{"id":{"repo_id":"vcu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2079"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vcu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2079","repository":{"repo_id":"vcu","name":"Virginia Commonwealth University","base_url":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"From Typologies to Portraits: Catherine Opie's Photographic Manipulations of Physiognomic Imagery","abstract":"This thesis proposes that California contemporary photographer Catherine Opie's Being and Having series (1991) and her Portrait series (1993-1996) parody the constraining binary gender discourse and stereotypes that emanate from it. In her art Opie uses familiar codes and identity discourses associated with traditional portrait photography and typological photographs to promote a postmodern and fluid model of gender identity. Her manipulation of photographic technique and subject matter validates cultural stereotypes of gender at the same time that it destabilizes them. Opie also simultaneously highlights fallacies such as the presumed objectivity and evidential force that is associated with the discourse of portrait photography as a documentary field. By presenting her portraits of lesbians to broad-based audiences in such a blatant and stylized manner, Opie comments on the limitations of society's continued reliance on gender non-nativity and physiognomic modes of identifying communities.","abstract_html":"This thesis proposes that California contemporary photographer Catherine Opie's Being and Having series (1991) and her Portrait series (1993-1996) parody the constraining binary gender discourse and stereotypes that emanate from it. In her art Opie uses familiar codes and identity discourses associated with traditional portrait photography and typological photographs to promote a postmodern and fluid model of gender identity. Her manipulation of photographic technique and subject matter validates cultural stereotypes of gender at the same time that it destabilizes them. Opie also simultaneously highlights fallacies such as the presumed objectivity and evidential force that is associated with the discourse of portrait photography as a documentary field. By presenting her portraits of lesbians to broad-based audiences in such a blatant and stylized manner, Opie comments on the limitations of society's continued reliance on gender non-nativity and physiognomic modes of identifying communities.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bridges, Jennifer T."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Art History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Robert Hobbs"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z","subjects":["parody","contemporary photography","gender","stereotype","Catherine Opie","portrait photography","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/HCEQ-PM80","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Robert Hobbs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bridges, Jennifer T."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["parody","contemporary photography","gender","stereotype","Catherine Opie","portrait photography","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/HCEQ-PM80","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis proposes that California contemporary photographer Catherine Opie's Being and Having series (1991) and her Portrait series (1993-1996) parody the constraining binary gender discourse and stereotypes that emanate from it. In her art Opie uses familiar codes and identity discourses associated with traditional portrait photography and typological photographs to promote a postmodern and fluid model of gender identity. Her manipulation of photographic technique and subject matter validates cultural stereotypes of gender at the same time that it destabilizes them. Opie also simultaneously highlights fallacies such as the presumed objectivity and evidential force that is associated with the discourse of portrait photography as a documentary field. By presenting her portraits of lesbians to broad-based audiences in such a blatant and stylized manner, Opie comments on the limitations of society's continued reliance on gender non-nativity and physiognomic modes of identifying communities."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From Typologies to Portraits: Catherine Opie's Photographic Manipulations of Physiognomic Imagery"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Robert Hobbs"],"dc:creator":["Bridges, Jennifer T."],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis proposes that California contemporary photographer Catherine Opie's Being and Having series (1991) and her Portrait series (1993-1996) parody the constraining binary gender discourse and stereotypes that emanate from it. In her art Opie uses familiar codes and identity discourses associated with traditional portrait photography and typological photographs to promote a postmodern and fluid model of gender identity. Her manipulation of photographic technique and subject matter validates cultural stereotypes of gender at the same time that it destabilizes them. Opie also simultaneously highlights fallacies such as the presumed objectivity and evidential force that is associated with the discourse of portrait photography as a documentary field. By presenting her portraits of lesbians to broad-based audiences in such a blatant and stylized manner, Opie comments on the limitations of society's continued reliance on gender non-nativity and physiognomic modes of identifying communities."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/HCEQ-PM80","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["parody","contemporary photography","gender","stereotype","Catherine Opie","portrait photography","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["From Typologies to Portraits: Catherine Opie's Photographic Manipulations of Physiognomic Imagery"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:47Z"}