Activists, Artists & Sisters: Posters on Women Fighting for Justice
Activists, Artists & Sisters: Posters on Women Fighting for Justice This exhibition was funded in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, with additional support from The Getty Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Esperanza Community Housing, and individual donors.
Table of Contents I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.
This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago Women Are So Much More . . . Women’s Work Is Never Done Take Back the Night . . . and the Day Our Bodies Our Lives Women Behind Bars Women & War Organizing for Justice
Activists, Artists & Sisters: Posters on Women Fighting The 76 posters in Activists, Artists & Sisters demonstrate how graphics are central to women’s struggles for equity, equality, liberation, and empowerment. Spanning six decades and 13 countries, they address diverse issues including how women are impacted by war, mass incarceration, income inequality, and sexual harassment. All the posters come from the collection of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. Throughout the world, women’s goals and options vary broadly, depending on their class, race, gender identification, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, and religion. Still, as the posters show, women have long organized and fought to control their bodies and their lives. The earliest posters in the exhibition date from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Key issues addressed then included legalizing
abortion, ending the Viet Nam War, supporting Indigenous women, and stopping domestic violence. Yet 60 years later, reproductive rights are still being eroded, wars are still being protested, attacks against indigenous women are escalating, and domestic violence continues. With Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and election, abuses regularly experienced by women suddenly made headlines. He bragged about his sexual aggression—indeed, that he can “grab them by the pussy,” as he asserted in an off-camera audio recording released that year, but made in 2005 while preparing to tape an “Access Hollywood” episode. This put a dramatic focus on sexism in general and sexual exploitation in particular. Despite attempts to dismiss his comments as “just locker room talk,” Trump’s socio-
g for Justice pathic behavior, coupled with his many egregious political appointees, helped give rise to one of the most vocal women’s movements in decades. Hashtags such as #TimesUp and #MeToo went viral, raising consciousness and fostering sisterhood and solidarity that crossed borders and generations. The first poster in this exhibition was made for the January 2017 Women’s Marches in which millions demonstrated around the world. Every poster included was produced before COVID-19 became central to our lives in early 2020. The pandemic has affected all areas of life, and women have been impacted the most. From racism to homophobia, from health care to homelessness, from police abuse to mass incarceration, from labor to immigration, and from abortion rights to trafficking, every problem
addressed in Activists, Artists & Sisters has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This exhibition was to open at Mercado la Paloma in South Los Angeles, CSPG’s venue partner of nearly ten years. Due to COVID-19, we had to shift from posters on the walls to an online exhibition. Exhibitions such as this are especially critical during these unprecedented times. Activists are continuing to march and organize, artists are continuing to make political art, and CSPG is continuing to collect and exhibit posters. It is more important than ever that we join together and use the power of art to educate and inspire people to action. Carol. A Wells Founder and Executive Director Center for the Study of Political Graphics
01
This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
1.
This March Started a Long Time Ago Sabrina Bryan, Amplifier Digital Print, 2017 Norfolk, VA
The devastating 2016 presidential election results sparked a fire in millions to make their voices heard. Before the January 2017 Women’s Marches, the Amplifier Foundation debuted with an open call for poster art to be carried in the demonstrations planned for the day after Trump’s inauguration. In just eight days, they received over 5,000 submissions. This poster was one of many that Amplifier reproduced and distributed to be carried in the marches held worldwide. 01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
2. Mountain Moving Day Women’s Graphics Collective Liberation Graphics Silkscreen, Circa late 1970s Chicago, IL
Yosano Akiko (1878 –1942) was the pen name of a celebrated Japanese author, poet, pioneering feminist, pacifist, and social reformer. Activists, Artists & Sisters
3. And Ain’t I a Woman? Ann Grifalconi Offset, 1971 Lebanon, NH
01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
This powerful woman is Sojourner Truth (c.1797-1883), who was born into slavery in New York State as Isabella Baumfree (her father’s owner was James Baumfree). She was sold several times, married, and had five children by the time slavery was abolished In New York in 1827. Yet the next year, while working as a domestic, she learned that her young son had been sold into slavery in Alabama, even though he had been emancipated under New York law. With the help of white friends, she went to court and won her son’s return, becoming the first black woman to sue a white man in court and win.
Sojourner Truth and became a traveling preacher (the meaning of her new name). Six-feet tall and a charismatic orator, she delivered her first anti-slavery speech the next year and subsequently became a popular abolitionist speaker. In 1850 she also began speaking about women’s rights, and continued to do so for the rest of her life. Her most famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, was given extemporaneously in 1851 at an Ohio women’s rights convention. The words on this poster are from the most-quoted section of that speech.
After experiencing a religious conversion, in 1843 she took the name Activists, Artists & Sisters
4. Women Under Siege Mariona Barkus Digital Print, 2013 Los Angeles, CA
01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
“Victims of legitimate rape don’t get pregnant” This medically absurd statement was made in 2012 by then-US Representative William Todd Akin (R., Missouri), while running to unseat Democratic US Senator Claire McCaskill. Akin was leading in the polls until saying this. Although he eventually apologized, he lost the election. He later regretted his apology and defended the original comments. In fact, the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found “rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency” and is “a cause of many unwanted pregnancies.” Rapes result in thousands of pregnancies every year.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
5. Liberation School for Women Women’s Graphics Collective Silkscreen, 1971/1972 Chicago, IL In 1970, the year-old Chicago Women’s Liberation Union announced the founding of its Liberation School for Women. As it explained in the school’s brochure: “In the United States, people are taught only the skills they need to know in order to do their jobs. In other words, education is used simply to create citizens who will be useful to those in power.” In contrast, education at the school “will be a step towards challenging women’s oppression.” There, 01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
“we will be able to learn about ourselves, our histories, our roles in society, our strengths and our intellectual capabilities.”
there were more than 275 women’s studies programs at US colleges and universities, all of them “challenging women’s oppression.”
