#flood is a true feminist icon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rockislandadultreads · 4 years ago

Photo

Feminist Fiction: Reading Recommendations

Dietland by Sarai Walker

The diet revolution is here. And it’s armed. Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. Or mocked. Or worse. With her job answering fan mail for a popular teen girls’ magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. Only then can her true life as a thin person finally begin. Then, when a mysterious woman starts following her, Plum finds herself falling down a rabbit hole and into an underground community of women who live life on their own terms. There Plum agrees to a series of challenges that force her to deal with her past, her doubts, and the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a dangerous guerrilla group called “Jennifer” begins to terrorize a world that mistreats women, and as Plum grapples with her personal struggles, she becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive. Dietland is a bold, original, and funny debut novel that takes on the beauty industry, gender inequality, and our weight loss obsession—from the inside out, and with fists flying.

Still Lives by Maria Hummel

Kim Lord is an avant-garde figure, feminist icon, and agent provocateur in the L.A. art scene. Her groundbreaking new exhibition Still Lives is comprised of self-portraits depicting herself as famous, murdered women—the Black Dahlia, Chandra Levy, Nicole Brown Simpson, among many others—and the works are as compelling as they are disturbing, implicating a culture that is too accustomed to violence against women. As the city’s richest art patrons pour into the Rocque Museum’s opening night, all the staff, including editor Maggie Richter, hope the event will be enough to save the historic institution’s flailing finances. Except Kim Lord never shows up to her own gala. Fear mounts as the hours and days drag on and Lord remains missing. Suspicion falls on the up-and-coming gallerist Greg Shaw Ferguson, who happens to be Maggie’s ex. A rogue’s gallery of eccentric art world figures could also have motive for the act, and as Maggie gets drawn into her own investigation of Lord’s disappearance, she’ll come to suspect all of those closest to her. Set against a culture that often fetishizes violence, Still Lives is a page-turning exodus into the art world’s hall of mirrors, and one woman’s journey into the belly of an industry flooded with money and secrets.

The War Widow by Tara Moss

The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker's search for a missing young immigrant man will plunge her right back into the danger and drama she thought she'd left behind in Europe in this thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous postwar Sydney. Sydney, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, for her the heady postwar days are tarnished by the loss of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she's determined to take control of her own future. So she reopens her late father's business, a private investigation agency, and, slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking. At first, Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then, a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead up into the highest levels of Sydney society and down into its underworld. What is the young man's connection to an exclusive dance club and a high class auction house? When the people Billie questions about the young man start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or will he just get in her way? As the danger mounts and Billie realizes that much more than one young man's life is at stake, it becomes clear that though the war was won, it is far from over.

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne

Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a hero, the Chosen One, was born . . . and so begins every fairy tale ever told. This is not that fairy tale. There is a Chosen One, but he is unlike any One who has ever been Chosened. And there is a faraway kingdom, but you have never been to a magical world quite like the land of Pell. There, a plucky farm boy will find more than he's bargained for on his quest to awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. First there's the Dark Lord who wishes for the boy's untimely death . . . and also very fine cheese. Then there's a bard without a song in her heart but with a very adorable and fuzzy tail, an assassin who fears not the night but is terrified of chickens, and a mighty fighter more frightened of her sword than of her chain-mail bikini. This journey will lead to sinister umlauts, a trash-talking goat, the Dread Necromancer Steve, and a strange and wondrous journey to the most peculiar "happily ever after" that ever once-upon-a-timed.

#fiction #feminism #feminist books #chick lit #womens fiction #Book Recommendations #recommended reading #to read #booklr #tbr #library #libraries #public library #reading list #interesting books

23 notes · View notes

gu-fem · 4 years ago

Text

Is Taylor Swift the Definition of the Modern White Womanhood?

Written by: Julia Zhigaleva

Call me dumb, call me white, but Taylor Swift’s music has been my guilty pleasure for so long that I eventually stopped feeling guilty about it. You guys, I’m not even kidding when I say that I grew up with Taylor Swift – from crying after school to Teardrops on My Guitar when the guy I liked chose to date my best friend over me, to dressing up like hipsters with my friends and partying to 22 in my college years, to taking forever to get over breakups with All Too Well, to lip-syncing to myself in the mirror to Blank Space wearing red lipstick, to trying to convince my significant other why Lover definitely has to one day play at our wedding.

As we grew up with Taylor, she grew up with us – from an overly dramatic teenager occupied with boy drama from the Fearless era, to a hopeless young romantic of Red and 1989, to an unapologetic bitch from Reputation, to folklore’s big sister Taylor who braids your hair and makes sure you don’t repeat the mistakes she made in her youth. To me Taylor Swift has always been the embodiment of the modern white womanhood, which in my opinion is also a secret to her huge commercial success. If you’re a girl and you don’t know a single Taylor Swift song you could relate to, you’re probably lying.

This to me is also the reason why haters are always gonna hate – if Taylor Swift embodies so much of the modern femininity, the reason behind the overwhelming hatred towards the singer could easily be misogyny. “Overly dramatic, shallow, immature and always playing the victim” – for years Swift has been bullied for loving our loud, singing her heart out and trying to grow up and figure herself out while being one of the most commercially successful artists in the world. Constantly in the public eye, the singer has often been accused of using this public obsession with her private life to promote her music, which was then dismissed as too girly or not worthy of attention – the double standard Swift herself called out in The Man.

And then we have the Taylor vs Kanye feud, which is honestly on the list of my possible PhD thesis ideas, as this decade-long beef has everything you could possible wish for - race, gender, cyber bullying, mental health, and even Barack Obama. When Kim’s Snapchat stories broke the internet back in 2016, it led to the outbreak of hatred like never before, with dozens of spiteful articles against Taylor appearing online and tons of snake emojis flooding the comments of the singer’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. And that’s when people that are normally impartial to Swift drama jumped in and reminded that not only is the girl completely crazy, but she also never in her life used her privilege to speak up social injustice and remained politically neutral during 2016 election race. Officially canceled and proclaimed dead, Swift was forced into an exile that very few of us believed she would ever recover from.

