Musing on myths

Considers an article by June Wayne entitled `The male artist as a stereotypical female (1979), reflecting on stereotypically feminine qualities including helplessness, intuition, romanticism, and sensitivity and their application to the figure of the conventional male artist. The author examines Wayne's analysis of the problem caused by the application of this paradigm to female artists, and the restrictions arising from the attribution of universal value to the work of male artists, while their female colleagues work is judged in terms of decoration and lack of originality. She notes that these myths stem from an old and élitist tradition and create difficulties when dealing with the work of female artists which do not fit the template of male creativity or stereotypical femininity.