18

Photography and surrealism

19
Introduction
vho vere involved and contributed to the development
ot surrealism. When vomen are acknovledged as in-
volved in surrealism some are still sometimes dismissed
as merely surrealists vives or muses. Again the problem
is in the accounts ot the movement. Posemont counts at
least ten vomen active in surrealism in the early +,:os
(although they vere not involved in photography,.
27
1o
dismiss and vrite vomen in surrealism out ot its history
because someone thinks their desire takes a relatively
passive position is another general misconception about
vomen in the period.
Although vomen in lrance did not have the right
to vote until atter the Second World War, this is not
an indication ot their general social position. Surrealism
emerged at a time ot massive social change. During the
+,++: lirst World War in lrance vomen had been
employed in many occupations tormerly reserved tor
men in the manual labour and groving service industries,
buses and trains, etc. Atter the var, unlike in Britain,
these vomen vorkers increased, vith an assumed right
to vork even atter marriage. 1he never employment tor
vomen vas in shops and banks, as assistants, typists and
copyists. 1he larger Parisian establishments even provided
nurseries to enable mothers to continue vorking.
28
1he
massive grovth ot an industry in cosmetics, manicure,
hydropathy, chiropody, hairdressing (the nev tashion ot
short hair tor vomen, and general health care, meant
that the public sphere vas tar trom being dominated by
men and that many metropolitan vomen could live in
relative economic and social independence. Surrealism
recognized and addressed this nev independence ot
vomen, as the lives ot some ot the vomen in and
around surrealism testity. But surrealism also engaged
vith this nev sphere to make a critique ot the ideals
ot bourgeois temininity manitested vithin it, a tactor
ignored in criticism about vomen represented vithin
surrealism (e.g. in Iuis Bunuels tlms,.
On the matter ot gender and sexuality there is
trequently a contusion betveen the vocabulary ot a
sociology ot gender and psychoanalytic theory ot sexual-
ity in discussion ot representations. Whereas sociologi-
cal literature tends to assume social identities ot men and
vomen, psychoanalytic theory has dinerent concepts.
:; Ibid., p. .
:: Apparently, by +,:o, ,ooo
vomen vere vorking in banks in
lrance, see lrances I. Clark, The
Position of Women in Contemporary
France (Iondon: P. S. King, +,;,,
p. :+.