When it began operating in February 1971, the school offered eight classes on topics ranging from the history of women in the 20th century, to women’s health, to making home repairs. About 120 women enrolled that first year. Two years later, more than twice as many classes were being offered and total enrollment exceeded 220.
To read more: https://www.cwluherstory.org/teaching-modules-communicating-a-radical-vision/the-liberation-school-for-women
The school closed in early 1977 when infighting between factions led to the dissolution of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union. Still, by that time Activists, Artists & Sisters
6. Machismo Es Fascismo Juan Carlos Young Lords Party Silkscreen, 1970 New York, NY The Young Lords began as a Chicago turf gang in the 1960s. When they realized that urban renewal was evicting their families and saw increasing police abuse and incarceration of their members, they re-organized in an attempt to build a Puerto Rican equivalent of the Black Panther Party. In 1969, the New York regional chapter was founded, and became known as the Young Lords Party when it became independent from 01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
the national headquarters in Chicago. The Young Lords movement focused most of their activity around self-determination for Puerto Rico and local community issues such as gentrification, health, and police injustice. They also used direct action, political education, and “survival programs” to bring their concerns to mainstream public attention. The Young Lords set up many community projects similar to those of the Black Panthers but with a Puerto Rican emphasis, including a free breakfast program for children, free health clinic, community testing for tuberculosis, lead poisoning testing, free clothing drives, cultural events, and Puerto Rican history classes. There was also work on
prison solidarity for incarcerated Puerto Ricans and for the rights of Viet Nam War veterans. The female leadership in New York pushed the Young Lords to fight for women’s rights. The four women in the poster are (clockwise from left) Iris Morales, Denise Oliver, Nydia Mercado, and Lulu Carreras. The image comes from a photo taken by Michael Abramson after a meeting of the Women’s Caucus in East Harlem, May 1970.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
7.
National Conference of Women’s Organizations Naripokkho Offset, 1995 Bangladesh
This poster promotes a three-day national conference of Bangladeshi women’s organizations. It was produced by Naripokkho, an organization that works to advance women’s rights and build resistance against violence, discrimination, and injustice. For more information visit: https:// web.archive.org/save/https://www. copasah.net/naripokkho.html
8. Women of the World Unite! Jurgen Grefe and Jane Carson Offset, 1989 Bemidji, MN
01. This Struggle Started a Long Time Ago
This poster appropriates the central figure from Eugene Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” (1830), one of the most famous and radical paintings of its time. The text is a feminist alteration of the conclusion of The Communist Manifesto (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. “Workers of the World, Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains,” was altered to read, “Women of the World, Unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Delacroix’s inspiring image continues to be used in contemporary protest graphics, including the 2006 uprising in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Activists, Artists & Sisters
02
Women Are So Much More . . .
9. I Object
Katy Galvin Digital Print, 2017 Philadelphia, PA
02. Women Are So Much More...
10. There Is a Woman in Every Color Elizabeth Catlett M. Hanks Gallery Offset, 1994 Santa Monica, CA
Activists, Artists & Sisters
11. Why Should an Indian Woman
Have to Bleach Her Hair to Be Accepted? Akwesasne Notes, Glad Day Press Offset, Early 1970s Rooseveltown, NY
Buffy Sainte-Marie (born 1941), is a Canadian First Nations musician, composer, visual artist, educator, and social activist. In the 1960s and 70s, several of her songs were huge hits, including “Universal Soldier” (1964), which became an anthem of the peace movement. Her 1965 love song “Until It’s Time for You to Go,” has been recorded more than 100 times by performers ranging from Elvis Presley to Roberta Flack to the Boston Pops, and is still being covered. 02. Women Are So Much More...
She was a popular guest on television and radio, and often featured in the print media. Whenever she was interviewed, she tried to interject information about Native life, culture or issues. She also was active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and in the anti-Viet Nam War movement. But she paid a price for her activism. She disappeared from the mainstream American airwaves when U.S. government officials under the Johnson and Nixon administrations pressured radio stations to blacklist her music in the 1960s and 70s. The government also attempted to silence Eartha Kitt, Taj Mahal, and other outspoken performers.
Although she released no new music between 1977 and 1991, she was a prolific composer and a pioneer in creating visual art on Apple computers. From 1976-1981 she was a cast member on “Sesame Street,� reflecting her decades-long commitment to improving education for and about Native Americans. In the years since her recording hiatus ended she has released several albums, advocated for still more causes, and received countless awards and honors. Indeed, she has never stopped composing, never stopped singing, and never stopped fighting.
Pictured: Betty Hunter of the Stone Nation of Southern Alberta, Circa 1900
Activists, Artists & Sisters
12. Seeing Fat
Mariona Barkus Offset, 1995 Los Angeles, CA
Artist’s Statement: In “Seeing Fat,” a woman looks in the mirror, seeing herself as fatter than she actually is, reflecting the statistics on skewed body image suffered by American women who have internalized an impossible fashion ideal. The text is true. The psychiatric establishment becomes complicit when, instead of calling an alarm, it changes the criteria for normality to fit the prevailing attitudes. Furthermore, in a backlash against women’s increasing empowerment in 02. Women Are So Much More...