Coming back with her Reputation album, Swift literally reinvented herself, burying her most iconic past selves in the music video for Look What You Made Me Do. But it wasn’t until she put out Miss Americana on Netflix, which, let’s be real, we all watched while being bored at home in quarantine, that Taylor won back over so many of those who turned their backs on her back when the Kim drama happened. In the documentary we get to see the private side of the singer’s life, as well as hear her side of the story on all the scandals that followed her in the past couple of years. Swift confesses that she has always felt pressured to be perfect and unproblematic, which held her from ever taking a political stance, truly speaking her mind, and eventually led her to developing an eating disorder.

"A nice girl smiles and waves and says thank you. A nice girl doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable with her views. I was so obsessed with not getting in trouble that I’m just not going to do anything that anyone can say something about." – Miss Americana (2020).

I was sad to see that Taylor’s epic comeback was actually yet another attempt to fit into the image of the exemplary femininity, the new little miss perfect of 2020 - the good girl going bad. We see in the meeting room scene how Swift tries to convince some old white dudes from her management team that taking a public stance against the Republican candidate in Tennessee is the right and important thing to do even if it hurts the Taylor Swift brand. But the truth is, Miss Americana is actually Swift doing damage control after being criticised for being artificially perfect, calculated and politically estranged. If in 2010 good girls curled their hair, skipped lunch and obsessed over cute boys, in 2020 they wear slogan tees, joke about straight white men and have at least one gay friend they can paint their nails with. Yet I wouldn’t dare to accuse Taylor Swift of being hypocritical and self-serving with her recent political activism.

“For someone who’s built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty formative experience.” – Miss Americana (2020)

Taylor confessing that she had based her entire self-image on the constant approval and praise from others, hit too close to home. It made me think that as easy as it would be to point out that the singer who built her entire career upon the society’s conventional idea of femininity, doesn’t get to jump on the bandwagon and call herself a feminist, one cannot in good conscience blame Swift for wanting to fit in, be approved and accepted. In Miss Americana I saw Taylor fighting the losing battle of having to be a 'good girl’ in order to stay relevant and successful, yet being mocked and dismissed for this very conventional femininity of hers. Taylor opening up about her constant pursuit of perfection and need for validation in the world of unreachable standards set for women was perhaps the most vulnerable part of her documentary and it is certainly a struggle many of us can relate to.

Coming from a place of race and class privilege, possessing conventional beauty, and being adorably naive in her attempts to dismantle the patriarchy with the songs like The Man and You Need to Calm Down, still, Taylor Swift is the ultimate white girl that we can’t help but relate to. May she finally find her true self and may we all be lucky enough to be able to do the same.

#taylor swift #feminism #pop culture #miss americana

1 note · View note

curlyhairedbibliophile · 6 years ago

Photo

#Onceyougoblackout Day 25 | Short Stories/Essays 📚

How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? | N.K. Jemisin Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul. Goodreads

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower | Brittney Cooper So what if it’s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.

Far too often, Black women’s anger has been caricatured into an ugly and destructive force that threatens the civility and social fabric of American democracy. But Cooper shows us that there is more to the story than that. Black women’s eloquent rage is what makes Serena Williams such a powerful tennis player. It’s what makes Beyoncé’s girl power anthems resonate so hard. It’s what makes Michelle Obama an icon.

Eloquent rage keeps us all honest and accountable. It reminds women that they don’t have to settle for less. When Cooper learned of her grandmother's eloquent rage about love, sex, and marriage in an epic and hilarious front-porch confrontation, her life was changed. And it took another intervention, this time staged by one of her homegirls, to turn Brittney into the fierce feminist she is today. In Brittney Cooper’s world, neither mean girls nor fuckboys ever win. But homegirls emerge as heroes. This book argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one's own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again. Goodreads

Friday Black | Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah In the stories of Adjei-Brenyah’s debut, an amusement park lets players enter augmented reality to hunt terrorists or shoot intruders played by minority actors, a school shooting results in both the victim and gunman stuck in a shared purgatory, and an author sells his soul to a many-tongued god.

By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that black men and women contend with every day. These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving 🌍. Goodreads

#how long 'til black future month #n.k. jemisin #eloquent rage #eloquent rage: a black feminist discovers her superpower #brittney cooper #friday black #nana kwame adjei-brenyah #short stories #essays #bookstagram #instagram #photo challenge #black history month #onceyougoblackout #black authors #booklr #bookblr

10 notes · View notes

studioeaton · 6 years ago

Photo

(via Grease Bomb: the (True) History of the Chiko Roll)

Made from a slurry of barley, rice, cabbage, carrot, animal fat and other veggies enclosed in a deep-fried chamber of egg and flour, the Chiko Roll could once be found at every fish and chip shop or milk bar worth its salt.

More or less an ocker spring roll, it was brought into existence by a boilermaker from regional Victoria named Frank McEncroe, who first stumbled across the carb-log at an Aussie Rules footy match.

A man of many talents, McEncroe left boilermaking in the ’50s to pursue his love of catering at sporting events. Amongst the meat pies, pastries and other fried food one weekend he noticed the ‘chop suey roll’ at a competitor’s stall. Immediately sold on the unique taste, McEncroe’s craftsman’s mind saw something more: the roll’s tough outer layer doubled as its own receptacle. It could be held in one hand with a beer in the other.

By hardy Australian standards the chop suey was a little flimsy. McEncroe strengthened the snack’s outer shell, so it was big enough to sustain tough footy punters and no-nonsense country folk. He called it the Chiko – a name careful to suggest chook without promising actual chicken – and it sold out at its debut at the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Show in 1951.

It wasn’t long before McEncroe moved to Melbourne, bought a small factory in the city’s west, and began mass-producing his invention with the aid of a sausage machine. The Chiko became big business. It was in every Aussie shop with a deep fryer by the mid-’60s. By the ’70s, more than 40 million were flooding the corner-store snack market, and over one million shipped to Japan. Flash forward 25 years and the ubiquitous roll is the subject of an international takeover, with Idahoan company Simplot moving McEncroe’s production to an industrial-sized factory in New South Wales where the rolls can be made in 12-metre chunks at a time.

Salted matter with notes of fat, it certainly wasn’t the taste that made the Chiko so famous. Solidifying the roll’s stature was the infamous Chiko Chick, a human mascot whose job was to hold – sometimes suggestively, sometimes wholesomely – the titular snack while straddling a motorbike. Though the ‘chick’ had been a part of the company’s branding since 1955, it was the ’80s iteration that was most memorable: the leather-clad lady atop a Harley became a mainstay of fish and chip shop décor long after the rolls stopped being served.

The same campaign was re-shot in 2000 with a younger model, but while the brand’s look may not have changed in 20 years, social mores certainly had. Australian photographer Sarah Jane King was the then face of Chiko, and vividly remembers the controversy that sprang from the poster. “There was a huge outcry by feminists. They thought the slogan ‘Grab a Chiko’ encouraged men to grab women,” she says. The image has since been toned down with ‘girl next door’ women, but the original raunchy model has stuck. King is still recognised by ‘fans’ in the street.

So where’s the Chiko now? Not surprisingly, the health food age hasn’t been kind to the corner store’s most jaundiced fried snack. Sales peaked at just 17 million in 2011, a far cry from the ’70s heyday, and the Chiko factory faces tough times with talks of government assistance. What’s good for the country’s waistline isn’t necessarily good for its hip pocket.

Still, there’s a silver lining to the foodie renaissance. In 2012, Sydney chef Daniel Hong brought the Chiko out of retirement for a special ‘Milk Bar Memories�� theme lunch at his restaurant Ms. G’s. “It was a nostalgia throwback,” Hong recalls. “I probably eat one every five years because I forget what they taste like, and every time I realise they’re not actually that good.”

Hong’s spruced-up version stuck to quality mince and vegetables, and while he won’t put the Chiko on the regular menu any time soon, Hong admits there’s something about it he can’t quite shake. “It brings me back to the suburban corner store where there was always a couple of potato scallops, a battered piece of fish, and a Chiko Roll. That’s what Chiko Rolls are to me.”

In 2001, McEncroe’s iconic snack turned 50. To celebrate, Simplot presented the mayor of Wagga Wagga with a gold-plated replica, a satin-lined box in place of the paper wrapper. Reports indicate that it was only slightly less nutritious than the original.

#food

0 notes

jadelotusflower · 8 years ago

Text

It’s cold in that fridge: The case of Lady Marian

Christmas, 2007. I was among the scores of viewers across the UK tuning in to see the season 2 finale of Robin Hood, which saw the gang trek to the Holy Land on a mission to rescue Marian from the clutches of the Sheriff, and prevent the assassination of Good King Richard™.

There had been rumors and hints that a character would be killed off in the last few episodes and speculation was rife. But almost everyone was shocked when Marian was stabbed, this time fatally, by Guy of Gisborne, married Robin on her deathbed and was buried in the sands of Acre to show that this was no fakeout and she was really, truly dead - although this did not stop people clamoring for an “it was all a dream” reveal just to bring her back.

But nope, welcome to the fridge, Marian.

To say that people were angry would be an understatement - the BBC was flooded with complaints and the rumor mill was strong - arguments were made that Lucy Griffiths wanted to leave the show, because why else would they kill off such a beloved character, one of the only two female regulars on a show, and not only one of the defining, enduring aspects of the Robin Hood legend, but a fantastic character in her own right. Lets take a look at some of the comments just on the BBC website:

My 6 year old daughter was in floods of tears.

BBC and Tiger Aspect have traumatized millions of children with Marian’s death.

They ruined the show when they killed marian, SORRY BBC…..I will not watch the third series.

The decision to kill Marian was gratuitous sensationalism - designed for headlines not for the (young) audience.

Killing Marian off is senseless and has obviously upset many children, let alone me and I’m an adult!

The ending was a huge disappointment and I’ve never seen my family in so many tears!

My daughters are devastated! The main reason they watched Robin Hood was to see Marian, I can’t imagine they (and many other 7 year old girls) will want to watch a series without her.

Horrible! My children and I watch the show and to see the looks on their faces when Marian died….I will NEVER watch this show again.

Basically:

and

Of course, devastation and fan outrage are common whenever any popular character is killed off, but Marian’s death in particular seemed to strike people very deeply not only in fandom, but in the general audience.

It’s important to remember that Robin Hood was conceived as a family friendly show - it occupied the pre-watershed Saturday night timeslot when Doctor Who was in the off season, and Marian was a character that many young viewers, particularly young girls, looked up to. It was shocking for them to see their heroine killed, and many of the complaints, while indulging in a bit of “won’t someone think of the children”- was not without foundation - it’s clear that many a tear was shed over Marian by viewers who’d tuned in for a fun, all-ages retelling of the Robin Hood legend and instead saw Marian impaled. Even in Australia, when the finale aired many, many months later, I read letters in the tv guide lamenting Marian’s demise and the effect it had on their daughters. It’s important to note that many of these viewers would not return for season 3.

But shocking as it was, maybe we shouldn’t have been so surprised. This was, after all, a Classic Fridging. Women killed in horrible way? Check. Excessive manpain? Check and check. The male character(s) story/conflict driven by female character’s death? Check and check again.

But what makes the death of Marian somewhat different from your average fridging was her status as a folk heroine. Marian is an integral part of the Robin Hood legend and we’ve seen her in many iterations - from Olivia DeHavilland to cartoon vixen. This version of Marian, in particular, was entirely suitable for a modern re-telling; she was a capable fighter, smart and strategic, chaffed against society’s expectations for her, and was a hero in her own right as the Nightwatchman. Her goals were aligned with Robin’s, but her agenda was her own.

So there was a double backlash - against the killing of this Marian in particular, and against killing Marian in general, in what was seen as a dishonour to her iconic status. Many of the comments in the article linked above speak of disrespect to the legend, to folklore. Whatever else may change in a Robin Hood story to adapt to changing times, we expect there to remain some constants, and one of those is that Marian lives. Whether she goes on to marry Robin in that church in Edwinstowe is of less relevance, what is important is Marian’s status as an iconic, feminist figure who the viewer desperately wants to see get their happy ending, because she is not a tragic figure, but a transformative one, the May Queen.

These stories and characters have such power that a complete subversion of them without warning, and for no real purpose is upsetting, and not in the “wow, what a twist, I can’t wait to see what happens next” way the showrunners desired.

(At this point I should also mention that Marian was also killed off in Once Upon a Time, but the less said about that trainwreck of a storyline, the better.)

It came out later that Marian’s death in fact a showrunner decision, and while Richard Armitage has been free in expressing his displeasure in the outcome, producers Dominic Minghella and Fox Allen were unrepentant, if not completely tone deaf:

Minghella - Her position was to an extent untenable in that, without a father to protect, she no longer had reason to pretend she was “on-side” with the Sheriff and Gisborne. There was no reason not to declare her affiliation, and affection, for Robin. So she did. There was no way Gisborne could allow that. He would rather kill her than let Robin have her. So he did.That was the core logic. Marian’s days were numbered once her father died.

MARIAN’S DAYS WERE NUMBERED ONCE HER FATHER DIED.

Here we have a textbook example of why fridging is part of a larger issue in how female characters are written. Marian’s role, in Mighella’s view, was the spy in the castle and object of affection, and when that role ended so did her life. Male Writer Logic. There was literally no other story left for Marian except to remain the focal point of the Love Triangle and that she could easily remain in death. Except, you know, the myriad of other, infinitely more interesting storylines they could have explored, such as Marian joining Robin’s gang in the forest, Marian marrying Guy and still trying to work the inside, Marian striking out on her own - any of the plethora of scenarios that have since been explored in fanfic.

That’s not even getting to the gross assertion that once Sir Edward died, Marian by necessity wasn’t far behind. Really, Marian had NO other reason to remain a spy once her father died? A character who created an alter-ego in the Nightwatchman to “go to war against poverty” who declared that “England needs me” and who tried to kill the Sheriff to stop him from killing the king? Nope, her only driving force was a desire to protect her father, and she could have no other motive for pretending to remain on the Sheriff’s side.

This is something I will always believe no matter what denials or counter-arguments are made: they wrote themselves into a corner with the love triangle and took the easy way out. This way they could still write Robin and Guy fighting over Marian but didn’t have to worry about her pesky feelings or agency. They didn’t have to worry about her at all, they could just let the male characters grieve and brood and fight over her, without Marian actually being present, without them needing to have her make a choice. This way, Marian can remain the object of the love triangle rather than an active participant.

It’s laziness, pure and simple. Far from shaking things up, it’s taking the cliche-ridden, well-travelled path of the hero and the antagonist at each other’s throats, so sad over the death of the woman they loved, each able to memorialise her as they wish.

Minghella again - There were several considerations in play. The main one was that after 20+ episodes, the show was in danger of getting stuck. We needed to shake up the world. Whenever we tried to move away from the ‘format’ of Sheriff chasing Robin/Outlaws break into Castle it didn’t quite work… and yet at the same time we were worried about repeating ourselves ad nauseam. Marian’s demise also seemed to me inevitable once we had taken away her father. His role was pivotal in that it kept Marian in the castle, for fear of repercussions against her Dad, and meant she could not run off with Robin and declare her hand. Once he was gone, she had no reason not to go off with the outlaws. That felt to me like a potentially uninteresting place for Marian and Robin – there would be no barrier, no tension, leaving room only for bickering about strategy.

As a Robin/Marian fan, I find this particularly egregious. I hate that it’s “uninteresting” to explore the dynamic between a couple once they’ve gotten together, especially characters like Robin and Marian who, let’s face it, have Issues™ and Marian in the forest would certainly not remove any tension between them - if anything the opposite would be true.

But far worse is viewing Marian only in terms of her relationships with the male characters - her father, Robin, and Guy. Even if they felt they had nothing further to explore in Robin and Marian’s relationship, that doesn’t mean they didn’t have anything further to explore with Marian herself. Losing her home and father, learning to live in the forest and be one of “the gang”, and likely being ill-suited to such a role, continuing her work as the Nightwatchman, growing closer with some of the outlaws and likely having tension with others. How would Much and Marian learn to live with each other, for example? Would she become the person in Allan’s corner, having grown to know him better in the castle? Would she and Djaq have grown close and become the female friend likely neither of them ever had before? Would she threaten Robin’s leadership, convinced that she could do better?

But no, she no longer has a father to protect, her role as spy/fooling Gisborne is finished, and she declares her love and allegiance to Robin. There’s nothing left for her to do, except die. Male Writer Logic.

This is the ultimate sin of fridging, not only because it removes a female character from our screens, but because it diminishes that character, making her worth and value dependent on the men in her life and not even conceiving that she could lead a story of her own. It’s “shock value” to “shake up” the narrative, to explore what “losing the thing he loves most” does to the male lead. It becomes about grief, rage, and revenge, and no longer about the female character at all.

The worst thing? Marian was a fully realised character - bold, brave, capable, flawed. She didn’t always do the right thing or make the right choices, she could be stubborn and prideful and reckless, but she was always interesting.

She had so much more to give.

#my gang to me 2017 #lady marian #robin hood bbc #it's cold in that fridge #the salt chronicles

83 notes · View notes

wellesleyunderground · 8 years ago

Text

Wellesley in Art: Interview with Simone Grace Seol '08 (@thesimonegrace)

Simone Grace Seol ‘08 is the illustrator and creator of Feminist Coloring Pages. You can follow her on instagram @feministcoloring. For Black History Month, she is illustrating one inspiring black woman each day and will create a coloring book at the end of the month with all 28 illustrations. Those who wish to ‘purchase’ the coloring book may do so by making a $15 donation here. All funds raised will be going to the ACLU and the NAACP.

Simone was a Religion major while at Wellesley and completed her Masters in Public Health at Columbia University. She was a public health researcher before transitioning into being a grants specialist, and is now a full-time, freewheeling renaissance woman. A woman of the world, she has lived everywhere from New York City, to Munich, to Seoul, South Korea. We are so excited to get a chance to learn about Simone’s latest endeavor, Feminist Coloring Pages!

WU: When did you start Feminist Coloring Pages and what inspired you to start it?

It all started with a bad anxiety attack. I have a whole arsenal of mind-body practices to dissolve anxiety, and when none of them worked, I picked up a pen and started drawing a woman who used art to deal with inner turmoil – Frida Kahlo. I titled the drawing, “Our Lady of Sublimated Suffering,” and after that, I just kept going, drawing other women to find calm and inspiration in my life. Since I enjoyed coloring pages for grown-ups, I created an Etsy store to share my illustrations with others and I’ve been so gratified to see positive reactions from other women, and even their daughters. A few of my illustrations have also been recently turned into a clothing line!

WU: What inspired you to take on the project of illustrating 28 Black women for Black History Month?

I was, and am distressed about the erosion of civil rights in the Trump era. I’ve been abroad for a while, so I’ve been biting my fingernails about what I could do to help the situation at home from far away. When I read Trump’s Black History Month speech, I felt such a tremendous grief and anger that he was squandering the opportunity to honor a group of Americans that had contributed so much to America by talking about himself. I felt strongly compelled to do something. I’d been meaning to feature more women of color in my illustrations anyway, so it seemed like a perfect idea.

With the support of the Wellesley community, the fundraising has been a resounding success! In only three weeks or so, I exceeded my fundraising goal of $3,000. The most exciting moment was when Diana Chapman Walsh made a donation and left a lovely, encouraging note. I had no idea!

WU: How did you choose which women to illustrate for Black History Month?

First, I crowd-sourced on Facebook. I have a wonderful group of thoughtful and intelligent friends on Facebook, and when I asked for suggestions for awesome black women to draw, ideas flooded in. Then, I did some more research on my own and used my own preferences to cull the list. Since I am a big fan of the arts and literature, for instance, there are more artists and writers represented than, say, sports stars.

WU: Why did you decide to donate all the proceeds from your coloring book to the ACLU and NAACP?

I had already donated to ACLU right after Trump announced his executive order about restricting entry into the US. I believed ACLU was doing the critical work in our times to stand up for civil rights, so I wanted to continue to support them. I also picked NAACP because I am, after all, celebrating Black History Month and, as they say, black lives matter.

WU: On your Instagram account, you drew a self-portrait titled “Meet the Artist.” In that illustration you state that you are “100% Post-Partisan” and “100% Mercenary”– what do those terms mean to you and why do you use them to describe yourself?

It’s a tongue-in-cheek phrase, meant to be funny, but contains a kernel of truth. When I say “100% mercenary,” I mean that I’m an artist who wants to do good, but I am also a capitalist. I will serve the market and make the call to respond to what customers/patrons crave and request. I have illustrated women with whom I’m not 100% politically aligned because people who want to buy my art requested them, and I believe there is always value in trying to be curious about, and learn from people with whom you disagree. Those have always been rewarding learning experiences.

That brings me to the part of being post-partisan. I certainly have strongly held political beliefs, but I want my art to transcend politics. I will not corner my art into a neat ideological box, because art is ultimately about humanity and humanity is greater and truer than politics. So I will draw icons of all political stripes, from a place that transcend those divisions. There are always lessons to be learned and connections to be forged.

WU: How do you define feminism?

Feminism, to me now, is the idea that all humans are deserving of full dignity, agency and opportunity.

WU: Has your definition of feminism evolved or changed since your time at Wellesley? How so?

Exposure to living in different parts of the world took me out of the American academic conceptions of feminism that I subscribed to at Wellesley. As a Korean, I learned that women don’t need to be ‘saved’ by Western feminism. Women are strong, resourceful and badass in many corners of the world that had never heard of Gloria Steinem and Michel Foucault. We lift up women everywhere by fighting for their moral, economic and spiritual agency, not by delivering Western- and academy-made constructions of feminist activism to them, which is what I used to espouse in my younger days.

WU: Who are your top five favorite feminists? Why?

My selections are biased toward women of great charisma and spiritual courage, and many who wouldn’t necessarily self-identify as “feminist”:

Hildegard von Bingen (for her polymath genius, authority and intimacy with God);

Dorothy Day (for the fierceness of her faith and service);

Sojourner Truth (for her self-defining brilliance and advocacy);

Margaret Thatcher (for her unyielding commitment to liberty and free enterprise);

Moana of Motunui (for representing the intrepid voyager within every girl and woman)

WU: Coloring books have really taken off as a form of self-care in recent years. Is illustrating a form of self-care for you?

Absolutely! I believe that all artistic endeavor is a form of self-administered therapy. For too long, I didn’t create because I feared I wouldn’t be ‘good enough,’ and other people won’t like it. Now I realize, that is not the point! When you draw, you get to exercise different parts of your brain and interact with the physical world in a fresh and intimate way. It takes me out of my own head and gets me noticing the beauty and curiosities that are all around. That is absolutely therapeutic for me, and I believe it is for most other people, too.

WU: What else do you do for self-care?

I chat with my beloved Wellesley sisters, hang out with my family, run, and spend lots of time daydreaming about my future as a cattle rancher-cum-mariachi singer.

WU: What’s next for you and the Feminist Coloring Pages?

Every time I make a plan, God laughs her face off! I shall remain open to inspiration and opportunity.

