Sexism – Thursday
I finish class at 16; I walk out from school and pass another school, not sure whether it is a kindergarten or not, outside mothers are standing waiting for their children, the majority are women, this made me think of the highly spoken subject “ sexism.” I later arrived home, made a cup of té and opened my computer where an ad from the UN popped up. The add demonstrated what came up if you googled women and it was shocking. Moreover, I scroll through Instagram where my friend has posted a picture of her and a story about being exposed to sexual abuse; she then finished with the hashtag #metoo. It made me upset going on the hashtag and campaign #metoo- it is where women share stories of sexual abuse. Being Shocked about the abuse so many women had been exposed to sent a chill down my spine. In the meantime I felt a women power- the men that has victimized women has created a powerful army of women that are not afraid to speak out. I’m very passionate about women’s right, the history of strong, powerful women that has taken us further into the goal of living in a world without sexism. Furthermore, I´m not that well read when it comes to sexism and feminism, not well read enough to be able to write an essay- however, making some research about the topic – almost 60% of the articles regarding #metoo was written by men, criticising the movement. Which once again demonstrated the sexism that surrounds us everyday. I want to dedicate this day and journal to all the women out there working for equal rights.
Instagram, am I fat? – Friday
It is friday morning. I can hear the drum of rain on the window pane, my alarm clock is ringing on my phone- but I can’t find the strength to turn it off. I just want to bury my head in the cochons. Before I jump in the shower, I take a quick look of myself- I feel mortified with every inch of my body. I continue to school and stop by starbucks to get a coffee, while waiting I scroll through Instagram, I realized the photos I looked at is only skinny model who had made me feel even worse about myself. Our generation is living a life on a screen with everyone watching it- it is like everyone is their producers of a reality show. Moreover, too many youngsters are living in a virtual world that is triggering thoughts about your body and achievements that are incredibly negative and hurtable. Self-confident is something that I´ve had but lost, it´s like your keys to your home, you need it to get out of your house- but you can’t find them, and it gets you more and more stressed, but in the back of your head, you somehow know where you put them. As you grow older, you become more aware, especially when you are in the fashion world, you scan through models and clothes all day long, then you go on social media, read about what you should eat and what you shouldn’t, then you put on the tv- and the adds are usually flawless girls. You don’t reflect so much on it, but it something that is unconsciously on my mind almost all the time. In school I scan through editorials to find inspiration and in my folder I find myself only saved images of nearly anorectic girls. Which made me realise we are both victims and bullies.
I´ll have a cocktail and a scolding s’il vous plait! – Saturday
I´m going to tell a short anecdote about a girl called Hedda, about being a young adult and moving to another city, being free for the first time, or is she?:
Hedda burst out in a laugh, while buying a drink at a little restaurant in Marais, it’s called derriere- the typical hipster restaurant- young crowd, Instagram friendly interior design and recognizable songs that you can hum to. The girls sit down in a little room, which you have to enter through a narnia door, everyone is on a good mood- it’s that feeling of having no care in the world- freedom. The young girls continue playing a football board game, which makes them think of their days as children. Suddenly, Hedda picks up her phone, it’s her mother calling, she answers, and you can hear shouting on the other side of the phone, Hedda had 1. Spent too much money, 2. Not finished her Cv that she was supposed to send that Friday during the day and 3. disappointed her mother by just being naive and irresponsible.
Being 19 is a quite tricky age, you are a grown up yet independent on your parents, you are expected to be an adult, however, follow the rules and instructions by your parents- you are free, but not really. It’s hard growing up, coming to the conclusion that you won’t be a princess or a movie star- that earning money to pay your rent is not easy, the competition as well, there are so many hard-working young adults in the world fighting for success every day. However success is a broad term, success can mean money for some, fame for some or just a life filled with love for some. Furthermore, in a slight second, Hedda was free, independent until the phone call- she was jumping on a cloud, put got pinned down.
The fashion world- sprinting at a paste-like Usain Bolt with a cheap price tag- Sunday.
It is Sunday; the shopping streets are not as packed, people are sitting outside, taking in the sun that has decided to show up even though the air is like glass. Cold. I continue to Avenue l’Opera and walk past a Zara store; it was of course opened, I enter the store- clothes on the floor, clothes on piles after the piles, people scanning through aggressively the sale rack – looking for something that might resemble some high fashion brand collection. Fast Fashion is the term used to define clothing such as Zara, H&M, Mango, etc. To begin with, I am going to define fast fashion:
“Fast fashion” is a term used by fashion retailers to describe inexpensive designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends. As a result of this trend, the tradition of introducing new fashion lines on a seasonal basis is being challenged. Today, it is not uncommon for fast-fashion retailers to introduce new products multiple times in a single week to stay on-trend.”
