Midterm Proposal

Besem Etta-Ashu

October 23, 2019

Midterm - Activist Art Project Proposal

Societal Standards of a Woman

The topic in which I would like to base my final project is on the societal standards of a woman. After discussing several topics in class such as patriarchy, artists who challenge the status quo, identity, power of an image/photograph, capitalist, etc. the topic that resonated with me the most was patriarchy from bell hooks reading. Instead of making my project about male power over women, I decided to base my project on societal authority over women. This idea of society being dominant and controlling (acting as a patriarchal figure) on women's rights of who they can and can not be. 

Society has implemented standards in which all women have to meet or live up to in order to be considered beautiful or acceptable as a woman. Women are supposed to be tall, but not too tall. Smart, but not too smart. Tough, but not opinionated. Have a voice of their own but not arrogant or outspoken. Skinny but not all bones. Overall women can be whoever they want to be as long as they are not trying to be better than a man or go against the societal rules of an acceptable woman. Women are not only subject to the patriarchy system which was created by men but also to social standards of what an ideal woman is supposed to be like which are also created by men. Men think they know what it means to be a woman more than women themselves, so that is why they have the power to shape women into their ideal form.

My project would be based on three different posters shaped in the form of an African woman with big afro hair. The first poster will be a drawing, painting, or picture of a female who is suppose to be the ideal African woman based on societal standards. There are also going to be descriptions at the bottom of the picture of what an ideal societal woman is going through emotionally. She will be having thoughts such as she always has to eat salads and go to the gym to keep her body shape. She always has to wear makeup to look attractive. Always having to smile, although she is sad on the inside. I will also surround the picture with emotions she would be feeling such as sad, depressed, anxiety, overwhelmed, trapped, etc.

The second poster will be drawing of an African woman who is comfortable in her own skin and proud of who she is, me. After looking at other black female artists who empower black women to be proud of their bodies such as Micklane Thomas, Chimamanda, and Faith Ringgold, through various art forms, I decided to make several sequences of poster identifying the beauty of an African woman.

The third poster is going to be shaped in the form of a female but instead of identifying the type of lady through drawing or painting, I will leave the poster blank. I will draw a question mark in the middle of her face. This gesture is to leave my audience with a question of which type of lady they would like to be. Is it a female who is defined by societal standards or a lady who lives every moment for herself?

My overall message from my project is to empower women to be whoever they want to be and not try to live up to an unrealistic standard of what a woman is supposed to be. A woman's worth should not be based on the opinion of anyone else except themselves. Being the "perfect woman" does not make any woman's life better, instead, it worsens it. Although we all know these unrealistic standards do not benefit anybody, most women still try to live up to it because we see it in our everyday lives. The ideal woman is on television, being described on the radio, music videos, and magazines which all begin to lessen the unideal woman's courage. I want to inspire women to have more courage in being proud of who they are instead of creating an identity that might ruin their lives forever. In reality, the "perfect woman" is a woman who lives every moment of the day being herself for herself.

Society's Ideal Women

Women who live on their own terms of beauty

Bibliography:

Lakritz, Talia. " 11 Surprising Double Standards That Still Exist for Women in the US."

INSIDER, INSIDER, 18 Jan. 2019

           McIntyre, Morgan. "The Social Standards Women Face." The Odyssey Online, The Odyssey Online, 30 Aug. 2017