The Myth of the Female Muse: The Underrepresentation of Female Artists in the 21st Century

Abstract

Why do we see more famous male than female artists in the 21^st century? And why are muses always women? Historically, the myth of the female muse is part of a patriarchal order, where the artist is male, and the female assists him with his artistic process. The myth of the muse impacts the art world today, resulting in a vast underappreciation of female artists, implying that women can inspire creation, rather than be creators themselves. Yet the Mexican surrealist artist Frida Kahlo, famously declared, “I am my own muse,” claiming her image for herself and ascribing creative inspiration from her own life. In its exploration of gender (mis)appropriations and inequalities in the 21st-century art market, this study asks: 1) How do the origins of the female muse express the systemization of contemporary gender roles? 2) What are the gender norms associated with female artists in the 21st-century art industry? 3) How does Frida Kahlo’s “self-as-muse” approach invalidate the gendered concept of the muse? The underrepresentation of female artists in the 21^st century stems from the genderization of the muse, where the idea of the woman as a passive source of inspiration coincides with Western social mystifications of art and gender. This study does not draw from primary research and is limited to an exploration of gender and artistry in Western art and culture. Future studies should consider conducting a comparative analysis of gender, the muse, and art inequalities in Western and Eastern cultures.