WU: What advice do you have for alums who wish to start and/or create similar projects?

I don’t think I could have planned for the ‘success’ of my fundraising project. Just make art for the sheer enjoyment of engaging your own creativity and curiosity. All the validation andare ‘bonuses’, the cherry on top of the cake of serving your muses. If you keep being true to yourself and regard the world with curiosity instead of ready-made judgment, your creativity will, too, one day be of wild and beautiful service to the world.

All images posted with permission of illustrator.

#wellesley in art series #wellesley in art #self-care series #self-care #black history month #feminism #simone grace seol #black women #coloring book #aclu #naacp #feminist coloring pages

8 notes · View notes

funface2 · 5 years ago

Text

The Dark Knight: 10 Hilarious Memes Only True DC Fans Understand – Screen Rant

It’s actually strange to think about how many dark and gritty comic book movies have come out in the past few years because that entire style of filmmaking pretty much originated with the astounding Christopher Nolan cinematic achievement better known as The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight was a complete game-changer for a lot of different reasons, and it’s the kind of movie that comic book haters can enjoy almost as much as comic book super-fans because it really is just that good.

RELATED: 10 Ways The DCEU Would Be Different If It Started With The Dark Knight Trilogy

And although now the film and TV marketplace is absolutely flooded with comic book inspired works, The Dark Knight still remains in a class all it’s own. Comic and movie fans alike still hold this film up as the gold standard of comic movies. So even though the film has a few years under it’s belt now, it is of course still the subject of hundreds of internet memes. And here are ten of the best.

Continue scrolling to keep reading

Click the button below to start this article in quick view

Start Now

advertising

10 At Least It’s Excellent Cosplay

Batman is one of those kind of brilliant superheroes because while he does fit into a lot of stereotypical superhero ideals, he also seems like a complete lunatic sometimes. And Batman’s whole character arc in The Dark Knight seems to embody that pretty well. We mean yes, the Joker is obviously a malicious crazy person, but it feels like half the time that Bruce is pursuing him he’s only a stones throw (or as the Joker would say, a little push) away from completely going off the deep end.

But at least Mr. Wayne can always say that his cosplay is the sickest of all time.

9 There’s A Reason He’s Called The Joker

Look, saying that a penny for your thoughts is an obvious overcharge is rude as hell, but undoubtedly everyone on earth would rather be dragged by the Joker’s insults than literally dragged by the Joker. And let’s get real, this is the internet.

RELATED: The Dark Knight: 10 Hidden Details Everyone Missed In Nolan’s Batman Trilogy

You can’t charge for your thoughts anymore in a world where things like Twitter exist. Almost everyone on earth with working electricity is now sharing their thoughts for free even if no one wants them to, so anyone who is planning on making a living or even a decent side payout off of their brilliant ideas should maybe rethink their life strategy.

advertising

8 Relatable

How are people still asking other people what their plans for the future are? If we’re lucky we’ll wind up in a world set on fire by someone like the Joker, but it seems more likely that we’ll all be eating cockroaches after a nuclear, robot, or zombie apocalypse. But honestly, the Joker should give himself more credit too.

He’s not a big planner to be sure, but he at least has enough personal investment in his appearance to keep up on his makeup and hairstyling. And if everyone is being completely honest with themselves, that still makes him a better planner than half the people on earth.

7 The Joker Was Undoubtedly A Cat Person

Dogs definitely have the kind of chaotic vibe that the Joker really thrives off of, but they’re far too sweet and well meaning to really be the Joker’s type of pet. They’re the chaotic good of the animal world, while Joker is the chaotic evil of the human world.

Cats aren’t so much chaotic or evil, but they do have a clear diabolical attitude along with a misanthropic outlook on life that matches up with the Joker quite well. Plus, there are few things that are more iconic in this world than the greatest villain on earth dramatically petting a cat like a creep.

advertising

6 Maybe No Open Bar Then

There are two types of people in this world. The kind that needs quite a bit of liquid courage to get up and give a speech at a wedding, and the kind who needs to be sequestered from every drop of alcohol on earth before making any kind of public appearance.

RELATED: Every Christopher Nolan Film, Ranked By Their Rotten Tomatoes Score

But if everyone is being real, would having an unhinged Joker-like character at a wedding really be so bad? Most weddings are incredibly boring and unmemorable, but if some drunk dude showed up in full face paint screaming about someone called Harvey Dent then at least that would be some solid and memorable entertainment.

5 You Never Go Full Nic Cage

Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight is one of the most beloved and iconic movie performances in the history of film, and with good reason. His willingness to commit to the role was so intense that he really did come close to going full Nicolas Cage. But you never, ever go full Nicolas Cage!

Only Nicolas Cage can go full Nicolas Cage, and even the man himself really shouldn’t do it half the time. Joaquin Phoenix seems like the kind of actor with the skill set who can at least avoid paling in comparison to Heath Ledger’s Joker, but it would have been interesting to see Mr. Cage tackle that role too.

advertising

4 Gotta Grind Though

You know, a lot of people love the Joker, especially the Joker in The Dark Knight, for a lot of different reasons. But something that the Joker never seems to get his proper accolades for is his pretty solid work ethic.

We mean he talks a big game about creating complete chaos and embracing your inner madness, but he’s always making some pretty big moves. And of course, big moves usually require a lot of planning and work. So next time anyone is struggling to motivate themselves then it’s always good to be reminded of the fact that even the Joker has got to buckle down and grind sometimes.

3 So Kat Stratford = Harley Quinn?

Because honestly, Kat Stratford being the alternate universe version of Harley Quinn is an idea we can really get behind, especially considering how dirty Harley was done in Suicide Squad. Don’t get us wrong, Margot Robbie is amazing and Harley is too, it’s just… her relationship with the Joker in Suicide Squad was lacking to say the least.

