Being Woman

by Gabby Estlund

For so long, my identity as a woman was dictated by others. Though I recognized this early in my life, I never confronted it. I created this project to examine how easily I fall into a habit of comparing myself to the unattainable ideals of womanhood in nearly every realm of pop culture. In this way, I began to explore the bearings that culture has on the individual woman's self-perception, and specifically my own. While each narrative is unique, the overarching experience of being scrutinized remains. Advertising several decades ago boasted blatant sexism toward women, and though it may not be as direct today, it is far from eradicated. Setting scenes from the 1950s and ‘60s is a reminder that remnants from the past persist; women live in a present continually shaped by what came before now.