Unapologetic Objects
“It’s hard not to feel humorless, as a woman and a feminist, to recognize misogyny in so many forms, some great and some small, and know you’re not imagining things. It’s hard to be told to lighten up because if you lighten up anymore, you’re going to float the fuck away. The problem is not that one of these things is happening; it’s that they are all happening, concurrently and constantly.” -Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist)
“Violence is one way to silence people, to deny their voice and their credibility, to assert your right to control over their right to exist.” -Rebecca Solnit (Men Explain Things to Me)
I was born in 1990. The following year, Clarence Thomas was nominated for Supreme Court Justice. A woman named Anita Hill came forward to testify about the sexual assault she had experienced while working under Thomas. Despite her testimony, Clarence Thomas was still confirmed and is currently still serving on the Supreme Court. Now fast forward to the year 2018. Brett Kavanaugh was nominated for the Supreme Court’s open seat even though multiple women publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Ultimately, he is still confirmed.
Why is rape culture so prevalent in western society? Why is there such a high number of violent crimes directed toward women? Why do so many women have experiences with sexual harassment and assault? Why are we so dismissive of women who speak up? Why are we so willing to look the other way?
As a woman who, like most, has been mistreated and devalued by our society in complex and confusing ways, I spend a lot of time looking at representation in our western culture and reading about gender politics. I make archives of images exhausting dynamics of sexuality, power, and ideas of insubordination. These images remind me time and time again why representation matters. When women are viewed through the lens of an otherizing gaze, then we, as women, lose our autonomy. To objectify a woman is to dehumanize her; dismissing her is to silence her, which is where the danger lies. We live in a society that not only permits but often encourages violence toward women.
With this project, I challenge harmful representations from different time periods to look at the connection and to examine the persistent problem of gender inequality. To show the prevalence of harassment and assault, I’ve also included excerpts from an anonymous questionnaire I created and gave a group of women to fill out and share their experiences with gender-based violence. This form is also available on my website and will remain there to provide a safe place for anyone who wants to share their stories and feelings anonymously.
Through the images and texts in this work, I’m carving a space for conversation and discourse about these issues. I want viewers to question their preconceived notions of women and femininity and stop to think about who controls those perceptions. What are the implications of harmful representations? What effect do they have on us as individuals, and what impact do they have on us collectively?
