Summer Transparency
Hu Ming, Uniform Series
oil on canvas, 2001

The oil on canvas piece, Summer Transparency was created by artist Hu Ming in 2001 as part of her Uniform Series. The painting depicts a smiling women with bangs in a kaki green transparent romper-like version of the Cultural Revolution uniform. The uniform’s form fit and transparency reveals her breasts and buttocks. The women is in front of a red background and smiles as she proudly shows off her body. She stands firm and holds the proletarian hat adorned with a red star to cover the gap between her slightly spread legs. The side-by-side back and front views exhibit her entire body to the viewer and reveal two long braids. military uniform

During the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong in the newly formed People’s Republic of China (dates) the Mao suit was designed and propagated by the government to promote proletarian values and gender equality. In Mao’s China, men and women were suppose to be equal. However,  propaganda portraying the ideal women did not remove gender but masculinized the female figure. The image bellow depicts a female tractor operator in Mao’s China.

please introduce or make a thesis statement about these two contrasting artworks?

Liu Wenxi, 1970
Published by Renmin Meishu Chubanshe

In the poster the women has a broad smile and a wears clothe cap over a short haircut. Any trace of the female body is hidden by a shapeless proletarian uniform. Beside her is a green bag with the red star and a copy of Mao’s book. Instead of creating gender equality, this masculinization devalued the female body by making it less desirable than the male figure. Hu Ming’s Uniform Series takes revenge on PLO for the masculinization of the female figure and demoting femininity. Her transparent uniform which reveal her breasts and buttocks embraces the female body. In her painting, the women is just as muscular as the tractor driver but by revealing the attributes of the female body, she achieves a more realistic depiction. Her strong and confident stance shows that women do not have  to be masculine to be strong. She shows the viewers that embracing sexuality doesn’t necessarily mean weakness. By providing both a front and back view, Ming shoes off the girls long hair and contrast with Mao’s depiction of women who has short hair like a man. The red background, collar, and hat connote nationalism and shows that femininity can still be patriotic. The short romper-like suit allows her legs to be on display. By depicting the Mao suit in a way that embraces female sexuality, Hu Ming has reclaims femininity and celebrates the women of the cultural revolution in a more dynamic way that allows them to be evocative, sexual, and strong.

In contrast to masculinized female body in Mao’s China, Hu Ming’s work reclaims femininity and sexuality through visual rhetoric of  military uniform transparency.  If this is the thesis statement and see what happens if you allow it to guide your analysis

Sources:

http://hu-ming.com/common/space_05e.html

http://hu-ming.com/all_list/01/index.html

https://blackboard.bowdoin.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-507901-dt-content-rid-1518724_1/courses/ASNS2076.GWS2076_2016S/mao%20suit%20slides%20.pdf (Black board in-class slides)

Chairman Mao envisioned a unified society in which ethnic, gender, and class inequalities were nonexistent. His ideal society was in direct opposition to the Western imperialism, specifically capitalism, that had inhibited the political and economic growth of China. Removing these inequalities was part of his efforts to bolster national pride in China.

need a transition between the two paragraphs

Chairman Mao introduced the Mao Suit to China in the late 1950’s with the effect being to “‘Civilize the mind and make savage the body.’ This is an apt saying. In order to civilize the mind, one must first make savage the body. If the body is made savage, then the civilized mind will follow.” (Chen 361). Chairman Mao took this to mean that the body is meant to be improved upon, to be strengthened. He wanted to uplift the proletariat class, who traditionally performed manual labor,  and highlight their value to Chinese society.

The Mao suit was a button-down shirt with either pants or trousers, denoting one’s occupation as a proletariat or farmer, respectively. The peasant workers wore trousers to show off their “well-formed calves” and rolled up their sleeves to show off their “powerful arms” (Chen 365). how about focus on the analysis of gender and mao suit?

A Grey MaoSuit

For Chinese women, the Mao suit created an opportunity to be equal with men.  Each profession had a standard uniform that every worker was required to wear, and workers were evaluated on many tasks they completed during their shifts. Mao eliminated the benefits that beauty and propriety had initially given upper-class women. In addition, men and women worked alongside each other, and were encouraged in the same manner to strengthen their bodies and increase their productivity levels. Through the Mao suit and changing ideals of professionalism in the workplace, Chairman Mao achieved political, economic, and social uniformity among Chinese people, regardless of their ethnicity and other marginalized aspects of their identity.

