BEHAVIORAL BODIES: Gestures and Identities in Feminist Experimental Film and Other Arts (’70 - ’90)

The thesis explores feminist experimental cinema and other artistic practices between the 1970s and 1990s through the spectrum of the body. It is structured around three core metaphors: The Image as Body, The Medium as Body, and The Spectator as Body. These metaphors form a cohesive framework to explore how feminist artists have reconceptualized the body as a site of agency, resistance, and relationality. The first chapter, The Image as Body, interrogates the portrayal of the female body in cinema and other media. It discusses how feminist artists dismantle patriarchal narratives through performative representations, emphasizing the body as a dynamic agent for shaping meaning, perception, and identity. Then, the metaphor of The Medium as Body focuses on the materiality of the medium itself, investigating how it assumes bodily functions, shaping the psycho-emotional responses of the spectator. The final section, The Spectator as Body, foregrounds the embodied and affective experience of viewers, with particular attention to the female spectator. Building on feminist film theory and incorporating phenomenology, neurobiological perspectives and affect theories, this chapter examines how feminist artworks engage viewers' sensory, emotional, and empathetic responses. By reasoning on the body—whether as image, medium, or spectator—the thesis illuminates how feminist art reshapes representations, identities, and power structures, positioning corporeality at the core of feminist interventions in visual culture.