place and in politics, the average fashion model now weighs 23% less than the average woman, compared to 8% less twenty years ago. But the image in the mirror is also a retort: this is the Venus of Willendorf, recalling a prehistoric time when Voluptuous Womanly was the ideal. Thus, the image becomes a call to women to re-invent their ideal and to celebrate the goddess within. —Mariona Barkus The text explains how medical definitions of “normal” and “healthy” are influenced by popular stereotypes, expectations, and beliefs, also
drawing attention to the damaging effects of cultural pressures on American women to be thin. It simultaneously encourages celebrating larger bodies as beautiful. Organizations such as The Body Positive (https://thebodypositive.org/) and Health at Every Size (https:// haescommunity.com/) push back at popular culture messages and medical definitions of physical health that promote thinness. They seek to end weight discrimination and fear of larger bodies, which can harm the mental health of women of all shapes and sizes.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
13. So Much More
Devon Bragg Amplifier Foundation Digital Print, 2017 Los Angeles, CA
This poster emphasizes the harm perpetuated by Islamophobic stereotypes associated with headscarves, commonly referred to as hijab. Too often, women who wear the hijab in the United States face employment discrimination and other forms of stigma. Anti-hijab stereotypes overlook women’s experiences, dismissing the 02. Women Are So Much More...
possibility that they might choose to cover their heads because they see it as comfortable, meaningful, or empowering. Head-covering practices existed before the founding of Islam, and many Jewish, Christian, and Hindu women also have covered their heads at different times and places. Women around the world, both Muslim and non-Muslim, have different reasons for wearing head coverings. For example, veiling was adopted by national independence movements in North Africa as a symbol of rejecting Western colonialism and pressures to adopt European dress.
For some Muslim women, wearing a head covering is a religious expression. For others, it may be a way to inhabit modesty or avoid street harassment and other damaging effects of the male gaze. For still others, wearing a hijab may be a sign of resistance to Islamophobia. World Hijab Day was founded on February 1, 2013, to fight discrimination against Muslim women.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
03
Women’s Work Is Never Done
14. Capitalism Also Depends on Domestic Labour See Red Women’s Workshop Silkscreen, 1976-1983 London, England, UK
03. Women’s Work is Never Done
15. Kazi za Mwanamke Zisizo Na
Ujira / Women’s Unemployment Artist Unknown Offset, Circa 1980s Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa Women work without wages. By the time night arrives I’m exhausted. Still, I’m told that I’m not working. Is none of this work unless it’s at the office? — Translated from Swahili
Activists, Artists & Sisters
16. Guess Who Pockets the Difference? Common Threads Artist Group Offset, 1995 Los Angeles, CA
03. Women’s Work is Never Done
Founded in 1981, Guess? was one of the first companies to create designer jeans. In 1985, the company introduced its trademark black-and-white ads, featuring photographs of fashion models and actresses such as Drew Barrymore, Anna Nicole Smith, and Paris Hilton.
Guess Who Pockets the Difference? was the first poster produced by Common Threads Artist Group, which formed during the 1995 Guess? boycott to support the garment workers in Los Angeles. They omitted the trademark “?” as they were afraid of being sued.
During the 1980s, Guess? was one of the most popular brands, but began a downturn during the 1990s due to increasing competition and growing criticism of its use of sweatshops, exploitative labor practices (including failure to pay minimum wage and overtime), and sexist ads. In response to multiple lawsuits, the company moved its operations to Mexico in 1996.
Two years later, Guess? filed a libel suit against the Artist Group after they held a poetry reading about the struggle of garment workers. Guess? later withdrew the lawsuit, thereby avoiding the court’s scrutiny of the company’s labor practices.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
17. International Working
Women’s Day New Orleans Peoples’ Assembly Illustration: Meg Maloney Design: Tina Orlandini Digital Print, 2019 New Orleans, LA
03. Women’s Work is Never Done
18. Our Labor Drives The World Economy Favianna Rodriguez Offset, 2008 Oakland, CA
Activists, Artists & Sisters
03. Women’s Work is Never Done
19. Working Women: We can shut this country down Nancy Hom Silkscreen, 1980 San Francisco, CA
Activists, Artists & Sisters
04
Take Back the Night . . . and the Day
20. Women Take Back the Night Lynne Okun Silkscreen, 1993 Sacramento, CA
“Take Back the Night” is the name given to marches, rallies, and candlelight vigils held to protest violence against women. Although women have organized against the fear and brutality they experienced while walking at night since the 1870s, it wasn’t until the 1970s that “Take Back the Night” events began to take place in colleges and communities worldwide. 04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
21. Ask Any Woman About Sexual Harassment Robbin Henderson Offset, 1991 San Francisco, CA
These five men were often accused of sexism. (L-R) Caspar W. Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, 1981-1987; George Schultz, Secretary of State, 1982-1989; Edwin Meese, Attorney General, 1985-1988; Ronald Reagan, President, 1981-1989; Norman Mailer, writer. Activists, Artists & Sisters
22. Stop Telling Women to Smile Tatyana Fazlalizadeh Digital Print, 2012 Brooklyn, NY
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
This poster is one of a series in a street art project that addresses gender-based street harassment—a problem that affects women worldwide. Started in 2012 by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh in Brooklyn, NY, the project consists of a series of wheat-pasted posters with portraits of women and text that is inspired by their experiences. By putting women’s voices and faces on public walls, the posters create a bold presence for women in an environment where they are often made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe. http://stoptellingwomentosmile.com
Activists, Artists & Sisters
23. Street Harassment
Is Not a Compliment Mirabelle Jones Digital Print, 2012 Los Angeles, CA
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
Sexist advertising—commonly used in alcohol ads—is one example of the wide variety of harmful messages in society that perpetuate a culture of toxic masculinity and contribute to sexual assault, violence, and the degradation of women. Movies, music, and ads have an outsize influence on what society deems normal, desirable, or acceptable.