‘Strive for an abundant harvest, amass grain 1973’

However, Mao’s cultural uniformity eliminated the concept of femininity altogether. In advertisements and propaganda promoting the communist agenda, women were portrayed as hard-working individuals who were happy because they focused solely on their occupations. Women had short hair that was tucked under a hat or hair-wrap, and wore little to no makeup. The uniforms were shapeless so as to direct attention to the parts of the body that were visible (i.e. arms and legs). By forcing women to build muscle and work harder in the fields or in the offices of proletarians, Chairman Mao sent the message that equality could only be established by having both men and women conform to the standards of appearance and productivity initially forced upon men.

 Farmers during the Cultural Revolution, 1970

Women’s bodies were in flux when it came to changing professions. In the agricultural sector, every individual wore the same suit and completed the same tasks. In the proletariat/technocratic fields, such as the textile industry, women had to wear different clothes to both signify their upward mobility and cover different parts of their body. Men, on the other hand, continued to wear trousers and button-down shirts. They did not have to alter their clothing in order to conform to the rules of different workplaces.

Overall, Mao did not achieve his quest for gender equality. Women could not engage in traditional beauty or fashion practices because they were required to focus on work and gaining strength. The shapeless Maosuit did not allow women to showcase their bodies. Women did not have uniform clothing, but were forced to change their garments when they changed professions. While unintentional, the gender inequality between men and women resulted because the standards for equality were not recreated to include the cultures and identities of women before the cultural revolution. Instead, women were forced to meet the societal standards placed upon men.

could pursue a much more cohesive organization, if take the thematic issue of gender (in)equality in terms of Mao uniformity as the central focus, then explain in detail, how the visual denotations construct socialist female body.

Works Cited:

Grey Mao Suit: http://kolahun.typepad.com/kolahun/2010/11/s.html

Strive for an abundent harvest: http://chineseposters.net/themes/women-2.php

Farmers during the Cultural Revolution, 1970: http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com/WHII.34

During the Maoist regime the fashion choices of Chinese citizens changed drastically. The unofficial uniform of the public was a Mao suit, a buttoned, neutral shirt with utilitarian pockets. These became the collective outfits of the people and they were worn by men and women alike. As time went on the Mao suit became a cultural icon for the Maoist regime and was equated with both support of the Republic and Mao himself. As such, the Mao suit morphed not only into a piece of clothing, but a symbol used in posters, art, and theater. In this analysis, I examine two images of women’s bodies that are shown wearing a Mao suit to support the Communist government, but in very different ways.
define “women’s bodies” and make a critical claim

In this first example here, we see a poster of a woman operating a tractor or some other large  

agricultural machine. She is smiling and happy in her work, wearing comfortable and practical clothing. Here the Mao suit she wears is used as a tool to universalize her to the Chinese viewers of this poster. As the focus of this image, her female body is the most prominent aspect of the art. Interestingly, her body is draped in the baggy Mao suit fabric in a way that intentionally does not show off any curves she might have. We as viewers of this poster are not meant to think of her as sexual but instead as a worker. Her purpose as a supporter of the Communist regime is much more than as a reproductive female body, it is important also as a farmer working to support the country. how about the idea of gender/sexual erasure as the topical sentence?

In the following image, we see a group of ballerinas performing in the ballet The Red Detachment of Women in 1971. These women of the Red Guard are holding guns and wearing the traditional Mao suit with a red armband. In stark contrast to the photo above, the women here are wearing a skin tight version of the same clothing. They are clad in short shorts and

high socks that accentuate the thigh and leg. Furthermore, their hair is all immaculately pulled back into a cap and they are gracefully posed within the painting. Their chest is forward and their legs in full view. This image, is intended to show off the female body as distinctly female far more than the other image we see. any connotations regarding this image?

