Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls is a grassroots, activist group that was founded in April 1985 in New York City in order to advocate on behalf of women in the arts. Perhaps best known for the gorilla masks and suits they wear in public, the group consists of working artists and professionals in the art industry. Through a unique combination of femininity, agit-prop street theater, feminist analysis, and humor, they aim to draw attention to institutionalized sexism and racism.

Although they initially focused on the marginalization of women in the art world, over the years their agenda has expanded dramatically. Their actions and effective use of humor have helped the Guerrilla Girls raise awareness of social power hierarchies and challenge dominant stereotypes of feminism in American culture.

Founding Spark and Modus Operandi

The group was formed in response to the 1985 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibit, “International Survey of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture.” The approximately 25 original members of the group were critical of the fact that women comprised less than one-tenth of the 169 artists whose work appeared in that exhibit. The Guerrilla Girls responded to the MoMA exhibit by creating their first series of “public service announcements”-simple black-and-white posters. Working under cover of night, the Guerrilla Girls hung the posters throughout New York. Targeting art galleries, art critics, white male artists, and art collectors, their message relied on simple statistics to reveal the marginalization of women in the art world.

Reflecting an organizational style common to many feminist consciousness-raising groups of the 1970s, the Guerrilla Girls rely on a collective decision-making process that emphasizes shared power and consensus among group members. In order to keep their identities anonymous during public appearances, group members wear gorilla masks. In addition, and again to foster anonymity, each member is known only by the name of a dead female artist or writer (for example, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde).

In both their appearance and modes of communication, the Guerrilla Girls play on notions of femininity. They frequently use the color pink for posters and on their Website. In addition, members often wear high heels and miniskirts when they stage protests or speak in public, something that stands in stark contrast to their gorilla masks. This outrageous appearance is both evidence of their humor and a tactic that helps them attract attention.

Operating on other Fronts

Although their initial concern was sexism in the art world, the Guerrilla Girls quickly expanded their agenda to include issues of racism, classism, and other systems of inequality. In addition, they have gone on to critique women's marginalization in both theatre and film. They have also taken a public stance on a broad range of social justice issues including rape, gay and lesbian rights, poverty, war, reproductive rights, and political policies.

The scope of their agenda is perhaps best exemplified by examples from their numerous posters. For example, one poster admonished collectors for not purchasing more work by women artists. Another critiqued military recruiting efforts for targeting poor populations. Still another revealed startling statistics about sexism in the Hollywood film industry. Several have targeted the actions and policies of conservative political figures.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution