I create figurative art through a gendered food lens. I use a surrealist approach, juxtaposing food and bodies in unconventional ways to explore food, gender norms, and cultural ideals about body size. Those ideals shift over time, but I am amazed by how often their underlying meanings remain unchanged, regardless of any gains women have made. I’m especially interested in through lines from the mid–twentieth century and the persistent valorization of women’s thinness in Western culture. In the mid–twentieth century, many women—especially white, middle-class women—were raised to perform gendered roles centered on what were considered traditionally feminine ideals about behaviors and appearances. Having “the right” body size seemed crucial for achieving the heterosexual goal of marriage and, in turn, to securing wealth and social status.
The piece entitled “Does This Make Me Look Fat?” (oil on linen canvas, 18” x 24”) gets its title from a well-worn phrase. It illustrates...
University of California Press