In a world where everything is moving in such a fast paste, it’s not a surprise that fashion does either. As everything in the world, fast fashion has terrible impacts and good ones too- at least one or two good ones. Starting with the good: high fashion has never been so accessible- it enables almost everyone to where something at least similar to that Attico dress that was shown on the runway during Paris fashion week. It is also creates jobs, putting it on an economical perspective, there are hundreds of thousands of fast fashion stores opening in all parts of the world creating jobs. However, there has been a lot of rumors and controversy about the factories making of the clothes and their working environment- some have stated that child labor is included in the creation of fashion to keep the pricetag low. Moreover, I continue reflection on fashion fashion and how shopping is not anymore personal. What you buy is worn by hundred of thousands people. The mass production ruins the charm of a clothing piece, it ruins the art of a clothing piece. I think clothes is wearable art, however when it comes to fashion fashion it is just copies with no personal touch. Moreover, I started to research: The average consumer in the world is now buying more than 1.5 the amount of apparel they did six years ago. Affecting the climate largely. I snap out of my thoughts seeing a shirt, that looks exactly like a shirt I’ve been drooling over at Le Bon Marche- it is hanging in a pack of clothes, I look at the price tag, 12 euros? And bam, I’m a fast fashion consumer.
“I have a dream, a fantasy, To help me through reality”- Monday
“I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream, I have a dream
I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream, I have a dream
I’ll cross the stream, I have a dream”
I love this song by Abba, while looking up to a classic parisian ceiling, the song striked me. “ I have a dream, a fantasy To help me through reality” I really enjoy this line, the thin boundary between dream and reality, how a fantasy can help you go through a day. But what is the difference between a fantasy and a dream- can they be linked to a goal? Is having a dream and a goal the same thing? I take another look on the painting on the ceiling, what I love about Paris is it´s architecture mix of old dreamy objects. The picture is taken at a showroom that is displaying streetwear – which created such a plot twist when considering the architectural esthetics in the room. Every object in the room is beautiful, but the painting in the ceiling is not only a painting, an object. It tells a story- I could hear the Abba song in the background and suddenly the painting comes to life.
Theo Mercier, Tuesday
Theo Mercier, is a French young artist who has created a piece that really caught my interest. The sculpture is a skull- on the scalp, there is a banana peel on it, with the bottom colored in gold, it is something fascinating about this piece- it makes me think of history meeting today’s youth. Is Mercier trying to send a message with this piece? A banana pile is something that is used in cartoons to highlight trash. Which makes me think about the youth trashing history, how we are living in a world with leaders such as trump and how the people have come to choose him after reading about leaders that resemble him in history classes- such as Hitler. There is something beautiful with the sculpture; I like the yellow and gold, the contrasts between contemporary art and fine art. Mercier art is based on a collection of objects. Moreover, Theo Mércier explores archaeology with a sense of humor. I think I also enjoy this piece due to him as a person; he is very young for being a recognized artist- Theo Mercier´s work has been in the most awarding galleries and now exhibited at Musee De L´homme. The artist one said: “I have a flea market in my head and know nothing about art.” Theo is an iconoclast. He plays around with different visual codes, maybe to confuse us, or just maybe in order to désacralise our visual concepts.
“Human-Need-Desire” by Bruce Nauman- Wednesday
Human need desire, the art is straight on point reflecting on today’s society- I enjoy the neon lights, the texture and light- but mostly the self-awareness of the piece. The words are strong, thought-provoking yet aesthetically pleasing. The colors and neon light are intense, yet put together it almost seems like one color. Language, the power of language is dominant in this piece and the words becomes even stronger with the neon light, almost hypnotizing- making the viewer reflect further on the words, about their desire, their dream and hope. It catches you, makes you stand and look at it from all different angles. The word Human is repeated, creating an emphasis on the word humans. It’s an exciting piece that is not just capturing me at the Moma exhibition at fondation Louis Vuitton. The piece also makes me reflect on the word desire, the word can have so many different meanings to different people- the word desire for me makes me think of sex- especially together with the other words. Human/Need/Desire- The interesting here, is that the artist use the neon light to communicate a kind of similar message than in advertising. Which is very common in our city landscape. Going back to the word sex and relating it to desire, neon lights were once used to attract people to brothel, strip club.
