The Sociology of the image - Fairies

[Ben]

One of my favourite areas of study is the sociology of the image.....of course any attempt to understand 'the image' in an all encompassing way is most likely impossible. How can you interpret health, education, work, gender, sexuality, politics and a whole range of cultural aspects in a single image....so I'm going to stick to a just a few loose themes....you don't have to have any grounding in sociology whatsoever to both participate or assist in this....

Just recently I was wondering about 'fairies' and thought that given very few people claim to have seen one, 'the image' is important in how we percieve the very thought of fairies....historically when were the first reports of fairies made? When was the first 'image' of fairies produced? Is the word 'fairy' the reserve of the 'female' of the species and if not why do I rarely see images of male fairies?

Have they changed? Is the way they are depicted now the way they were depicted historically? I have no answers to any of these questions - I'm genuinely just setting out on answering these questions now - so what would a google image search of 'fairy' bring me - I'll post up some pics of how they are perceived now, then set about finding out if today's image is consistent with the historical portrayal......because if not - then our image of the fairy today is a modern invention and a lie...but that would open other questions up....like why?

Please feel free to post images of fairies as you find them because only by studying the images can we see what common attributes they have and then we can ask why?

Here we go.......









Ben

[Lucy]

Arthur Conan Doyle was duped by a couple of schoolgirls in the Cottingley Fairies case:



This fairy was inot n our garden last night:

[iwant2believe2]

I think that the fairy is necessarily a 'perfection' of the human form. Any mythological perfection then will exude beauty, sexuality, sensuality and youth where it treats the female form...as fairies do...but, in most cases, she will also be possessed of wisdom, intuition and 'other wordly' power..as fairies do. In essence, I think, this reflects man's innermost ideal of women..where they are both seduced by her beauty and fearful of her power.

Of course, the Fairy holds special significance for the woman as well...as she is the epitome of our innermost being and the aspect of ourselves that is forever distinct from the world and lives of men. She is belongs to us alone..so to speak..and is a visible, worldly representation of an intangible state of being passed from woman to woman. For this reason, male fairies can not help but to identify with the female fairy's feminine aspects. He is in our world and not we in his.

[iwant2believe2]

I'd also like to point something else out...as I've a dreadful feeling that Ben may go there before long. I have stated that I think that "any mythological perfection then will exude beauty, sexuality, sensuality and youth where it treats the female form..."...and there is, of course, the tendency to present fairies as youthful and almost childlike. But one must understand that sexuality and sensuality is but one aspect of the mature woman and is a refinement, not corruption, of the innocent beauty of girl. Wherein fairies are presented as childlike, it is the innocent beauty of a girl that is idealized and not the sexuality and sensuality of a mature woman. It is beauty captured in a different state of development. Where men here perceive sexuality and sensuality, I suggest, is but a perception of the male's mind and its tendency to sexualize anything pertaining to females. Not all men will look at the beauty of a child and see something sexual in it...but many may. Sorry if that offends anyone here but that's the only explanation for it that I can come up with.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by iwant2believe2

I'd also like to point something else out...as I've a dreadful feeling that Ben may go there before long. I have stated that I think that "any mythological perfection then will exude beauty, sexuality, sensuality and youth where it treats the female form..."...and there is, of course, the tendency to present fairies as youthful and almost childlike. But one must understand that sexuality and sensuality is but one aspect of the mature woman and is a refinement, not corruption, of the innocent beauty of girl. Wherein fairies are presented as childlike, it is the innocent beauty of a girl that is idealized and not the sexuality and sensuality of a mature woman. It is beauty captured in a different state of development. Where men here perceive sexuality and sensuality, I suggest, is but a perception of the male's mind and its tendency to sexualize anything pertaining to females. Not all men will look at the beauty of a child and see something sexual in it...but many may. Sorry if that offends anyone here but that's the only explanation for it that I can come up with.

