an identity reductionism disguised as a global ideology. The possibility of paradox prevalence in these speeches is analyzed through a critical view of the work of André Cepeda and Miguel Valle de Figueiredo, Portuguese photographers who has produced photography artwork about the Brazilian woman. In these images, the construction of a visual concept of Brazilian women revealed underlying statements supported by their perceptions and experiences , as well as in generalized beliefs. Thus, it was concluded that the understanding of the image of Brazilian women as portrayed by those photographers shows itself covered of brand new colonizing processes in which the Brazilian woman's image is linked with a sense of an available and sensual body, imbued with the concept of a colonial body that still persists in contemporary imagery.

L’attitude provocatrice des surréalistes est bel et bien documentée dans les publications sur le mouvement. Leurs actions, souvent scandaleux, provoquent pour la plupart l’indignation du public. C’est en particulier grâce aux expositions internationales du groupe, qui attirent toujours un grand nombre des spectateurs, qu’une telle réception face aux œuvres séditieux du groupe est documentée.
          Or, cette attitude provocatrice des surréalistes se lie aussi toujours à leur objectif d’une révolution sociale, d’une subversion des valeurs et normes de la société bourgeoise qui, d’après eux, ne peuvent que freiner l’évolution et le développement de l’homme dit libre. Se reposant sur les théories du Marquis de Sade qui devient un véritable Leitfigur du mouvement, les surréalistes proposent une révolution qui se montre tout d’abord à travers le corps féminin érotisé. La femme toujours fétichisée, l’amour toujours subversive, des représentations sexuelles et toujours transgressives - tous ces éléments définissent la révolution surréaliste, non seulement dans la littérature, mais également dans l’art dit plastique.
          Surtout les trois performances que le groupe met en scène dans le cadre de leurs grandes expositions internationales à Paris entre 1938 et 1959 portent preuve de cette trinité « femme-érotisme-transgression ». Soit-il de célébrer les contorsions d’une hystérique dans Acte manqué en 1938 (se reposant sur les théories « la beauté convulsive » d’André Breton), ou d’inviter le public à toucher le corps féminin intime grâce à Prière de toucher en 1947 (se reposant sur les pensées érotiques de Marcel Duchamp et l’objet surréaliste), ou de cannibaliser une femme dénudée dans le cadre de l’Exposition inteRnatiOnale du Surréalisme (E.R.O.S.) en 1959 (se reposant sur une idée de Meret Oppenheim et sur des anciens rituels cannibales des cultures dites sauvages) - ces performances suivent toujours le même schéma. Tout d’abord, elles présentent l’objet de fantasme des surréalistes (qui est la femme),  ensuite elles la placent dans une situation ou arrangement érotique-subversif sensé à choquer les mondaines qui se rassemblent lors de l’ouverture d’une exposition, et finalement, grâce à l’indignation de ceux qui témoignent les spectacles, elles exposent les limitations de ce qu’est accepté dans la société dite civile – des limitations que la révolution surréaliste cherche à éradiquer.

      Je propose une étude détaillée de ces trois performances encore et toujours à la marge des recherches sur le surréalisme, tout en proposant une comparaison avec d’autres œuvres surréalistes exemplaire. Une telle approche permettra illustrer l’importance de l’érotisme subversif, de l’amour transgressif et de la femme fétichisée dans la révolution que les surréalistes tentent à susciter. De plus, les images que les surréalistes mettent en avant au service de leur révolution est tout à fait singulier et, grâce à leurs caprices spectaculaires et scandaleux, ce « langage révolutionnaire », se trouve très répandu mais, paradoxalement, toujours mal compris. Les performances auparavant mentionnées, surtout la manière que le public réagit quand confronté à ces spectacles provocateurs, peuvent également expliquer une telle incompréhension face à la révolution surréaliste.

The study of feminism is a literarytradition that leads tokan fokus analisis to female. One of the focuses of the study of feminism is the image of women. In the Qur'an there are many verses that tell about women, there is even one surah that tells the female character specifically, surah Maryam. The purpose of this research is to describe the image of women in the story of Maryam in the Quran including psychic imagery and social imagery. The data collection method that library studies use. The method of data analysis used is a qualitative descriptive method. The subjects in this study are the text of surah Ali Imran, surah Maryam, and surah At Tahrim in the Qur'an. The result of this study is a psychic image ofa woman in the storyof Maryam in the Qur'an consisting of )ٔa sincereperson,)ٕ(a devout worshipter,)ٗ(a worried person,)ٗ(a fearful person,)٘(a man who is inflicted in pain, and)ٙ(a man who guards honor. The social image of women in the story of Maryamin the Qur'an in the family and community consists
of (1)a nephew, (2a) mother, ( 3a child, (4) a sister, (5) a weak man rather than a man in worship (6) an exiled person, (7) a contested person, (8) an accused person, and (9) a man who is given to serve. Based on the analysis of the above imagery found gender injustice contained in this study in the form of stereotypes and violence.

The female image in cinema has always been a reflection of socio-political transformation, thus, changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. The image of a modern Uzbek woman in cinema combines traditionalism peculiar to the Central Asian region and glamorous femininity inspired by the West. Although the female image has undergone diversification in commercial film production, the willingness to build a family remains an integral part of women's aspirations and desires. The search for personal happiness as a wife and mother is an obligatory element of the plot narrative, and success in personal life despite various circumstances is almost the only possible happy ending for a female protagonist. In the latest art cinema, there is a general trend toward the reverse evolution of the female image-from a modern woman to a traditional one. In these movies, spiritual values, morality, and traditions as the principal factor of society's well-being are brought to the foreground, while female characters are mostly depicted in a traditional environment and within an ethnographic context. This paper mainly focuses on Bakhrom Yakubov's film Superbride (2008), which became a national hit and box-office sensation in the domestic market. Superbride is a particularly successful example of a fiction film that through the prism of youth comedy promotes an ideal and frankly banal female image based on patriarchal mentality.

The history of Soviet cinema began in the 1920s, and films almost immediately turned into a means of spreading Soviet ideology. Cinema on the one hand presented everyday life characters of a certain historical eras, and on the other, dictated patterns of behavior and desired images of each period. Uzbek cinema is impossible to imagine without various female images that have always reflection of socio-political transformation, while changes in the social status of women are directly related to their artistic representation. This article examines how the image of an Uzbek woman changed in the cinema during the Soviet period.

The Changing Image of Woman in the Context of Homo Religiosus-Homo Consumericus

Throughout history, different paradigms conditioned people's identities, their way of life and, their self-perceptions. It is impossible to understand the image of woman in Akhism through the consumer paradigm which which is increasingly dominating today's world and which creates the image of contemporary woman.  This study focuses the basic differences between the image of woman in Akhism paradigm and that one  in the ideology of consumption. Thus, the image of woman in Akhism will become better apparent and at the same time the differences concerning the image of woman in each paradigm will emerge.

This study aims to carry out an initial analysis of how the Brazilian woman image is shaped by a discourse that is historically constructed and reinforced by colonial photography. This visuality has endured through the ages and represents a form of contemporary colonialism, as it is characterized by an identity reductionism disguised as a global ideology. The possibility of paradox prevalence in these speeches is analyzed through a critical view of the work of André Cepeda and Miguel Valle de Figueiredo, Portuguese photographers who has produced photography artwork about the Brazilian woman. In these images, the construction of a visual concept of Brazilian women revealed underlying statements supported by their perceptions and experiences, as well as in generalized beliefs. Thus, it was concluded that the understanding of the image of Brazilian women as portrayed by those photographers shows itself covered of brand new colonizing processes in which the Brazilian woman’s image is li...