A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen

Photographs taken with manual SLR camera and hand printed by Monica Lee

I often model for friends' and fellow artists' photography projects. I love being on the other side of the artistic process. To be the subject is art in itself. The photographer has a concept and a plan and I get to contribute my own ideas and create the image they wish to capture. These pictures are from a series by a friend of mine, Monica Lee, titled, "Consumerism". I continued the project with a series of monoprints titled, "Domestication." It began as a statement about Americans' idea of what it means to have success; to have a home and things with which to fill it and became to me, a demonstration of the traditional role of a woman as a "housewife." Don't ask me how I managed to cram myself in those spaces - I'm still not sure. It was really scary trying to get out of the dryer though. I go to great lengths for art. I also squish down into tiny volumes for art. 

Feminism tends to boil down to man-hating for a whole lot of women, when its original intent was to say men and women are just as good. That doesn't mean the same either. Men are better than women at certain things and women are better than men at certain things. I def consider myself a feminist. And that doesn't mean I reject all traditional female roles. I want to be a wife and a mommy as long as my husband shares equally in the responsibilities. I want to take my husband's last name and I have no qualms with him being the breadwinner of the household as long as he realizes it's our money. I want equality for men and women, not by assuming they're the same, but by respecting and appreciating each gender's strengths.

I would also like to take a moment to remember former First Lady, Betty Ford, who died today at the age of 93. President Obama described her as a "powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights." 
CNN article on Betty Ford