“…The legal subordination of one sex to another—is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that it ought to be replaced by a system of perfect equality, admitting no power and privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other.”
— On the Subjection of Women, Chapter I, John Stuart Mill, 1869
It has been 150 years since the publication of On the Subjection of Women, by John Stuart Mill, yet the dialogues and debates continue. The words and images we use are significant to how women define themselves and can impact how an issue is conveyed. Perhaps in these contentious political times we have become more aware of how we have to speak to the truth and get messaging out, whether it’s a hand-painted sign, a silk-screened message, or letterpress-printed words. The social, political, and economic issues that women continue to struggle with, and that have been repeatedly addressed over the past 150 years, include voting rights, violence against women, gender inequality in the workplace, and the right to privacy. | FEMINAE: Typographic Voices of Women by Women, an exhibition of posters created over the past 50 years and curated from the archives of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG), Los Angeles, CA, presented an opportunity to examine the work of several women artists and art collectives that addressed these issues. The work spans international, cross-cultural, and socioeconomic borders. The subject matter of the work varied and shifted with the urgency of the message, and the opportunities for their voices to be heard. As reflected in the artists’ and curators’ essays, some of the work stems from personal experiences, while others are inspired by experiences that are more universally shared by all women. |