Oh there's an overt 'sexuality' in fairies (IMO) but just what it represents I have no idea....you see what I need to remember here is that no 'photograph' of a fairy exists (except of course disputed and highly dubious images)....so, fairies are depicted in drawings, paintings etc and those are created by people. It says more about the person drawing them (and how they perceive fairies) to an extent than any 'truth' about fairies.

Just straight off the bat though - having looked at images of fairies most of last night - can we agree that that they are predominantly white, female and scantily clad?

Ben

[iwant2believe2]

hehee..I knew you were going to go there!

Art...any art...is relative to those creating it or viewing it...the aesthetics will differ in accord.

white, female and scantily clad

Is this not the male ideal of feminine perfection? More often then not..this is how the image will be created and perceived by the male BUT to see a subtle or overt sexuality in childlike fairy depictions would require such a perception to exist...to some extent..in the male mind. I would suggest that the more childlike the image...the less sexual overtone it conveys to men...but the more the image reflects a young woman in her teen years...the stronger the perception of raw sexuality...and the more the image reflects a mature woman ..the stronger the perception of sensuality.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by iwant2believe2

hehee..I knew you were going to go there!

Art...any art...is relative to those creating it or viewing it...the aesthetics will differ in accord.

white, female and scantily clad

Is this not the male ideal of feminine perfection? More often then not..this is how the image will be created and perceived by the male BUT to see a subtle or overt sexuality in childlike fairy depictions would require such a perception to exist...to some extent..in the male mind. I would suggest that the more childlike the image...the less sexual overtone it conveys to men...but the more the image reflects a young woman in her teen years...the stronger the perception of raw sexuality...and the more the image reflects a mature woman ..the stronger the perception of sensuality.

You've kinda touched on one of the problems I'm having with these images though Tutu - I find it very difficult to 'age' them? Apart from white, female, scantily clad - I tried to note the other 'obvious' symbolic or meaningful attributes and 'age' wasn't one of them unless you count 'ageless' as being a common trait?

I also noted that legs tend to be long and slim, the body is usually visible through some kind of flimsy outfit and that a 'flower' or plant is frequently held in their hands....I confess to being unaware of what the 'flower' means symbollically here other than a reference to nature....but I guess there may be some other reference it represents if I check 'old tales' of fairies...I dunno?

Ben

[iwant2believe2]

It represents virginity, Ben.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by iwant2believe2

It represents virginity, Ben.

Ok - which once again 'sexualises' the image IMO - I read a bit last night which was saying historically fairies were pretty mischevious - even to the point of being malevolent and scaring people - and yet none of the images I see of fairies portrays anything but an image of 'goodness'......doesn't that strike you as odd?

Ben

[iwant2believe2]

Virginity does not need to represent sexuality though..for may indeed represent innocence free from sexuality..its the beholder which takes from it the sexual connotation. Does the male have a difficult time perceiving female innocence...even that present in a child...apart from sexuality?

Can you think of one idealized mythical male figure which does not epitomize male perfection? How is his perfection represented? Strength, virility, courage...the perfect male ideal.

Yes, I find the differences between the myth and its representation as odd....though not unusual.

[Ben]

The sexuality aspect I find problematic - more so because WE are sexual creatures - now fairies might not be - they might as you well say, be 'sexless', in the sense that they are innocent - but we are not sexless and therefore for us to 'sexualise' the image is I would presume - normal?

I'm not sure precisely what you meant Sandra by "Does the male have a difficult time perceiving female innocence...even that present in a child...apart from sexuality?" Because we're not dealing with 'female' innocence in the sense of it being human and 'childlike' - most of the images of fairies I have seen, whilst they present so much which is 'childlike', clearly show someone past puberty....so for me there are mixed messages and I'm not sure how we're supposed to interpret them?

Which of course begs the question of whether the modern day image of fairies has been 'corrupted' from it's original 'look'?

