ScholarWorks

Title

Nasty Woman

Creator

Andie Kelly, Boise State UniversityFollow

Creation Date

2017

Preview

Medium

screenprint

Description

Dimensions: 8 x 6 feet

Artist Statement

“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful–because you can threaten the man. We teach girls they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.”

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We have evolved, but what we think of gender has not evolved. We still as a human collective have problems with believing in equality. Feminism is believing that all humans, male and female of all races, should have equal political, economic and social rights. Although more people are beginning to understand the true definition of feminism and openly identifying to it, there is still a huge stigmatism attached to the word.

So many people are so misguided of what being a feminist actually means. Being a feminist has absolutely nothing to do with how you look, what you wear, who you date, or how often you have sex. It doesn’t mean that you believe that women should have special rights; it means, simply, that we deserve equal rights. And just because you believe you have those equal rights doesn’t mean every other woman has them. In fact, they don’t. Empowered women empower other women, and that is so detrimental to the wellbeing of all women.

Because of our ability to give birth, go through huge body and hormonal changes in pregnancy and motherhood, and bleed from our bodies once a month, women are a symbol of strength. By this natural ability to experience these things, it shows that we truly are a part of nature as these things happen with almost all animals on earth. Our earth has made us who we are as a race today, and has a huge influence in our day–to–day life even when you don’t notice it. I believe that we as a human race have lost this raw connection to our earth. By changing the perception of something that’s not normally pleasant to look at or think about into something beautiful I attempt to re–establish this connection and to help you consider how beautiful it is to be a woman.

Rights

© Andie Kelly, 2017. Photo Credit: Priscila Grover.

Exhibit Images