Thoughts on feminine energy and creativity
“I feel truly inspired by the life and energy of having carried and birthed a human being. It’s a vibrancy I’ve never felt before. ”
Moving into 2018, the community of celebrated creative women continues to grow along with their platforms. We hear about more and more girlbosses and industry-trailblazing ladies. Of course, it wasn’t always this free for women to operate and express themselves in the public creative space. Up until the 20th century, women were neglected in artistic groups, excluded from art academies, and not represented equal to male artists in exhibits. You don’t have to go too far back in art history to see these gender inequalities.
In some cases, gender influences how creativity is researched or measured. Yet despite myths and common tropes of women embodying imaginative forces and men representing the rational side, both genders have naturally found their way into artistic and creative expression. Sculptor Gwen Marcus captures it best, stating:
“Art itself does not have a gender, much art appeals to one’s sense of beauty. The feminine form is the most traditional idealization of beauty…though much art reaches beyond tradition. When successful, it strikes a deep chord within the viewer that is felt by many. It evokes a variety of emotions and is universal to all.”
Even though art is universal, it may take on traits that we categorize as masculine or feminine. Yet when I heard Amel Monsur, Executive Creative Director at VICE, say that “creativity is actually a source that comes from your feminine energy,” of course I was intrigued. She went on explain that this mystical sounding “feminine energy” exists in everyone, not solely in women. So how exactly do these feminine energies influence creativity?
When I think of traditionally “feminine” qualities, I think of ethereal beauty, and classic maternal roles of nurturing. These conventional feminine roles of the mother or the muse are inherently creative. Motherhood is probably the most creative a person can get — you’re literally creating a human. Biology aside, motherhood and creating in your trade are two qualities that seem to be often pitted against each other. I recently read an article in The Atlantic which highlights how women encounter the challenge of balancing the identity of an artist and a mother.
In The Cut’s article A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Mom, writer Kim Brooks questions:
“Why should it be so hard to walk this line, now that domestic burdens were distributed more evenly between men and women, now that parenthood had been stripped by machine and innovation of much of its drudgery and transformed into something more elevated and imaginative? Surely, I thought, there was no reason in the 21st century that a person like myself couldn’t be a great wife, a great mother, and also the sort of obsessive, depressive, distracted writer whose persona I’d always romanticized.”
Yet, despite this projected dichotomy of mother and artist, is it possible that the two identities could actually work together, complementing and propelling the other? I reached out to artist, creative expression guide, and new mother Carmen Larson for some perspective on the relationship between creativity and the feminine trait of motherhood.
Carmen explains how she understands the conflict between the two identities because of the lack of time to invest in creating art, stating “that’s always been a struggle even before motherhood.” Despite this, Carmen has adapted to her limited time, advising to “honour your creativity by allowing the process to evolve.”
“I feel that another idea that may spark the element of conflict is that our artworks are like our babies, so to speak. In a way it’s two babies fighting for the attention of their mother”, she describes. A creative project feeling like your own baby is a familiar feeling to many, yet since becoming a mother only 6 months ago, Carmen describes her relationship between motherhood and creativity as “complementary to one another.”
“My creative moments are shorter but more meaningful, more purposeful. As though it’s concentrated into more powerful bursts. My creative concepts and inspirations have never made more sense to me, it’s as though everything is finally in alignment with new clarity. I feel truly inspired by the life and energy of having carried and birthed a human being. It’s a vibrancy I’ve never felt before. For me it’s another chapter in the journey and experience of the ever evolving force of creative expression.”
Rather than pitting the two against one another, Carmen’s motherhood has enhanced her creativity. Neuropsychologist Rex Jung, who studies creativity and the brain, suggests that “in this period of extreme pressure, when mothers are going through massive changes in their bodies, diets, and hormones, that is when creativity should emerge as a highly adaptive reasoning process.”
These maternal instincts and experiences may play a larger role in artistic and creative expression than we give them credit for. Motherhood may be the epitome of that “feminine energy” Amel Monsur refers to, however ideas of femininity are not limited to the role of the mother. Throughout history and mythology women have also fulfilled the popular role of the muse.
A muse is the personified source of inspiration for an artist or creative person. This whole notion of a muse originated in ancient Greek mythology, in which nine goddesses and daughters of Zeus each embodied different aspects of arts and culture, such as music, poetry, or comedy. These Muses, or goddesses, would bring inspiration to artists on earth. Got a genius idea? That came from the muses, not you. Monumental poets and philosophers like Homer and Socrates would call on these muses to bring them great ideas. For centuries, the role of the muse was colossal in art and literature, and most often, females were the muse.
In the midst of women taking on these elusive and beautiful roles of being both the inspiration and creator, why are we still facing a lack of females in creative leadership roles in a work environment?
There’s no doubt that these feminine energies in the role of the mother or muse are inherently creative and exhilarating. But one question remains. In the midst of women taking on these elusive and beautiful roles of being both the inspiration and creator, why are we still facing a lack of females in creative leadership roles in a work environment?
You may have heard of the 3% Movement, a community and conference that was born out of the realization that only 3% of U.S. creative directors were women in 2008. Since 2008, the amount of female creative directors in the U.S. rose to 11% in 2016. The founder of the 3% Movement, Kat Gordon, worked as a copywriter/creative director for 20 years before starting the movement. Frustrated by the lack of women on her teams and in her industry, she began to research why and identified these five main barriers:
Lack of motherhood support
Lack of female mentorship
Lack of awareness that being a woman is an asset to connecting to consumers
Lack of celebration of female work due to gender bias of award juries
Lack of women negotiating salaries they deserve
According to a December 2015 Harvard Review article, in a survey of 1,500 CEOs, creativity was ranked as “the most important skill for the future.” Yet with one quick google search of women and creativity, I’m bombarded with articles of women being perceived as less creative, or less likely to self-promote themselves. Just think of the untapped potential of these creative feminine energies that lie in the naturally creative roles women fulfil. As we enter 2018, let’s continue to celebrate female creativity, grow the 11%, and dismantle the gender bias that still exists in so many industries.
