Vlmerlini

The claim that angels are genderless or were until the 19th-century is, at the very least, inaccurate. My position is that it is incorrect. (re: “In fine art angels are usually depicted as having the shape of human beings of extraordinary beauty[4] but no gender (until the 19th century at least.") The gender of angels in sacred and secular Christian art from the surviving icons and archaeological finds that pre-date iconoclasm to the present, is represented as 1. ambiguous with the assumption being that the unmarked case represents the dominant group and is, hence, male, or 2. as male by name and symbolic content through association with relevant religious mythology as in the case of the well-known archangels such as Michael and Gabriel, or 3. as male by anatomy as in the case of cherubs (or puti) commonly depicted as young children with exposed male genitalia. If one clicks the link in the quoted claim to the Angels in Art page, the error is further compounded throughout the article. A simple examination of the holdings of museums in Egypt - e.g. the Coptic Museum or Egyptian Museum, and Italy, e.g. the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, or the Uffizi in Florence - will confirm that angel gender is either male and, if ambiguous, assumed to be male.

The unmarked case in any society is a representation of the dominant group. That can be seen everywhere in symbolic representations of human (always male and/or dominant group members) that have to be marked to represent female, for example, with the addition of clothing articles associated with females (eg. the symbols on bathroom doors globally), and, similarly, which must needs be marked to represent male or female minority status in kind or with a different skin color or an object or occupation associated with that minority group. Additionally, all languages mark words for gender. In English, for example, we have poet and poetess, actor and actress, and the one word marked female is widow, where to refer to a male one uses widower. If not marked for female gender in a male-dominated society the gender represented is assumed in intent to be male. The page Angels in Art makes further errors in claiming Greek Erotes are genderless. They are not - they are male. The art depicted is of male angels. An angel named Michael or Gabriel is male not ambiguous. Ambiguity is never genderless in any culture. A Catholic source or any source which makes this claim needs to be critically examined in light of the very evidence used in the discussion - the art, and in light of the tenets and beliefs of the religion especially Catholicism and most versions of Christianity which, outside Mary the mother of Jesus, are devoid of the feminine.

Additionally, when quoting Catholic sources one must note not only the contradictions of the position that angels are genderless but the foundation of the belief in a triune - all-male - godhead. Catholicism does not even reflect a stated belief that Mary is the 'biological' mother of Jesus, i.e. having contributed her essence or DNA to him. She is considered a vessel and the name Theotokos - used by Western and Eastern Christianity means 'God-bearer' not 'Mother of God' as is often incorrectly claimed. (One can ‘bear’ a child not one's own – surrogates do it all the time.) Angels are always male in sacred art, and if represented as female in modern art a definitive example has to be offered since to my knowledge there is no angel that is reflective of religious belief that is presented as female in art, and if no definitive representation as female is available then that further speaks to what is touted as ambiguity being male in actuality and intent.

In conclusion, in the art being discussed language reflects male dominance. Consider the (outdated) ‘inclusive’ pronouns and noun ‘man’ and ‘men’ and ‘mankind’ where female is subsumed and made invisible through these uses. Additionally, for example, with the exception of modern-day English, the languages of the cultures from which the examples of art are chosen have grammatical gender. Grammatical gender requires adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and articles be marked for gender. If a room is filled with a thousand women and one man walks in then all who are present are referred to with the masculine ending, e.g. Italian - Sono tutti presenti. Culture has no ambiguity in its symbolism unless gender ambiguity is a well-established aspect of that culture’s understanding of humanity (and it is more common for there to a consideration of a dual nature rather than an ambiguous or third sex). The art being discussed comes from cultures where that is not the case and where the religions are pure representations of patriarchal ideology – an ideology that is devoid of the sacred female and feminine and absent any female power. The helpmeets of the deity and of humanity in such religions would never and could never be female. They are only male – ambiguity means male. If all that exists in representation is male in name or anatomy (or action as in the wielding of a sword which is associated with male activity and occupations), or 'ambiguous' (for example, in the absence of 'protruding' breasts) then ambiguity does not exist - only maleness exists.

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