what a woman

For centuries, women have had their narratives shaped by men in society. There remains a binding association between femininity and domestic spaces, duties, delicacy, beauty, and femininity. We are expected to be obedient, quiet, organized, proper, modest, beautiful, and all with a smile on our face. Yet, for myself, and the women I know around me, these are not standards that we hold for ourselves. For us, the modern woman is too intelligent and independent to stay at home, slaving her life away, and following this strange rulebook on how to be feminine. She isn’t matronly or submissive. Nor is she complacent and satisfied. She’s rewriting the narrative that was forced upon her years prior.
This series is meant to disrupt the current narrative of the submissive woman, and further shows resistance and boredom within the woman’s dull everyday life; almost like a caricature. Using common household appliances and supplies that we associate with women, I place a naked woman in the space and have her interact with the objects in a manner that isn’t stereotypical. Instead of diligently washing her clothes, she is sitting on the laundry basket, naked and bored, waiting for her clothes to finish. Instead of cooking, she is sprawled on the couch with a beer, eyes glued to her television. It’s as if the woman is fighting back and refusing to conform to societal standards and expectations.
This is my response to the traditional narrative of the domesticated woman.