24. Bloodweiser
These deeply entrenched gender stereotypes aren’t just old-fashioned; they can promote sexual harassment and violence toward women and girls.
Doug Minkler Silkscreen, 1993 Berkeley, CA Activists, Artists & Sisters
25. When Love Is a Contact Sport Women Lose Liz Harvey, Women’s Action Coalition (WAC) Offset, 1995 Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Action Coalition produced a series of posters on domestic violence while O.J. Simpson was on trial for the 1994 slashing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. During the trial, a tape was played of a 911 call Nicole placed asking police for help after Simpson allegedly broke down a back door to her house. 04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
Simpson was a star football player, actor, spokesman, and broadcaster. Nicole is shown in the poster with eye black under her eyes, reminiscent of both black eyes from domestic violence and the eye black worn by her football-player husband. Although Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of both counts of murder in the criminal trial, he was sued the following year by the victims’ families for wrongful death. In 1997, the jury in the civil trial found him responsible for both deaths and awarded their families $33.5 million in damages— little of which has been received by the family.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
26. El Dijo Que Nunca Volvería a
Golpearte . . . Pero Eso Es Lo Que Dijo La Ultima Vez Coordinadora Nacional de la Mujer Salvadoreña Offset, Circa 1991 El Salvador Translation: Stop the Cycle of Violence He said he’d never hit you again . . . but that’s what he said the last time.
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
27. Up to 50% of all Homeless Women and Children in this Country are Fleeing Domestic Violence San Francisco Print Collective Silkscreen, 2001 San Francisco, CA
Activists, Artists & Sisters
28. Rural Women Unite
Against Violence Network of Rural Women’s Groups Silkscreen, Circa 1970s Columbo, Sri Lanka
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
29. Aboriginal Women Are Watching You! Sally Morgan Offset, 1988 Australia
Activists, Artists & Sisters
30. Todos Demandamos Justicia Alejandro Magallanes Digital Print, 2003 Mexico City, Mexico
Translation: 300 women dead, 500 women disappeared. How many more must die before the cynical gaze of our authorities? The dead women of Juarez demand justice.
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
Since 1993, hundreds of women in the Mexican border town of Juรกrez have been kidnapped, raped, murdered, and grotesquely maimed. Many people are convinced that members of the government, police, and drug lords are all involved, and that these murders are connected with the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA went into effect January 1, 1994, and many young women came from small towns in order to work in the factories, or maquiladoras, built along the border.
Mexico City invited colleagues to express their concern and outrage by designing posters around the slogan, The Women of Juรกrez Demand Justice! / ยกLas Muertas de Juรกrez Demandan Justicia! This poster is one of 60 large-format digital images that traveled throughout Mexico, educating about the murders and forcing the authorities to become involved.
After years of official apathy and police incompetence towards solving and ending these brutal murders, a group of graphic designers from Activists, Artists & Sisters
31. Do Women Have to Die When Their Husbands Die? Linda Kiveu Digital Print, 2008 Los Angeles, CA
In many parts of the world, divorce or the death of a husband can mean economic and social catastrophe for women. In Kenya, for example, widowed women lose their property because it is taken by the deceased husband’s family. This can include the furniture, land, and bank accounts. Some women return from the funeral to find their homes emptied. Widows are only able to inherit if they have grown male children. Widows and their female chil04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
dren have no rights to inherit property when the husband/dad dies. In more extreme cases, losing one’s husband meant not just losing one’s property, but also one’s life. For example, the historical practice of Sati in India required that women immolate themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyres. Although in the late 1800s, reformers sought to abolish the practice, isolated incidents were reported into the late 20th century. In 1987, the Indian government passed the Sati (Prevention) Act, which criminalized aiding or valorizing the practice of Sati. However, women’s economic dependence on their husbands is an ongoing concern.
Although the popular narrative in the US is that women make a profit after a divorce, research shows quite the contrary. The poverty rate for separated women is three times higher than it is for separated men. Divorce can be financially devastating for women, especially if they have given up jobs and financial independence in order to raise children.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
32. Change Starts with YOU Lauren Bruton, Free Zone Silkscreen, 2002 San Francisco, CA
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
33. Stop Police Brutality Against Women Of Color & Trans People of Color Cristy C. Road Incite! Digital Print, 2008 Brooklyn, NY
Activists, Artists & Sisters
34. Prostitution Trafficking
A Global Human Rights Crisis Mona Mark, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization Offset, 1995 Designed: New York, NY Printed: Philippines
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
35. Two Domestics - Which One of Us is Trafficked? Jerri Allyn Graphic Designer: Felis Stella See It End It-Film & Art Festival Digital Print, 2020 Los Angeles, CA
While human trafficking brings to mind women and children forced into sex work, trafficking also targets workers doing agricultural, janitorial, childcare, and other domestic work. They may be US citizens, undocumented immigrants or foreign nationals. This poster was originally designed as a 2x7-foot horizontal bus bench graphic for the 2020 See It-End It Film & Art Festival in San Pedro, CA. For more information, or to seek help: https://humantraffickinghotline. org/labor-trafficking-venuesindustries/domestic-work Activists, Artists & Sisters
36. All of You Who Entered the Room Are Murderers Eun-Byul Lee Digital Print, 2020 Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea
The “room” is virtual but the crime is real. South Korean activists created this poster to demand that their government aggressively prosecute digital sex crimes. It specifically targets the proliferation of “nth” rooms—secure chat room apps where men illegally produce, view, and trade sexually dehumanizing footage. A toxic and criminal mix of tech, sex, and violence, 04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
the tapes are often obtained by blackmailing or tricking the victims— some as young as 11-years-old— into sharing more sexual images of themselves. If they refuse to provide additional images, the pornographers threaten to send the original sexual materials to their family and friends. If a victim still refuses, the pornographers will encourage “nth” room viewers to find her by publishing her home, work, and school addresses, then to rape her, record the rape, and publish it in designated chat rooms. This punishes the victim, warns other girls not to refuse, and provides lucrative pornographic material.
