Carol Rossetti - Women: Body-Positive Art to Inspire and Empower

Copyright 2015 by Carol Rossetti

Illustrations copyright 2015 by Carol Rossetti

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover illustration by Carol Rossetti

Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-250-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0076-5

Printed in China

To my beloved .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

The Women Project is one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. When I started a new illustration project (mostly as an excuse to make a drawing every day), I had no idea what was coming. Hundreds of people identified with the women I created, and my Facebook page became a place where women from all over the world could share stories and ideas.

People have asked me plenty of times if Im a feminist. Yes, I am. But that seems pretty vague nowadays, doesnt it? There are just so many ways to be a feminist and so many ways to fight oppression that the word has become, perhaps, too wide. So yes, I do identify as a feminist, but I think its important to explain how I understand the movement, as well as my approach to fighting this fight.

I identify with the ideas of intersectional feminism, which means that I dont think its enough to fight sexism per se . I think the fight is only efficient if its for an inclusive and safe environment for all women. For that to happen, other issues must be taken into consideration and be seen as inseparable from feminism. People of color need to be included, and racism must be fought. People with disabilities must be included, and ableism must be fought. Trans people must be included, and transphobia must be fought. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic people need to be included, and sexual diversity must be defended. Poor, hungry, homeless, illiterate people need to be included, and social inequality must be fought. People with mental illness must be included, and the stigma they carry must be fought as well.

Representation is a big issue inside feminism. How wide should it be? Who should feminism include or exclude? Who can actually have a say in how this fight should be fought? Should men be heard as well? Should people be more heard the more oppressed they are?

I dont have any answers for these questions. Im not the person who will say what feminism is or is not about. I have a voice, but Im not the voice of the movement. I can only speak on how Ive decided to fight for a better world through my work, and I really want to make it clear that my way is not the only valid way.

One of my favorite authors, Jos Saramago, once said: I learned not to try to convince anyone. The work of convincing is a lack of respect; its an endeavor of colonizing the other [ Aprendi a no convencer ningum. O trabalho de convencer uma falta de respeito, uma tentativa de colonizao do outro ]. In my opinion, its one of the wisest things anyone has ever said, and also one of the hardest to truly acknowledge. So heres my proposition: lets talk and learn, but lets not try to colonize each other.

My approach has always been inclusion. Of course there are many people who havent been represented in my work, and I cant bring visibility to everybody on my own. But I do my best to represent different people and to inspire others to widen the representation of the human being in their own works.

As for the themes, I try to approach a large diversity of issues. Not all illustrations will be socially relevant everywhere. A theme can be, at the same time, a bold topic in some countries and something trivial in another. The project became international, and therefore not all themes will be equally relevant to all cultures. Still, its important to know about fights other than our own.

Some women are in a situation of more vulnerability than others. Black women face more violence than white women, trans women face more violence than cis women, and a black trans lesbian woman will face an even tougher daily challenge. Some things are more urgent than others. Its only natural and important that activism establishes fighting priorities. I try to discuss these serious matters, but the fact that we have urgent topics doesnt mean we cant talk about other themes as well. I think its important to include the small things, the ones we dont always take seriously in our routine, but that bother us, and end up being part of a much larger issue of control over our bodies, behaviors and identities.

As the title WOMEN suggests, I chose to draw only female characters for this project. This decision was partially motivated by a personal identification. But its not a project exclusively about women, or only for women, and even less about all women at the same time. Not all the situations I portray are lived only by women, and I welcome men (or people of any other gender) to identify as well. Besides, I find it interesting to awaken in men the chance to identify with female characters. I remember that when I was a kid, it was common that the movies, books, and animations starring female characters were seen as for girls, while stories with male characters were for everyone. The fact that my protagonists are women does not make this a project just for girls.

I have received several messages on my social networks from men, telling me that they have learned a lot from my work. Some even said that it was through my page that they realized that they had been disrespectful to women and wouldnt make that same mistake again. Nevertheless, I also got messages from women saying that they noticed they were being judgmental toward their sisters for their personal choices, and therefore were contributing to a system of control over feminine autonomy; and so they started to rethink their own comments.

I believe thats a very positive effect of my work, and thats only possible if people who are not necessarily aware of the discussions inside the activist movements are able to comment, ask, share their experiences, and join constructive dialogues. At this point, many have said I should ban people from the page and erase offensive comments (and I did erase some of the comments from people who were very aggressive and disrespectful to others). However, if I were to exclude everyone and anyone who said something wrong out of ignorance, only those who were already informed about these fights would remain on the page. Thats not the goal of my project. Im looking for dialogue, discussions, so that people learn from each others words and experiences. We wont change the world if we keep the discussion within a small group of activists.