RELATED: The Dark Knight Trilogy: 10 Questions We Still Want Answered

And Heath Ledger’s Joker may be a complete maniac, but we don’t think he’d be near the level of abusive creeper that Jared Leto’s Joker was for Harley. Kat Stratford could truly the feminist icon Harley Quinn that we all deserve.

advertising

2 The Hug-xpert

Okay, while we appreciate anyone’s ability to put a good value on their skills and abilities, this particular meme raises a lot of questions. To be more specific, what in god’s name is a deluxe hug?

This is actually a beyond brilliant business plan, because two dollars is not a lot to ask and it seems like a safe bet that a lot of people would pay that two dollars just to learn what in the hell a deluxe hug actually is. And maybe that is supposed to be the joke! So this meme has really achieved some meme-ception here. And Inception is also a Christopher Nolan movie so the meme-ception has been meme-ceptioned!

1 The Sickest Burn

Watching Batman and the Joker square off in The Dark Knight is undeniably one of the most fun experiences that anyone can have in the cinema, and there is a good reason why The Dark Knight is still held up as the be-all, end-all of comic book movies even though there have been dozens of DCCU and MCU films since.

However one thing that The Dark Knight was sorely lacking was a simple game of the dozens, Bruce Wayne versus the Joker. That may have been an unfair fight though, since Bruce is downright humorless and the Joker undoubtedly has decades worth of yo momma jokes saved up for just such an occasion.

NEXT: Every Batman Movie, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes Score

advertising

Tags: the dark knight

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Bài viết The Dark Knight: 10 Hilarious Memes Only True DC Fans Understand – Screen Rant đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Funface.

from Funface https://funface.net/funny-memes/the-dark-knight-10-hilarious-memes-only-true-dc-fans-understand-screen-rant/

0 notes

typhoonprecious-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

There are countless ways that mothers and daughters bond, but I think one of the most universal approaches is through music. Whether it's a mother's tender lullaby or a toddler learning their ABCs, mothers use music to make an impact on their children. I might have a difficult past with my own mother, but I still have memories of that wonderful kind of mommy-daughter bonding. I remember being a little girl, singing along with my mother to “Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)”-from the soundtrack of our favorite movie Dirty Dancing-as we drove around in her car.

The first time I made a musical connection with my own daughter, the situation was strikingly similar. She was a preschooler in the backseat of my car when she nailed the lyrics, “Who run the world? Girls! Who run the world? Girls!”

Every day, my daughter would bounce, bop, and sing Beyoncé's iconic lyrics from the backseat. Whenever a song would end, she'd ask to hear another-a request I would happily oblige. Moments later, a different Beyoncé song would blast themes of strength, fun, power, and femininity from the speakers.

So when I found out that Beyoncé would perform in our shared hometown of Houston, Texas for two nights of the On The Run II Tour, I knew that not only did I have to go-but I had to take my eight-year-old duet buddy with me.

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

Since her days in Destiny's Child, she has been like one of those distant relatives I'm only vaguely sure I'm related to. Still, with each one of her amazing accomplishments, I feel the same sort of pride I'd feel for one of my very best girlfriends. I share in her victory as if it were mine. (In fact, I'm not ashamed to say I regularly brag about being from Houston: home of NASA, the world's best Tex-Mex, and the birthplace of Queen Bey herself.)

But my admiration for Beyoncé doesn't lie solely in our hometown connection or her musical achievements. Her strides as an activist, philanthropist, and feminist have inspired me both as a woman and as a mother.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

My daughter and I may have bonded over her music, but I was also on mission to teach my kiddo everything that Bey stands for. A true philanthropist, Beyoncé has taken her wealth and given it back to the community that raised her-the same one that raised me and that is now raising my daughter. In 2005, Beyoncé and Destiny's Child alum Kelly Rowland joined forces and created The Survivor Foundation, an organization that housed people who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Together, they also opened the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a multi-purpose community outreach facility located in the heart of downtown Houston.

That isn't the only building baring Bey's name. In 2007, the Knowles family donated $7 million to help house Houston's homeless population, creating the Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments. After the 2017 flooding of Houston, the superstar again donated several million dollars to the impacted areas-Houston and the Gulf Coast-through her BeyGood initiative.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

And that's only the work she has done in Houston. When you count her aid towards the Flint water crisis, her involvement with the Phoenix House, her partnership with Goodwill, and her trip documenting the aftermath of Haiti's massive earthquake, Beyoncé's philanthropy is genuinely global.

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Bey's activism has perhaps gotten the most public attention, even more than her philanthropy. As one of the biggest superstars in the world, she has one of the largest platforms on which to speak-and she's not afraid to use it.

In response to decades of police brutality and the racial injustices experienced by Black people in America, Beyoncé co-wrote “Freedom,” a song from her incredible visual album Lemonade. In one especially moving performance in Glasgow, the superstar sang the song while names of several Black victims-most of whom were killed by police-scrolled behind her.

Beyoncé's song “Formation” also made a statement by celebrating Black beauty, feminist strength, and cultural pride. And, if anyone missed the message, she performed the song at the Super Bowl dressed in an outfit inspired by the Black Panthers, with matching backup dancers behind her.

As I've watched Beyoncé- just a few years older than me-grow from a young girl into a mature and powerful woman, her feminism has inspired me. And it's that example that I've tried to teach my daughter.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

Bey is arguably the biggest persona in music. Her name and face are known everywhere around the world. Through surprise album releases and artistic evolution, she completely changed the way the music industry looks at female artists. She's a mogul, an artist, a visionary. Creatively, she's on a whole other level.

