Being Female, 2012
printed/painted flour sack towels
![Picture](/uploads/7/9/3/2/7932760/9307687.jpg)
Photo of the first towel after printed and painted.
I created a series of flour sack towels, each printed with a graphic representing an ideal female gender role represented in the media. I chose flour sack towels as the 'canvas' for the prints because the towels themselves are delicate, feminine, domestic items. I also chose for the images to be somewhat vintage and outdated in appearance to represent how the idea of these female gender roles should also be regarded as outdated. The thread graphic represents the female as a seamstress, but also as a 'mender' or the 'stitching' that keeps relationships/ family ties from being ripped apart. The carriage represent 'love' and 'care' and the females role of motherhood and childcare. The pie graphic is representative of baking, as well as being responsible for nourishment and indulgences. The pot is similar, representing a woman's place in the kitchen, cooking, and being a homemaker. The corset represents woman as a sexual being, hinting that woman's comfort is not a priority, but maintaining that she needs to be attractive. The last item is an iron which represents housework and the fact that a woman is usually responsible for keeping things 'presentable' and 'smoothing things over'.