While both these images of women wearing the Mao suit are meant to support the party’s cause, the reasoning behind each is very different. In the first image, it is about the physical power and ability of the woman to be a worker. This is meant to appeal to women who want to work and be productive members of society. The second image is meant to appeal to the desire for beauty and grace. Each is meant to support the Maoist regime, however, they use women’s bodies to do so in very different ways.

female body concealed in working uniform and female body exposed through military uniform: what do the images suggest?

Beginning in 1966, China witnessed an extraordinary explosion of violence across the perpetrated by young middle and high school students. Teachers, intellectuals and other “enemies of the state” were dragged from their homes, savagely beaten in the streets, tortured, and summarily executed by these children. This chaos unfolded with the blessing of Mao who exploited it to seize power after being pushed aside following the tragic Great Leap Forward that caused tens of millions of people to starve to death. His deliberate intervention in the movement helped shape the identity of the Red Guards, validating their appropriation of the Red Army uniform and the militaristic adherence to Mao Zedong Thought.

To understand the significance on Mao’s influence on the sartorial choices of the Red Guards, one needs simply to examine propaganda prior to his receiving the Red Guards in Tiananmen Square.

“Criticize the old world and build a new world with Mao Zedong Thought as a weapon.” Sept, 1966. Reproduced from chineseposters.net

In this poster, the title reads “Criticize the old world and build a new world with Mao Zedong Thought as a weapon” and it is from September, 1966. In the center of the poster is a young man who is wearing a green People’s Liberation Army jacket with the sleeves rolled up with blue pants and the typical red armband and carries Mao’s Little Red Book. Behind him are young people in varying outfits: some are wearing completely PLA uniforms, while others are wearing only partial uniforms like the green jacket without matching pants; others are wearing blue Mao PLA suits or plain shirts and pants. Behind them are large red banners.

The discord between this image and the legions of identically dressed youngsters clad in PLA uniforms can be resolved by noting that this image was produced in September, 1966. Mao only appeared clad in his olive PLA uniform on the gates of Tiananmen Square on August 18, 1966. This early in the movement, it is very possible that the Red Guards as a whole had not coalesced around that form of dress even if the elite members from Tsinghua already dressed that way. Instead, careful analysis of the image reveals that they conceived of two unifying symbols: Mao’s Little Red Book and the red armband. Despite their being dressed differently, each person holds a Little Red Book. More importantly, the artist has configured each person so that the book is over their heart. Subtly, the artist wishes to state that what defines the Red Guards at this moment in time is not what they wear, but that they take Mao’s words to heart and always carry his words with them.

yes, the poster intends to address that mao’s little red book, thereby mao’s thoughts, is the leading rhetoric for the CR.

“Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong to wage the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the end”, 1967, reproduced from chineseposters.net

Less than a year later, the Party produced a poster titled “Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong thought to wage the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to the end – Revolution is no crime, to rebel is justified.” The poster prominently features two red guards in the center wearing the characteristic olive military uniforms of the PLA. The Red Guards holds a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book in her hands and wears an armband on her left arm. Between them are two peasants who are also wearing red arm bands, as well as overalls and sun hats. Behind them are legions of Red Guards wearing the military uniforms and holding Mao’s Little Red Book high above their heads.

workers, peasants, soldiers, and red guards are the social political subjects of the poster, thereby the focal point.

One must note the significance of placing two peasants between the two Red Guards. The Cultural Revolution and its Red Guards were predominantly an urban phenomenon in China. To place two peasants between them symbolizes the unity of the two important segments of Chinese society. Furthermore, this is supported by the peasants’ wearing of the red armband. Not only their location in the image, but the sartorial choices made by the artist are intended to illustrate ideological harmony between the two. Lastly, one should emphasize the sartorial uniformity of the Red Guards in the background. When comparing it to the preceding image, the Red Guards in the background are all wearing olive military uniforms. Contextualizing this difference with the date disparity between the two – 1966 to 1967 – illustrates that the movement quickly coalesced around the olive green military uniform with the red armband as the proper uniform in just a few months. Perhaps this might be due to the influence of Mao’s appearing at Tiananmen Square several times in the span of a few months wearing this exact uniform. Their desire to emulate his thought might have been augmented by their desire to emulate his person.