Customers pay up to $1,200 for access, and must upload their own sexual abuse videos or images. More than 10,000 men view this content daily, making it online sexual exploitation on an unprecedented scale. South Korean authorities are not taking these horrific crimes seriously enough. For example, in 2019, a man was sentenced to just one year in prison for possessing 91,890 clips of sexually exploited youth, and selling more than 2,500. In another case, a victim who reported a chat room to the police was told that as she had recorded the videos herself, she couldn’t report a crime. Activists, Artists & Sisters
37. How Much Longer Will We
Tolerate the Rape of Girls? Ostracize the Perpetrator, Not the Child. Voluntary Health Association of India; FACET Offset, Circa late 1990s New Delhi, India
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
Statistics show that every 20 minutes, a woman is raped in India. Even young children are not spared. In many cases, the victims are blamed for bringing it upon themselves. Questions like “What were you wearing?”, “Who did you go with?” “Why did you go out at night?” are accusingly directed at victims, implying that they transgressed conservative moral codes and therefore deserved to be raped. On a more positive note, progressive feminist organizations in India are committed to changing this. They are working to make India safer for women, and to direct the blame toward the perpetrator rather than the victim.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
38. Victim Blaming
LOUDER THAN WORDS S.A. Bachman Neda Moridpour Offset, 2016 Boston, MA
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
39. Date Rape
Doug Minkler Silkscreen, 1991 Berkeley, CA
National Sexual Assault Hotline Call 1-800-656-4673 Available 24 hours everyday Activists, Artists & Sisters
40. No Means No
Tomorrow Girls Troop Oasa Duverney Digital Print, 2016 Japan
04. Take Back the Night... and the Day
Tomorrow Girls Troop, established in April 2015, is a group of fourth-wave feminists whose gender identifications and nationalities vary. Their social art projects are internet-based, focusing on gender inequality issues in East Asia. This poster was widely used, including at the 2017 Los Angeles Women’s March and at diverse Tokyo demonstrations against outdated Japanese sexual assault laws. Available as a free download, the poster asserts the importance of consent in four languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. https://tomorrowgirlstroop.com/ believe-project-eng Activists, Artists & Sisters
05
Our Bodies Our Lives
41. Repeal All Abortion Laws! Women’s National Abortion Action Coalition Offset, 1971 San Francisco, CA
05. Our Bodies Our Lives
42. Murdered By “Pro-Lifers” Refuse & Resist! Offset, Circa 1989 New York, NY
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43. Preserve the Right of Choice Trudy L. Cole Offset, 1992 Churchville, VA
44. Ba
Art Ste Ne
05. Our Bodies Our Lives
ack to the Back Alley? tist Unknown encil, Circa 1983 ew York, NY
Before abortion was legalized in the United States in 1973, women wanting to terminate a pregnancy often had to resort to illegal abortions, which were sometimes self-induced. Illegal abortions were also referred to as “back alley� abortions because they were unsanitary and dangerous. A variety of often dangerous and/or ineffective techniques were utilized, including deploying a wire coat hanger to scrape out the uterus. Such abortions caused many women to bleed to death, become sterile, or die from infections, especially when the coat hanger punctured the uterus. Although abortion is legal in the US today, many states have enacted so many restrictions that safe and affordable abortions are often inaccessible. Activists, Artists & Sisters
45. Stop Fake Clinics
Black Women for Wellness Digital Print, 2018 Los Angeles, CA
Anti-choice extremists have been attacking abortion access in the US since the procedure became legal in 1973. One of their tactics is fake clinics. There are close to 4,000 fake women’s health centers all over the country—more than twice the number of actual abortion providers. Overwhelmingly located in low-income neighborhoods and near high schools, they effectively target poor women and girls, and communities of color. 05. Our Bodies Our Lives
Sometimes called crisis pregnancy centers or CPCs, fake clinics do not provide comprehensive reproductive health care—or much of any health care. Instead, they use phony ads to trick pregnant women and girls into making an appointment by promising “free ultrasounds” or “pregnancy support.” Once inside, they are lied to, shamed, and pressured about their reproductive health decisions. This often delays the procedure or pushes them past the deadline for a legal abortion. Fake clinics are often made to look like medical facilities, yet they don’t practice medicine (outside of an occasional ultrasound or STI test). They are selective and mislead-
ing in the information they provide, and may even lie outright, such as by saying that abortion causes cancer. More and more, these predatory places are partially funded by taxpayer dollars. In 2018 alone, fake clinics received $40.5 million from 14 states. Meanwhile, lawmakers in these same states slashed funding for public health initiatives and increased requirements for people with low incomes to access public assistance programs.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
46. Por Una Sexualidad Libre,
Anticonceptivos y Abortos Libros y Gratuitos Colectivo Feminista Offset, Circa late 1970s Spain
Translation: For Sexual Freedom, Free Contraceptives and Free Abortions
05. Our Bodies Our Lives
47. Freedom from Reproductive
Hazards Is Our Legal Right Doug Minkler National Lawyers Guild Reproductive Rights Task Force Silkscreen, 1982 Berkeley, CA
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48. Respect our African Daughters Chaz Maviyane-Davies Digital Print, 2009 Cambridge, MA
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also called female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization and the United Nations as “any partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other injury of the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons.” The practice is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control women’s sexuality, and ideas about purity, modesty, and beauty. 05. Our Bodies Our Lives
It is most commonly done with a razor, as shown in this poster. Adverse health effects can include recurrent infections, difficulty urinating and passing menstrual flow, chronic pain, the development of cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding. According to the UN, 200 million women alive today have undergone FGM, and three million girls may be at risk every year. While the majority live in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, migration has made it a worldwide phenomenon. In the US, more than 500,000 girls and women have experienced or are at risk of FGM.
