My drawing demonstrates how feminists through the years have had to fight against  many issues such as the patriarchy, gender roles, sexism, stereotypes and beauty standards and how their goal is to abolish all of them. While also showing how feminism is like a tree, growing stronger and stronger as time goes on; letting go of internalized frustration with the simulation we live in. I think that my project allows others to see that feminism is not about hating men and wanting women to be superior, but in fact shows how we, as a society, will only grow and prosper once gender equality is obtained. For example, as of right now and throughout history, equal pay has and is not normalized in society.  Women make 78 cents to every dollar a man makes. After the Great depression women in the work place became normalized, however unequal pay and gender discrimination was still present. Then World War 2 hit and Rosie the Riveter became a feminist icon, followed soon after by the civil rights movement where women demanded equal pay once again. In 1972 the Equal Rights Amendment passed but still to this day women are fighting for equal pay.  Equal pay will only increase productivity in businesses by attracting the best employees for the job and lowering staff turnovers and absence.  I chose to give the tree trunk the figure of a woman, even though not all feminists are women, to show how the tree represents women and feminism as a whole. The flowers on the branches are supposed to represent the new positive changes and growth that come as feminism enforces change in society. The flowers also represent the healing process as more and more women are finally being treated as equals after fighting for so long. The tombstones represent some of the issues feminists have been fighting against over the years. Lastly the sky in the background of the painting represents a vagina because a lot of people in society, especially men think they have the right and knowledge to tell a woman what to do with her body, and so the vagina represents the beauty and power of being a woman. I think that overall we can see using the gender, marxist, and critical race theory lenses that feminism is for all women no matter their religion, skin color or birth gender. I hope that my drawing has empowered others to really think about how beneficial gender equality is to our society.

Kylie Johnson is a senior at Fremont High School.

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