Elena C. Stein | Candy Wrap Art Installation

Candy Wrap is a series of objects that explores (and questions) the correlation between womanhood and agreeableness, sweetness, and softness.

According to several studies, when analyzed in the framework of the Big 5 personality traits, women consistently reported low emotional stability and high agreeableness, while men reported higher assertiveness (the opposite of agreeableness) and high emotional stability, traits generally associated with career success and holding positions of power. These studies are often used as evidence of the fact women are biologically less suited to occupy certain positions of power within society due to an innate desire to nurture and please the 'other' rather than fight for recognition and leadership.

However, when I took the test earlier during the year, my results were somewhat in contrast with the statistics:

Candy Wrap (2018)

I started wondering what my place is as a woman that doesn't fit the statistics, whether the psychological differences (at least in part) are not actually inherent but a reflection and legacy of different attitudes in education and parenting, and to which extents women's destinies are tied to their biology.

Women's bodies are often interpreted as vehicles of motherhood and sexuality, intrinsically prisoners of their parts, but consistently assessed according to their role rather than having an inherent ontological value independent from their desirability or purpose.

By creating an installation of feminine body parts and symbols manipulated by candies, textures and soft fabrics, 'Candy Wrap' brings the violence of this pleasantness to the surface, unraveling a repetition of patterns, colors, textures and juxtaposing consistencies, sweetness and harshness, biology and choice.

Studies mentioned in artist statement:

Gervais S; Vescio Theresa K. ; Förster J.; Maass A.; Suitner C. (2012) "Seeing women as objects: The sexual body part recognition bias". European Journal of Social Psychology. doj: https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1890

Costa, P.T. Jr.; Terracciano, A.; McCrae, R.R. (2001). "Gender Differences in Personality Traits Across Cultures: Robust and Surprising Findings". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 81 (2): 322–331. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.2.322. PMID 11519935.