THE WOMAN AS A KITCHENTABLE

‘The Woman as a Kitchentable’ functions as a satirical critique of the gender and social hierarchies inherent in modern Western society. It represents an amplification of the problematic portrayals of gender roles and femininity perpetuated by media, culture, religion, and socialization.

Motivated by my personal dissatisfaction with the absence of relatable female representations in media, and inspired by what I term ‘wallpaper women’—a reference to women who often remain voiceless at social gatherings, sororities, and other male-dominated spaces, while simultaneously shouldering emotional labor, managing domestic responsibilities, and conforming to traditional gender roles—I began to conceptualize women as inanimate objects. This imagery serves to highlight the often unacknowledged and undervalued labor that women perform.

The challenge of obtaining a reference sketch for this project was exacerbated by the ease with which some men embraced their assigned roles, underscoring the pervasive nature of socialized sexism even within my own environment. This experience further illuminated the entrenched biases and systemic inequalities that feminist discourse seeks to address, emphasizing the need for critical examination and reform of gendered norms and representations.