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

When she gave birth to her children Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir, she allowed us, the public, to see her joy. When she shared the news of her miscarriages, she introduced us to her pain. When she showed us the proof of her damaged marriage, she turned pieces of her worst nightmare into what will always be regarded as one of the best albums of all time.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

cowgirluli-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

theinternetismylyfe-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

gayyogurt-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

fuckyeahslightlyamusing-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

tothe-tooth-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Why taking my daughter to a Beyoncé concert is a necessary rite of passage

View this post on Instagram

The Future Is Female. #womensmarchhouston #womensmarch #womensmarch2018 #metoo #thefutureisfemale #timesup #blacklivesmatter #protectdaca #feminist

A post shared by Samantha Chavarria (@teoami) on Jan 20, 2018 at 7:22am PST

As a fellow Houstonian, Beyoncé has always felt like part of the family to me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 15, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Like any parent, I want my children to have strong and positive role models, and for my daughter, that role model is Beyoncé.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Aug 31, 2017 at 6:56am PDT

Beyonce just paused her Glasgow show for a moment of silence, displaying victims of police brutality #AltonSterling pic.twitter.com/REajdvlmUf

- Will (@TheAussieSide) July 7, 2016

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood Entertainment

But, she still allows herself to be soft.

Beyoncé's feminism tells little girls like my daughter, “I can do anything. I can even fail and get back up again.”

And for my daughter- a beautiful, irrepressible Virgo just like Beyoncé- I think that's exactly what she needs to hear.

View this post on Instagram

Loki and the whole stadium were so hyped when they came out! I may have screamed too.

0 notes

bobkerse · 8 years ago

Text

This Artist Sent Her Painting To The New Yorker On A Whim. Now It’s The Cover.

Ahead of its Feb. 6 issue, The New Yorker released a sneak peek of its upcoming cover ― a tribute to the Women’s March that attracted over 3 million protestors around the world.

Familiar at first glance, the cover features a collared-shirt-clad woman flexing her arm in the style of Rosie the Riveter, the WWII-era feminist icon. Though a few details set this Rosie apart: She’s a woman of color, for starters. And instead of a bandana, she dons a “pussy hat,” the reigning symbol of the Jan. 21 march.

youtube

Maine-based artist Abigail Gray Swartz created the image after attending a march in Augusta, at which she wore a hand-painted cape decorated with the words “Equality for Womankind.” The following week, Swartz decided to send her updated portrait of Rosie to The New Yorker unsolicited, not anticipating a response. It’d been a longtime dream to have her work accepted by the magazine, she told The Portland Press Herald.

Unexpectedly, art editor Françoise Mouly responded asking Swartz to send a few more variations of Rosie. Seventy-two hours later, Swartz learned that her work had made the cover. A new image of feminism ― intersectional, DIY, unapologetically pink ― was solidified.

Ahead of her cover’s official debut, we checked in with Swartz over email to learn more about her radical art, her dedication to activism, and why she believes the revolution will be handmade. Check out our interview below:

What inspired you to revisit Rosie the Riveter? And what motivated you to update her in the ways that you did?

I’m a knitter and I knit several pussy hats for myself and for my friends to wear to the [Women’s] March. Watching all of my friends and strangers sharing their Instagram stories of knitting hat after hat was incredible. The act of making the symbol brought unity to the event even before it began. Therefore, I knew that the hat would be a symbol of the woman’s movement.

So on the Monday following the march, I sat down and started thinking about the art I wanted to make in response to my own experience on Saturday as well as the collective experience of women nationally and worldwide. I adored seeing the images flooding in of the sea of women (and men) in pink hats. So much pink! I saw a headline from a newspaper that read “She the People” and I thought, “She The People: The revolution will be handmade.” I started thinking how there was this effort on the part of women to create a symbol for the march. It felt reminiscent of World War II when women rationed silk stockings in order to have enough material for the soldiers’ parachutes. How women knit for the soldiers and filled in at the factories while the men were away at war. Just like how we are reclaiming the word “pussy,” the hat is also a symbol of our history in our country ― we are knitting something for the new “war effort” to fight for our rights as women. We are knitting for ourselves.

As a result, I turned to Rosie as a symbol to convey the transformation we have taken from the times of WWII. I made Rosie a woman of color, because as an artist I feel it’s my job to paint diversity. I recently read how important it is for children, especially for children of color, to see images of Barack Obama in their schools. So I concluded, why not give girls of color, and everyone for that matter, an image of a Rosie with brown skin. It was just a no brainer ― I want to paint Rosie as a symbol of the Women’s March and she should look like this.

When The New Yorker commissioned an image for “The March” issue, did [editors] ask for any visual details or messaging in particular?

I actually reached out to Françoise Mouly of The New Yorker. My Rosa Parks portrait was in her Women’s March newspaper, Resist. I had this idea on Monday, quickly sketched it up, added some paint and sent it to them on a total whim. They got back to me and said yes, we’d like to see more sketches. So after emailing them multiple sketches, and two different finished portraits, they asked for me to send the art to them via FedEx on Wednesday night and they called me on Thursday night and said it was officially a “go” and they would release it on Friday.

And I ugly cried and my kids were like, “Dad what’s wrong with Mom?” And he said, “It’s happy tears. This is a good thing, Your mom has wanted this for a long time.” So it’s been a whirlwind week career-wise. I’ve wanted to paint covers for The New Yorker for years, and here is my first cover, it’s a dream come true!

Online, fans of the cover have already praised your illustration’s emphasis on the role of intersectionality in feminism. Have you been pleased with the ways fans have read into your work?

Yes, I have been pleased. I’ve had women, like Adrienne Lawrence thank me on Instagram. And others have thanked me on Twitter. It’s been really nice. As a white woman, I am sensitive to the issues about race and the Women’s March. I was well aware of the need for inclusion. I agree that white women need to show up to the Black Lives Matter rallies. If one hurts, we all hurt. Plus it’s simply your moral obligation as a white woman to acknowledge your privilege and to use it to help others. It’s the rent you must pay. And, if we are going to get anywhere as a movement we must be united and that also means accepting all forms of feminism. It’s like what Maya Angelou said about the women’s movement, “The sadness of the women’s movement is that they don’t allow the necessity of love. See, I don’t personally trust any revolution where love is not allowed.” That, to me, means inclusion and allowing for a variety of definitions of feminism.

View Source to Continue Reading: This Artist Sent Her Painting To The New Yorker On A Whim. Now It’s The Cover.

#Art

0 notes