Feminine Body Writing in “Untitled Film Stills”

With the rise of postmodernism in the Western world, the development of feminism has gradually revealed the characteristics of postmodernism. Among them, feminine body writing is a good example. However, the academia does not pay much attention to body writing in photography art, which gives some research space for this paper. Therefore, this paper studies Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” and uses the theory of feminine body writing which is proposed by Hélène Cixous in “The Laugh of the Medusa” to explore what Sherman wants to suggest about feminism in “Untitled Film Stills”. The study has shown that, Cindy Sherman combines feminine body writing with photography, and uses self-direction and selfie to display women trapped in the male gaze, which show her awakening feminine consciousness and her satire on patriarchy. Sherman’s photographic works play an essential part in the development of feminism.