My intent with these sculptures was to present a contrasting view of femininity through the eyes of men. This sculpture is meant to represent “women in the past,” particularly a 1950s housewife. The gender stereotypes — some of which leak into today’s thinking — placed women in the kitchen, serving only as housewives and homemakers. They did not have autonomy of their own, and were expected to be subservient to their husbands; the head of the household and main breadwinner. Though the world of women of today is very different — as they can now work, open bank accounts, own property, etc. — there is still rhetoric in “alpha male” circles expressing the desire for women to be placed back into these subservient roles, believing that it is their rightful place as a woman. The most well-known of these voices is podcaster Andrew Tate, who is an influence to many younger men and boys. He presents ideas of women being inferior and unequal to men. Many that share their views with him tend to idealize the gender roles of the 1950s where, as previously stated, women did not have much autonomy.
The sculpture of the woman is placed, alone, in a typical 1950s-style kitchen. It is meant to look cold and isolating. With this sculpture, I particularly enjoyed creating the hair. It is a style called “victory rolls” or “victory curls.” It was difficult to sculpt the curves of the style with air-dry clay, but I very much enjoyed working with it.
The second sculpture represents transgender women through the eyes of men. More specifically, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. At this point, Mulvaney has gotten into a handful of controversies. The most notable of which is her collaboration with Bud Light, which garnered heavy backlash from people who did not want the brand of beer they drink to feature a transwoman on their cans. People went so far as to film themselves destroying any Bud Light merchandise that they had, and Dylan Mulvaney went silent on social media for weeks following the controversy. On TikTok, Dylan Mulvaney has documented her transition journey through “day in the life” videos. Despite Mulvaney presenting herself very femininely — even taking inspiration from popular 1950s/60s actress Audrey Hepburn — she is continually scrutinized and harassed, mainly by men. The lines on the platform the sculpture stands on all point towards the figure of Mulvaney, symbolizing that she is always under heavy pressure and scrutiny despite her both being a woman and presenting as what is typically expected of women in appearance, fashion, and behavior.
This sculpture is based on a real look that Dylan Mulvaney had on a post, inspired by actress Audrey Hepburn. I felt that the look better connected it to the prior sculpture, Subservient. I also enjoyed the hair of this piece, but I enjoyed the coloring more. It was interesting attempting to add blush with drawing inks to make the sculpture feel more alive and cheery, as the real public figure is.
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