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49. Stop Forced Sterilization People’s Press Silkscreen, Circa 1974 San Francisco, CA
This 1970s poster critiques the ideolog tion control—the idea that zero popul is the solution to problems like dwindl world hunger, and pollution. It argues promoted population control as a wa attention away from the disproportio resources by capitalist economies.
By focusing on the outrageous and o sterilization of countless women and er insists on reproductive rights as lib class, race, and sexual oppression. It support for population control in Thir tries as an example of this oppression 05. Our Bodies Our Lives
50. Pro Choice
Medusa Offset, 1989 United States
gy of populalation growth ling resources, s that the US ay of directing onate use of
often coerced men, the postberation from identifies US rd World counn. Activists, Artists & Sisters
06
Women Behind Bars
51. Celebrate Women’s Resistance
National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War Women’s Liberation Front Fireworks Graphics Women Against Imperialism Offset, 1988 San Francisco, CA
Poster Text: Free All Political Prisoners & Prisoners of War! Shut Down Lexington Control Unit & All Control Units! Stop Racist Attacks Behind Bars & On the Streets!
06. Women Behind Bars
Fight For Women’s and Lesbian Liberation!
52. Rape Wasn’t Part of Her
Sentence Amnesty International USA IMA U.S.A., Inc., nonstøck, Inc. David Mayenfisch Offset, 1999 United States
Activists, Artists & Sisters
53. Have Women Become That Much More Dangerous? Scott Boylston Silkscreen, 2006 Los Angeles, CA
06. Women Behind Bars
Scott Boylston originally made this poster in 2003, but two years later was asked to update it for the Action Committee for Women in Prison. In 2003 there were 100,000 women in prison. In 2005, there were 140,000. Here is his response to the new information he found: “My job of updating the information graphics of the poster was sobering, and it goes right to the heart of why graphics can be so compelling. . . . Just redesigning it made the increase in female inmates from 2003 to 2005 disturbingly concrete. I hate to think what a poster like this will look like in five years.” —Scott Boylston Savannah, GA 2006 Activists, Artists & Sisters
54. No More Shackles
Micah Bazant Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Digital Print, 2013 Berkeley, CA
NO MORE SHACKLES As of Jan 1, 2013 women who are pregnant and being held in a California prison or jail may not be handcuffed behind the back, chained around the belly or shackled around the ankles. It's the law! You can help us enforce it. If you know of a violation please contact: (415)255-7036 or info@prisonerswithchildren.org
06. Women Behind Bars
In 2020, in more than 20 states, shackling—the use of leg irons, waist chains, and handcuffs—continues to be routinely used on incarcerated pregnant women. In 2005, California became one of the first states to prohibit shackling of incarcerated pregnant women during labor, delivery, and recovery after childbirth. But not until January 1, 2013, after three years and countless petitions, letters, phone calls, votes, re-votes, and two vetoes, did Governor Jerry Brown sign AB 2530. It prohibited shackling throughout pregnancy in California’s state prisons, juvenile detention facilities, and county jails.
Pregnant women are the most vulnerable and the least threatening in the prison system. Even without shackling, they are more likely to experience miscarriages, pre-eclampsia, and pre-term births, and to have low-birth-weight infants. All of these seriously jeopardize the health of the mother and her newborn.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
55. Atmos-Fear
Doug Minkler Silkscreen, 1987 Berkeley, CA
Artist’s Statement: “This poster was created to alert the public about a new women’s sensory deprivation center or prison set up by the U.S. Federal Government. We were successful in shutting it down.”
06. Women Behind Bars
56. We Can All Be Safe
Leila Raven, Nona Conner and Micah Bazant Digital Print, 2018 Berkeley, CA
Activists, Artists & Sisters
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Women & War
57. Imperialist War and
Male Chauvinism Women’s Graphics Collective Silkscreen, 1971 Chicago, IL
07. Women & War
58. Untitled
Liliana Porter New York Graphic Workshop Photo: John Schneider The New York Times Silkscreen, 1970 New York, NY
Activists, Artists & Sisters
59. Against Forgetting / Apology: Too Much To Ask? Tomorrow Girls Troop Digital Print, 2018 Los Angeles, CA
07. Women & War
These posters were created by Tomorrow Girls Troop (TGT) for performances in Los Angeles and Seoul that paid tribute to “comfort women,”—the 200,000 women and girls forced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan between 1932 and 1945. The posters also called attention to contemporary issues surrounding war and sexual violence worldwide. “Comfort women” and “comfort stations” existed everywhere that the Japanese military advanced throughout Asia before and during WW II. The vast majority of these sex slaves were from the then-colonized Korea. While the Japanese government doesn’t deny this, it claims that these were projects of private entrepreneurs, not operated by the government, and that the comfort women were essentially prostitutes.
