In this piece, the feminist methodology must be utilized to fully understand the concepts of the piece and the role that the woman artist plays. This is especially relevant, because of the use of the word “my” in the piece. One must know the artist, one must know that the artist is speaking about herself, and one must know that it is in the context of a feminist woman. As a soldier marches over the woman’s face, the use of the word “my” becomes increasingly clearer. She is now talking not only about her body, but also about the bodies of other females, that men walk over. The phrase in of itself is an interesting and insightful phrase to use, as it is a strong and willful phrase. The part of the woman staring down the toy solider is interesting in this context, as it implies a lesser smaller man walking over her. She says over my dead body, and reject the militant corruption of her own body. Although this may have political meaning, and the Persian Gulf war was occurring at the time, this piece is more focused on the war between men and women concerning a woman’s body. Therefore, the woman is staring down the toy soldier saying over my dead body is much more contextualized to represent the fact that the battleground is now the woman’s bodies themselves. Therefore feminist methodology is important in understanding the artist and the meaning behind this piece. We as the viewer must understand that this piece comes from the perspective of the woman, and therefore must be viewed as such. The artist’s gender is completely intertwined with her work. She is talking about “me” in the text, but she is also talking about all the other woman, who would say over my dead body to the men who wish to occupy and possess it.
Women in Art History 