My Personal Art and Feminism

Feminism and art are both extremely important in my life. And in every aspect of my art I think about my personal feminist beliefs and incorporate those beliefs. To me, my art is an opportunity to express my emotions and outlook of the world in relation to those issues I feel most passionate about.

Nevertheless, my current concentration is in graphic design, and with the media portraying images that ultimately perpetuate patriarchy and hegemonic beauty standards, I have a unique struggle to face. As a graphic designer, I will most often work for a client to represent a specific aspect that my employee wants to portray. This is where I am nervous the most that I will have a problem in my future career. It is difficult to turn down a client when this issue arrises because my income will come from these projects. How do I walk a tight line between what the client wants portrayed and what I refuse to perpetuate in society?

In these regards, I hope to be able to give the client what they want to represent in a way that will respect my personal beliefs. I am firmly confident that this will make me a better designer because I have the ability to look at an image and understand the social and cultural implications the image holds because of my background in women's studies. I can experience a design through the eyes of a socially-conscious woman and understand how another facet of society will comprehend it.

Although I feel this challenge will be difficult, I plan to take it head on. Designing is something that I think I am meant to do and I have the opportunity to create artwork that will be seen by a large group of people. Through these means, I also plan to continue to grow in my feminist beliefs and help others to understand feminist theory and thought through art.