Yoko Ono has become well known for her 1964 art performance titled Cut Piece. In this performance, she sits silently and passively on a stage, allowing members of the audience to approach her and cut off pieces of her clothes. Ono herself has attributed her artistic demonstration to be a rebellion against ableism, sexism, racism, and violence (Concannon, 83). She has continued to perform this demonstration until the age of seventy, acknowledging the feminist connotations behind it.
There are also themes of pacifism in this performance, as many relate the stripping away of Ono's clothes to be representative of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Through this demonstration, Ono gives off a feeling of being left with nothing; stripped of all of one's power and strength, which is similar to what she experienced as a child during World War II in Japan. It is also worth mentioning the resemblance of her physical appearance to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki- exposed, clothing torn to shreds, and a sense of tragic vulnerability. However, it is important that Cut Piece is seen in other lights than feminism and pacifism. "In Cut Piece, the body announces itself not only as a recipient of risks and threats, but also as a source of gifts." (Bryan-Wilson, 103). It is not only used to represent the victimization of women and the cruelty of their abusers, but also holds a deeper meaning relevant to Japanese culture and Ono's own feelings about art. Ono herself allows the audience to take something tangible from the art performance. However, as an artist, the only thing she can offer them is the clothes off her back, which she attributes to Buddhism and refers to as "total giving" (Concannon, 89). |
Yoko Ono established herself as a radical feminist through her article in Sundance Magazine, called The Feminization of Society. Published in 1972, the article discusses the various issues she had found with the feminist movement of the time, especially in the fields of lesbianism, childcare, and women's freedom. She also discusses the issues she found with the patriarchal society, in which men have failed to run the world peacefully. She believes, that through a radical reorganization of society, a world with more feminine than masculine characteristics will prevail.
"I am proposing the feminization of society; the use of feminine nature as a positive force to change the world. We can change ourselves with feminine intelligence and awareness, into a basically organic, noncompetitive society that is based on love, rather than reasoning. The result will be a society of balance, peace and contentment." (Ono)
Through the "feminization of society", she believes that our world, in which feminine characteristics have been suppressed for so long, should be "feminized", which will inherently lead to peace, happiness, and love. But in order to do this, women must unite. There must be no segregation within the feminist community. There must be a mutual understanding and acceptance between women of different colors and different sexualities. Until then, men will continue to run the world, and will continue to eliminate as many aspects of femininity as they can.
"I am proposing the feminization of society; the use of feminine nature as a positive force to change the world. We can change ourselves with feminine intelligence and awareness, into a basically organic, noncompetitive society that is based on love, rather than reasoning. The result will be a society of balance, peace and contentment." (Ono)
Through the "feminization of society", she believes that our world, in which feminine characteristics have been suppressed for so long, should be "feminized", which will inherently lead to peace, happiness, and love. But in order to do this, women must unite. There must be no segregation within the feminist community. There must be a mutual understanding and acceptance between women of different colors and different sexualities. Until then, men will continue to run the world, and will continue to eliminate as many aspects of femininity as they can.
Yoko Ono has also released many cinematic projects, many of which deal with controversial topics. One of her most controversial movies, titled Rape, features a film crew follows a German-speaking woman through a park and eventually to her apartment, isolating her and making her feel extremely uncomfortable. This movie is seen as a allegory for women's discrimination and victimization by the media and in the film industry.
In another film, titled Woman, Ono's addresses the topic of pregnancy, as well as the loneliness a woman feels during her nine months of pregnancy. Her goal was to show a realistic, non-romanticized portrayal of pregnancy. She notes, in her script of the film, how an accurate portrayal of pregnancy had never been done before. "Except for medical reports, no film-maker as yet has taken this subject for a film. Maybe it is because most film-makers are men, and they are sensitive to this subject." (Macdonald, 19). Through this, Ono wishes to show women that pregnancy is not necessarily a glorifying, beautiful process, but that should not deter one's ambitions for having children.
Through her journey in creating films, she speaks about the sexism she experienced as being a female film-maker. She speaks of a specific occurrence in London, when an executive she had an interview with refused to believe she was the director of her films, due to the fact that she was a woman. She felt very protective of her ideas because of this. After collaborating with John Lennon, she felt like she was able to release her ideas to the world, and published many of her ideas so that others could make films with them.
"It was an act of cleansing for my spirit as a woman film-maker who carried so many chips, and ideas, on her shoulders." (Macdonald, 23), says Ono about her ability to publish her scripts after establishing a collaborative relationship with her husband John Lennon.