Making it Personal: Gender and Identity in Art
Developed By
Shauna McCabe
Suggested Length
Four 50 minute lessons
Suggested Grade Level(s)
Eight
Subject Areas
Social Studies, Visual Arts, Language Arts
Overview
In this unit, students will consider the role of gender and aspects of personal
identity in art.
Links to Curriculum Outcomes
Students will (be expected to)
 assess and utilize the properties of a variety of art media and their ability
to convey messages and meaning (visual arts)
 analyze art work and determine artists’ intention (visual arts)
 appreciate the use of art as a means to explore identity (visual arts)
 consider issues involving the rights, responsibilities, roles and status of
individual citizens and groups in a local, national, and global context
(social studies)
 develop writing skills in a range of creative styles (language arts)
Links to Telling Stories: Themes / Key Words
 identity
 gender
 representation
Art Works
 Book Sculptures, Three Generations (Female), Micah Lexier, CAG 93.7
 Floor Mops/Laundry Soap, Clarissa Inglis, CAG 96.2.1
 Man Brian Burke CAG 96.7
Lesson #1: Gender Roles
Objective
Students will examine how gender roles have changed over time.
Materials
 Recent elementary level reading textbooks or library books

Elementary level reading textbooks or library books published in the
1950s, 60s or 70s
Activities
1. Have the students view and consider a recent movie poster or
newspaper ad or CD cover that suggests stereotypical gender
roles. Students could identify what they think is suggested.
2. Discuss with students how stereotypes about gender roles can
affect our relationships.
3. Have them review the art works in this section, identifying the
stereotypes and symbols of identity and roles the artists use in their
work. Explain that the following activity will explore how gender
roles and stereotypes have changed.
4. Organize students in groups of four, presenting each group with a
current and older reading book.
5. Have students investigate how the images of male / female
relationships have changed, or not, in the stories in the books.
Each group should report their findings.
6. Discuss with students how these stereotypes might affect goals,
decisions, and relationships. Some points to address:
 Is it easy or hard to look at male and female roles in a new and
non-traditional way? Why or why not?
 What are some of the ways changing gender roles have
affected relationships between men and women in a) social
settings, b) families, and c) the workplace?
 If you could make one change in men's gender roles, what
would it be? In women's roles, what would it be?
Ideas for Assessment
Have students respond in journals about how they address issues of gender in
their own lives. How do traditional gender roles affect them?
Lesson #2: Gender Bias in Art Interpretation
Objective
Students will consider ways that gender bias may influence the
ways in which they interpret pieces of art, comprehending that
many artists express themselves in ways that do not conform to
gender-role expectations.
Materials
 Overhead, digital, or slides images of a variety of art works that defy
stereotypes, noting carefully that students may be influenced by both the
content and the medium
Activities
1. Present images of the three art works in this section. Have students
consider whether they would assume the artist is male or female.
2. Show the students a series of images of other artists' works. After
each slide, ask if they can predict if this is the work of a male artist
or a female artist, or if this is an impossible task.
3. The students jot down their responses and a brief explanation
regarding their decision.
Often, the students will predict the gender of the artist. Encourage
the students to identify what element(s) of the work influenced their
decision – are they falling back on common stereotypes relating to
gender roles (i.e. only females would use laundry soap in their
sculpture, or paint flowers, or would use the colour pink; only males
draw dark or ominous scenes)?
4. In discussion, students should be guided to comprehend that many
artists express themselves in ways that do not conform to genderrole expectations. Encourage them to identify their own biases
regarding gender role expectations as they relate to artistic
expression.
Ideas for Assessment
Ask students to write a paragraph that summarizes what they learned from the
experience. They might also plan a dramatic tableau to communicate what was
learned.
Lesson #3: Written Self-portrait
Objective
This lesson engages students in a writing exercise that encourages
them to explore their sense of self.
Materials
 Construction paper cut into pieces the size of business cards.
 Pens
Activities
1. Ask students to imagine what their own life will be like in the future,
to identify their hopes and dreams. In their text, students will be
encouraged to include the following:
 What my high school years will be like.
 What I want to do in college
 What I dream about becoming
 Where I will live
 What places I will go
 People I dream about meeting
 What I imagine my life to be like over the next 20 years
2. Have them record the text first on plain paper, then take their cards
and their answers and record a single question on one side of
each, with the answer on the back.
3. Students may not wish to share their writing with the class, but after
they have completed it, ask them to consider how their plans and
dreams relate to earlier discussions of gender-role expectations.
Lesson #4: Messages in Bottles: An Installation Project
Objective
Students will consider multiple media in the exploration and
investigation of personal identity and cultural tradition
Related Art Work(s)
 Emigratsii (On Emigration), Tanya Rusnak, NA
 Book Sculptures, Three Generations (Female), Micah Lexier, CAG 93.7
 Floor Mops/Laundry Soap, Clarissa Inglis, CAG 96.2.1
 Man Brian Burke CAG 96.7
Materials
 Cards created in Lesson #3
 Have students bring small objects that mean something to them, that
represent their interests and identity – these can be pictures, jewellery,
toys, plants, or soil from a specific place, etc., different materials
 A range of small jars, like baby food jars
Activities
1. Have students consider how the art installations in this section use
a variety of materials. Introduce Tanya Rusnak’s piece, and the
idea it is also an installation exploring personal identity, though not
specifically about gender.
2. Have students reflect on how the work is constructed, and how the
work changes in configuration depending on where it is located.
Emphasize that in Rusnak’s piece, as in Inglis’ mops and laundry
soap, these are everyday objects and materials that they can find
all around them – such as eggshells, soil, plaster, seeds etc. You
may want to ask students what they feel makes her use of such
materials “art.” How does transforming these materials affect how
we see them?
3. Distributing the bottles to students, present the idea that each bottle
should hold a material or object that is significant to them. In each
bottle, they should also place one of the small cards they created,
with the side with the answer facing outwards.
4. Now explain that, with their bottles, they will create a sculptural
installation, by organizing the bottles in a certain way and giving
their installation a form. Challenge them to consider what kind of
order they want to communicate by the way in which they install the
bottles.
5. Isolate a long shelf or a table that can be used for the exhibition of
their work. Ask students to install their work and create a label
identifying their name and the title and date.
Ideas for Assessment
Ask students to create a personal response to their installation. The response
might take various forms (e.g., poetry, descriptive narrative, dance, dramatic
moment).