As of early 2020, only 18 former comfort women—known as halmonis or grandmothers—are in the South Korean registry. The majority want three things: an official Japanese government apology; reparations; and ongoing education that will teach this history. The government has offered financial compensation, raised from the private sector, but no official public apology. Moreover, it not only continues to deny this history, but it is trying to destroy and dismantle every memorial to comfort women in the world, including the two in California. As the number of halmonis declines, and as TGT was founded by South Korean and Japanese women, they are committed to telling this story.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
60. Sexual Violence Is a Tool of Genocide
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Committee on Conscience Michael Wadleigh Offset, Circa 2006 Washington, DC
07. Women & War
Rape is a crime against humanity. In Darfur, in the Western Sudan, rape has been a systematic weapon of ethnic cleansing. Since 2003, tens of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to sexual violence as a deliberate means of humiliation and degradation. Sudanese security forces and government-backed Janjaweed militiamen, including police deployed to protect Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), have been implicated. Sudanese laws also discriminate against female victims, who face harassment and intimidation at local police stations if they try to report the crime. Women IDPs and refugees also report being forced to exchange sexual favors for desperately needed goods and services.
Mass rapes in Darfur effectively terrorize the people, break their will, and destroy the fabric of society. In addition to causing horrific mental and physical trauma, rape has serious social and economic consequences in Darfurian society, often making the victim ineligible for marriage and causing her to be ostracized by the community and even her own family. Forty percent of women interviewed by Physicians for Human Rights in three villages in different areas of Darfur reported that they had either been a victim of or a witness to sexual assault during the attacks on their villages.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
61. General Union of Palestinian
Women Marc Rudin World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women Offset, 1980 Copenhagen, Denmark Reprinted in 1986 by Liberation Graphics, Alexandria, VA
07. Women & War
The face of the woman in this poster is presented in a Cubist perspective, both frontally and in profile, as a way of expressing the multiple challenges facing contemporary Palestinian women. The woman wears a kaffiyeh (Arabic headdress), traditionally considered a man’s garment. This suggests that Palestinian women see their movement not only in terms of a political struggle for national self-determination but also as a force to challenge long-standing social and cultural limitations on women.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
62. In Afghanistan
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan Offset, Circa 2001 Pasadena, CA
07. Women & War
63. Zapatista Revolutionary
Law For Women Araceli Herrera Syracuse Cultural Workers Offset, 1999 Syracuse, NY
Activists, Artists & Sisters
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has opposed the Dakota Access Pipeline since 2014 because it is a threat to the region’s clean water and to ancient burial grounds. In April 2016, Standing Rock Sioux elder LaDonna Brave Bull Allard established a camp as a center fo cultural preservation and spiritual resistance to the pipeline. Over the summer the camp grew to thousands of people.
64. In Solidarity With Standing Rock Josh Yoder Digital Print, 2016 Brooklyn, NY
07. Women & War
In September 2016, construction workers bulldozed a section of land the tribe had identified as sacred ground. When protesters entered the area, security guards used attack dogs that bit at least six protesters and one horse. The
a
or l
incident was filmed and viewed by several million people on YouTube and other social media platforms. In late October, armed soldiers and police with riot gear and military equipment cleared an encampment that was directly in the proposed pipeline’s path. By late November, the protesters remained in the thousands. Police use of water cannons on protesters in freezing weather drew international media attention.
Yet the Standing Rock Sioux continued to fight. In March 2020, a federal court struck down the permit, finding that the Corps of Engineers had failed to consider the health and environmental impacts to the tribe in the event of an oil spill. The court ordered a full environmental review.
On February 7, 2017, President Trump authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed, ending its environmental impact assessment. After the pipeline was completed in April, its first oil was delivered on May 14, 2017. Activists, Artists & Sisters
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Organizing for Justice
65. Women’s Encampment for a Future of Peace & Justice Bonnie Acker Offset, 1984 Boston, MA
08. Organizing for Justice
66. Uprising of the 20,000
Ricardo Levins Morales Northland Poster Collective Silkscreen, early 1990s Minneapolis, MN
Activists, Artists & Sisters
67. Asian Women Workers
Struggling for Change Committee for Asian Women Offset, Date Unknown Hong Kong
08. Organizing for Justice
68. If Women Don’t Stand Up, Their Oppression Will Increase Act Now for Harmony And Democracy (ANHAD) Offset, Circa 2013 India
Activists, Artists & Sisters
69. Gender Equality at Home and in Politics Tomorrow Girls Troop Honeyhands Sculpture by Elana Mann Digital Print, 2018 Los Angeles / Tokyo
In 1970, second-wave feminist Bella Abzug coined the slogan, “A Woman’s Place is in the House . . . of Representatives.” Nearly 50 years later, fourth-wave feminist artists Tomorrow Girls Troop (TGT) adapted Abzug’s slogan for the title of this poster in order to make it relevant to a Japanese audience. 08. Organizing for Justice
In Japan, publicly criticizing the government is taboo, especially since 2012, when Shinzo Abe became prime minister. His government aggressively controls mainstream media—in 2020, Japan ranked No. 66 in the World Press Freedom Index. Some TV newscasters have been fired from their shows for criticizing the Abe administration. Art censorship is also commonplace. For example, when right-wing politicians complained, artists who criticized the government had their work removed from museums. Such actions lead to considerable self-censorship—called “Sontaku”—when just the assumption that the government will disapprove of a work results in it not being exhibited or even produced.
