The Tale of Stigma & Crochet
Gender
Often craft is stigmatised as a gendered craft practice that produces blankets and other household items, but craft practice as we understand it has, in recent years, changed beyond recognition as more and more artists use it as a form of activism. Crochet has the possibility to use it's very nature to challenge stigmas connected to it's practice such as Gender, Value and Narrative.
The idea of “women’s crafts” being valueless is not a new phenomenon, but a prominent issue throughout history. The close association between gender and craft, and the labelling of craft as a women’s activity continues to devalue these practices. Contemporary artists argue for the need to move past the “domestic” and “feminine” genres we classify craft in and to push the confines of what is considered craft (Hackney 2013:173). The intra action between identity, culture and academia shows the true complexity that is embedded within the marginalised textile craft practices of women. By using a textile craft and placing it against a background of disregarded female artists and devalued creations, one can outline a new craft future.
Value
Many prescribe emotional value to the objects that they make. Gauer writes that crafting can be considered to be affectionate labour as the extensive handling and contact with the different materials used in the practice leads to a strong emotional bond (2011:33), “affective labour” (Gauer 2011:5) that produces a different value than just monetary. Embedded within their fibres lies stories and experiences that deserve to be heard, solidifying that the strength of someone who practices craft lies in the creation of value.
Narrative
Stories are tools we use to portray the personal and can encapsulate an assemblage of different feelings and experiences (Clover 2005: 638). No matter the subject, whether it be addressing social stigmas, identity, value, political or cultural issues, a narrative is the common element that is communicated throughout the work of artists. Stories, much like craft items are unique and valuable.
They become a mirror of experience where the narrative cannot be removed from the object.
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