Controversy is something I find great enjoyment in, whether I’m observing from an outside view, or engaging in the conversations, I can’t help myself but be entertained. Our latest project fits straight into that discussion, although going into it, I wouldn’t have imagined I would be saying the end of that last sentence. When I heard that our exhibition topic would be feminist dystopias, coupled with conceptual art, I knew this was done on purpose to prove some kind of point to me, alongside the rest of the boys in the class, and to your credit, exactly that happened. Now that this project has finished, I can say that this was definitely needed, and to be honest, most males around my age should learn about this topic as well, as social media has given us such a fixed view on feminism, one that is negative, and I would be lying if I didn’t put myself in that pool of people. That uniformed perspective I once had, has now been altered, and reflects what I actually believe in.

Throughout history women and society haven’t necessarily had the best relationship. They have faced numerous challenges based on societal expectations and gender norms. However, these struggles they’ve faced gave them a reason to fight back, and brought the emergence of the Four Waves of Feminism, each trying to dismantle the patriarchy in different ways. The First Wave of Feminism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries aimed to protect women’s fundamental rights and laid the foundation for waves to come. The Second Wave, during the mid-20th century, expanded its focus to reproductive rights and women’s control over their own body, leading to a shift in societal views on women’s roles. The Third Wave, emerging in the 1990s, embraced diversity and intersectionality, once again challenging gender norms by promoting individual empowerment for women. The Fourth Wave, driven by digital technology and social media, focuses on issues like online harassment and sexual assault, providing a global platform for marginalized voices and activism. Looking on the progress made through these Four Waves of Feminism, or lack there of as I believe, it is evident that the ongoing struggle for gender equality will continue to exist and pave the way for new waves of activism and change in the future.

Accompanying this learning of historical landmarks for the progression of feminism, was a feminist dystopia text, and in my case that was Vox by Christina Dalcher. It will really take a lot from a book to impress me as I’ve made it clear by now that I’m not an avid reader, but to be completely honest, I was disappointed by this one. Feminist dystopias are something I’d never delve into on my own time, so I thought this could be a pleasant awakening for me, however, I was wrong. Managing to make it to the climax which took far longer than I anticipated, I was annoyed, and once reading the last page I was left with dissatisfaction, purely because it could’ve been so much better. With that being said though, Vox as well as my group members Dries, Randy, and Keenan, helped reinforce a belief I previously had, just in a new context, and that being that once a plan is in place, it is so difficult to change that. This idea can really be connected to anything, but it made me realize how hard it is for women to advance. Life favours men, but when you think about it, it doesn’t really make sense as to why. During our exhibition where this project was presented I had a conversation with a man about this, he brought up all sorts of facts stating why women should on paper have it easier. They have a higher life expectancy, they typically have less physically demanding jobs, and in many cultures they are seen as the caregivers, but life does favour men, why? The patriarchy. 

I still believe in this idea that life was built for men, and that could be controversial, but like I said, that’s where I thrive. Going through this project, I had to challenge my beliefs, but many of those beliefs are still with me after learning about this topic, and a huge one being women in sports. When this conversation was brought up in class I knew I had to say something, but I wanted to hear what other people had to say before. When the time came for me to state what I believe in, it genuinely felt great. I really just can’t understand how people think that men and women should be payed the same in sports, it doesn’t make sense to me. Society revolves around money, so it’s completely reasonable to say that men deserve to be paid more as they bring in more. The difference in revenue will vary from sport to sport, but in nearly every case, if not every, men bring in more money than women. I understand that it’s good to have my paradigm challenged, but at the same time there are some things that you just won’t be able to change, and that goes back to the idea of once a plan is in place, it’s near impossible to change.

This paradigm that I talk about needs to be challenged, and you need to see things in a different light, and that’s why conceptual art was used to portray these ideas. Having this understanding of feminism, helped by both the novel and historical events, I came to a conclusion. Feminism throughout the years seems to have gone nowhere, because women will always have the glass ceiling above them. This was the inspiration for my art piece, the glass ceiling, I wanted to physically represent this, but also metaphorically tell the same story. Conceptual art is meant to make you think, and one person’s interpretation can be vastly different to another’s, and that’s where I was taking this. This physical piece that I presented on the night was shards of shattered glass, few red in colour, laid in a pile on a round table, with a missing ceiling tile directly above.

As we were told, this art is in the thinking, so that’s where my piece came to life. There are so many interpretations of my conceptual art, and I learned even more on exhibition night as I started by asking them a question, “what do you think you’re seeing?” Not one person said the same as the other, and it was then when I realized I had done exactly what I wanted to do from the beginning. The interpretations I provided were that the pile of glass on the table is from the metaphorical ceiling that women have broken in order to move forward in society, however some shards were red as one could say it’s the blood on the women’s hands to get to this point, or it symbolizes light on the events highlights vibrant voices among the feminist movement. This is the power of conceptual art, and using it as a medium can effectively portray feminist ideas by directly confronting the issue, but provide new perspectives to it to challenge traditional views. My evening peaked when a man came up to me and said:

“Out of all the art pieces, yours is the one that interests me the most.”

That is all I could’ve asked for and proved to me that my understanding and interpretation of feminism, is one that reflects who I truly am.

Our world is a complex place where a perfectly equal society will never be achieved, but that is not what we need to focus on, instead it’s understanding the two sides and then going from there. Through the conversations I had throughout this whole project from start to finish, I was able to do that exactly that, understanding both sides of the story, and then form my opinions based on my values. This project challenged me in a good way, and it was nice to go away from the typical social studies topics. I’m not going to lie and say this project made me a new person, but I will say it has shifted my paradigm into one that I believe is better than what I began with, and in my eyes, that is all that can be asked of me.