Ben

[iwant2believe2]

I meant wherein fairies are depicted as pre-pubescent..not pubescent. Does the male still perceive these pre-pubescent fairies as sexual...as he does with the pubescent and mature depictions of fairies? Because, again, in my opinion, the fairy...in so far as it is depicted today...is representitive of feminine ideals. Yet, even the pre-pubescent fairy can reflect abstract feminine ideals...such as innocence apart from sexuality..as well as beauty, delight, kindness, etc...these are feminine ideals that can be reflected in the female child...and I find it troubling wherein males see something 'sexual' in that...that's not what it is supposed to represent and I grow tired of the masculine perspective sexualizing every aspect of the feminine...even down to the innocent female child.

[Rorechof]

Tutu posts: Of course, the Fairy holds special significance for the woman as well

This is most probable tutu…

Etymology of the word Fairy:

The words fae and færie came to English from Old French, and originated in the Latin word "Fata" (the Fates) which referred to the three mythological personifications of destiny, who were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life.
They were usually described as cold, remorseless old crones or hags (in contrast to the modern, more conventionally beautiful depictions). Wiki & Online Etymology ~rore

[Rorechof]

I am wondering how the term Faerie came to mean a beautiful sensuous creature considering the known origins of the word.

Although, I suppose Fate may be interpreted as a beautiful and wondrous aspect of Life. (by some folk...) ~rore

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Rorechof

I am wondering how the term Faerie came to mean a beautiful sensuous creature considering the known origins of the word.

Although, I suppose Fate may be interpreted as a beautiful and wondrous aspect of Life. (by some folk...) ~rore

I'm the same as you rorechof - I'm really puzzled by how we came to have a benign image of a 'fairy' when the root appears to be some kind of, if not evil entity, then at least quarrelsome, mischevious entity?

Unless Fairies have been framed lol - maybe they've been given a raw deal?

I don't know if I mentioned earlier that they also appear to be 'white' - does that indicate an Anglo-Saxon origin? I know Scotland and Ireland in particular is steeped in Fairy tradition and legend so I'm gonna start looking back into the history books there....I'll be back....

Ben

[iwant2believe2]

Fate, as a personification of an abstract concept, has also been presented as having three aspects of life...and these three also finding correlation with the three stages of a woman's life (Why women? Because they were the life bringers...)...that being Maiden, Mother and Crone...the old Crone, where she may be seen as something hideous..actually represented the wisdom that came with age..or the natural feminine intuitive knowledge that deepened into wisdom in the latter years....once again, it is our perception of women...that is subverted...that an aged woman may reflect something hideous in our mind's eye rather than something full of wisdom.

[Chasing light and dark]

Originally Posted by Ben

I read a bit last night which was saying historically fairies were pretty mischevious - even to the point of being malevolent and scaring people - and yet none of the images I see of fairies portrays anything but an image of 'goodness'......doesn't that strike you as odd?

Ben

Most modern depictions of fairies seem harken back to the era the little girls who fooled the world with their fake photos lived in. By that time, fairies were viewed to have butterfly wings and be all sweet and innocent. They had begun to be regulated to children's stories. But not everyone draws them as such these days. Check out the work of Brian Froud and Amy Brown.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Chasing light and dark

Most modern depictions of fairies seem harken back to the era the little girls who fooled the world with their fake photos lived in. By that time, fairies were viewed to have butterfly wings and be all sweet and innocent. They had begun to be regulated to children's stories. But not everyone draws them as such these days. Check out the work of Brian Froud and Amy Brown.

Cheers LD - I'm doing that right now on Google....

Ben

[Ben]

I'm unashamedly bumping this this thread

Bump.

Ben

[minx]

good bump ben!

from an artistic point of view, fairies are an absolute joy to draw... i have done a few over recent years, and there is something special, something exciting which touches the real-creation part in me, as the drawing unfolds.... hard to explain, it's like giving birth to a unique and beautiful character each time..