Protest Poster

Artist Statement: 

This week’s assignment allowed me to look into something that has been bothering me for a while. I identify myself as a feminist, I work in a mainly male environment, I have a lot of typically male interests, and I feel very comfortable in male company. However, when I tell people or they find out through conversations, that I am feminist they are surprised. I am not one of those hippies who burn bras and marches for women’s rights; I’m not a tom boy who will beat everyone in football. In our society lately I’ve noticed that there’s been a great disconnect from femininity. With the surge for equality among the genders, the women have tried to become more and more like the men. Femininity has suffered.

This week's viewing, "The Danger of a Single story" was a wonderful introduction into exploring the pieces of of myself that have been affected by my environment. For the author, it was an Anglo-Saxon  storyhood she was in. For me, it's something to do with female perception. There is an amazing article written by Henry Makow called “The Dying Art of Femininity” which he addresses the differences between women’s roles in the 1950s to today’s. While there are a few points I’m not quite sold on, this article is very good at discussing the difference between being a stereotypical bimbo and being too butch. His reasoning behind it is quite interesting. “Domestic violence and rape are highlighted to make women fear men, reject femininity and become masculine. The destruction of the family has always been the goal of the financial elite in order to control people.” In another article, there’s another explanation that is a little more specific. “We [females] must stop competing with men, especially in relationships, as competition is totally destructive.” That comes from an article titled “Fast track to Femininity: Why competing with men has left women out of touch with their feminine side” by Anna Pasternak who relates personal experiences about a loss of love due to imbalance. An imbalance not properly represented. In the media, feminists are portrayed in a harsh, man-eating, cold style that is not becoming of us or the creators. For example, Sandra Bullock's character in "The Proposal." So I thought I'd make my poster promote femininity in feminism.

This poster focuses on the idea of working women who are still as soft and tender as they please. I have a great respect for the women in the work force during WWII because they were doing it for both themselves and their countries. They wanted to participate in society and make a difference. Yet, when we view them, we don’t call them lesbians or butch. The image I chose is of a Naval trainee who worked in the barracks. In this image everything around her is straight lines and right angles. Yet there is hardly one straight line on her. I highlighted this with the grey dotted line following her silhouette. She brings the softness that is needed, yet is still getting her task done. I used the black and red colors to invoke the passion that surrounds this subject. The passion that I feel for it. I think the media should stop portraying feminists as hard, hyper-sexualized, career seeking, Amazons because that’s not who we are. We need companionship just as much as another, we just have beliefs of how that relationship should be built and maintained.