Woman's body and representation: Women artists using their bodies in art after 1970

Woman?s body that has been widely used in art cannot be differentiated from the problematicof representation. Consequently, the concepts of body, woman, feminine and subjectivity areanalysed in various theories while the contemporary feminist thinkers? critical andinterpretative approaches are cited. Firstly, the construction of womanhood in thepsychoanalitic theories of Freud and Lacan, then Irigaray?s and Kristeva?s comments arediscussed. Foucault?s understanding of body and power, and Deleuze and Guattari?sterminology of body without organs, becoming woman and deterritorialization are argued.Furthermore, concepts such as sex, gender and Judith Butler?s version of gender as beingperformative and drag are explained. The concepts that are mentioned in the theory chapterare used to understand different women artists exemplified in each section.Artists such as Cindy Sherman, Francesca Woodman, Ana Mendieta, Carolee Schneemann,Hannah Wilke, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas are examined with the use of theoretical andconceptual tools of the thesis. Finally, the resistance methods and a new politics ofrepresentation amid the strata of existing images are sought at the same time drawing theattention to the risks faced by the women artists using their bodies in art.Key Words: Representation, woman?s body, gender, power, body without organs, mimesis,abject, parody.