Cindy Sherman, Untitled (pregnant woman), 2002-2004, 29 x 20 in., C-Print, Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Cindy Sherman photographs self-portraits in which she embodies stereotypes about women in order to question how these clichés affect the woman’s identity. In this work, Sherman turns herself into the typecast of a lower class, promiscuous woman who aborts accidental pregnancies due to her sexual activities. The production of this photograph proves the absurdity of the stereotype because it is unrealistic—the stuffed belly and the superimposed, red synthetic background serve to mock this trope.
Sherman’s ability to disguise herself and become a new character in this photograph also speaks to the fluidity of American stereotypes. If Sherman can become the stereotype through costume, it must not be real. This work was reprinted in 2004 to fundraise at the Planned Parenthood Auction for Choice. Given the context of struggles for reproductive freedom, Sherman’s piece argues for a woman’s right to choose. The figure’s confident stance and the unglorified representation of pregnancy communicate that this woman is reclaiming her experience of pregnancy–whether conventional or unconventional, stereotypical or unique–as her own.
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