“Bee a Woman”

2016, Acrylic, Silk Flowers, Embroidery Thread on Canvas

So often we hear the phrase “be a man” as a point of pride (thank you, toxic masculinity!) but rarely ever do we hear “be a woman.” The reason for this is-you guessed it-the patriarchy. “Being a man” is something to aspire to be whereas “being a woman” is something to be admired.

This piece is meant to capture the societal “bravery” that comes from saying “be a man” with the reminder of oppression that comes from being a woman. I completed this piece shortly after I was raped three times. I felt as though I was this beautiful piece of art that hung on the wall for men to enjoy, criticize, and consume. This piece symbolizes how often women’s innocence and privacy is put on display for the benefit of others. Woman are not given spaces to be angry or sad or passionate. As per the patriarchy, we are meant to be quiet decorations.

The fact of the matter is that woman have always been and always will be brave, passionate, fighters.

It wasn’t until the 17th century (at the Same time of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a powerful female monarch) that Western science understood that the head of a bee hive was a queen. It took many years before people acknowledged and accepted that a matrilineal society like honey bees could exist (and honestly still to this day…remember the bee movie? Yeah, male bees don’t leave the hive. Their whole purpose is to help fertilize eggs and then they die. The woman do all the work.). Here were these lady bees out here just trying to get by and male scientists were like “never in my life could I picture a woman working hard!” Sigh. Fucking society.

This piece is about taking up space, redefining what womanhood is, and using the “ideal female” bullshit to your advantage to take back what was always rightfully yours: power.