When TGT and Elana Mann, their US collaborator, were designing this poster, they asked many of their Japanese and Japanese American female artist friends to be the model. Most of them refused, fearing this would jeopardize their chances of receiving grants from Japanese institutions or opportunities to exhibit in Japan. It is ironic that they can freely criticize the US government but are afraid to criticize the Japanese government. Even supporting gender equality, as stated in the title of this poster, is seen as too dangerous.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
70. No More Stolen Sisters
Britt Winans Digital Print, Circa 2018 Alfred, NY
08. Organizing for Justice
Widespread disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and girls in the US and Canada are an epidemic. In the US, Native American females are being murdered at 10 times the national average. In Canada, nearly 4,000 have been murdered in the last three decades—more than ten a month. Despite these numbers, few perpetrators have been caught or punished, and there is no comprehensive database to track the epidemic. The poster shows two victims. On the left is 15-year-old Tina Fontaine. Her body was weighed down with rocks and dumped in the Red River in Winnepeg, Canada. No cause of death was determined, and the accused was declared not guilty. On the right is Misty
Upham, 32, found dead in Seattle. The medical examiner could not determine whether her death was a result of “foul play, suicide or accident.� Posters such as this one, often with #No More Stolen Sisters, #Not Invisible, #MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), call attention to these crimes, pressuring authorities to take them more seriously. Above all, these posters demand justice.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
71. Amwaj Gathering
[Arab Movement of Women Arising for Justice] Tarek Atrissi AMWAJ Salsedo Press Offset, 2006 Chicago, IL
08. Organizing for Justice
72. Black Lives Matter!
SEIU Service Employees International Union Digital Print, 2017 Los Angeles, CA Activists, Artists & Sisters
73. Bol Ke Labh Azaad Hai Tere / Speak for Your Lips Are Free Tanzeela Digital Print, 2019 New Delhi, India
“My artwork is based on a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. It talks about freedom of expression and speech, and expresses anger and frustration. As an Indian Muslim woman, my hijab plays a very important role in my artwork. It helps tell my story and shows my identity in the most authentic manner.” —Tanzeela 08. Organizing for Justice
In December 2019, the government of India passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which marginalized Muslims and made it easier for non-Muslim immigrants to become citizens. By linking citizenship with religious identity, it deviated from the Indian Constitution, which advocates secularism. Following the passage of the CAA, massive protests took place across India, including a peaceful, leaderless protest led mostly by Muslim women that took place in Shaheen Bagh, a New Delhi neighborhood. The protest lasted 100 days, until authorities ended it due to COVID-19.
Inspired by the Shaheen Bagh protests, this image was reproduced as posters, banners, and flyers. It exhorts people to speak about the steady decline of religious tolerance in India. International media also used this poster to represent these protests. The artist used saffron, white, and green, the colors on the Indian flag, to refute questioning the “Indianness” of Indian Muslims. It articulates that Indian Muslims are an integral part of India’s history, economy, culture, and political identity as a democracy.
Activists, Artists & Sisters
74. Remember Trans Power. Fight For Trans Lives. Micah Bazant Lithograph, 2015 Berkeley, CA
08. Organizing for Justice
75. Organise Fight On!
African National Congress Offset, Circa 1980s London, England, UK Poster Text: The emancipation of women is not an act of charity, the result of humanitarian or compassionate attitude. The liberation of women is a fundamental necessity of the revolution, the guarantee of its continuity and the precondition of its victory. The main objective of the revolution is to destroy the system of exploitation and build a new society which releases the potentiality of human beings, reconciling them with labour and with nature. This is the context within which the question of women’s emancipation arises. Activists, Artists & Sisters
76. Ni Miedosas, Ni Obedientes, Ni Sumisas Gran Om & Kloer Digital Print, 2020 Mexico City, Mexico
Translation: Not Afraid, Not Obedient, Not Submissive Celebrating the power and empowerment of women, this is one of five posters provided as free downloads to support the feminist struggle against gender violence, femicide, disappearances, the criminalization of abortion, and inequality. Three women wear green scarves* as they link arms and sing together. 08. Organizing for Justice
The green scarves represent “La Marea Verde” (the Green Wave), a massive international women’s movement demanding sexual and reproductive health, and other rights. This movement began in Argentina, then spread to Chile and beyond, and its green scarf is now a symbol of women’s resistance throughout the world. The three singing women in the poster evoke the choreographed movements and sung performance of “Un Violador En Tu Camino / A Rapist In Your Path.” The song and movement were created by La Tesis, a feminist collective in Valpariso, Chile, and first performed during a flash mob in November 2019. One of the lines states, “And the fault
wasn’t mine, not where I was, not how I dressed. You are the rapist.” Thousands of women from Chile to Paris and from Australia to Los Angeles have sung and danced to these chilling lyrics and posted their actions on the internet. To enhance the inclusiveness of the song and expand the audience for its message, the lyrics have been translated into Spanish sign language. *The green scarves were inspired by the white scarves worn by the Madres del Plaza del Mayo, a group of women who never stopped looking for their children and grandchildren who were disappeared during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983).
Activists, Artists & Sisters
Acknowledgments Activists, Artists & Sisters: Posters on Women Fighting for Justice was an extraordinary collaborative effort. First and foremost, we thank the artists, cultural workers, activists, and organizations who produced the posters. We give special thanks to the following friends and supporters of CSPG who saved the posters and trusted their history to CSPG so that future generations might learn from these powerful graphics.
Jerri Allyn Amnesty International Arise! Bookstore S.A. Bachman Kiriaki Bakirdzi Mariona Barkus Micah Bazant Scott Braley Estelle Carol Eva Cockcroft Trudy Cole Lincoln Cushing Bud Day Fireworks Graphics Shifra Goldman Theodore T. Hajjar
Nancy Hom Inkworks Press Dov Kelemer Linda Kiveu David Kunzle Alejandro Magallanes Chaz Maviyane-Davies Michael & Jill McCain Jerrie Meadows Midnight Special Bookstore Beth Miller Samantha Miller Doug Minkler Claude Moller Northland Poster Collective Lynne Okun
Paquetta Palmer Favianna Rodriguez Michael Rossman Erika Rothenberg Leonel Sagahón Salsedo Press Donna Scism Jane Small Syracuse Cultural Workers Tomorrow Girls Troop Bony Toruño United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Carol A. Wells Women’s Action Coalition Josh Yoder
Credits Lead Curator: Carol A. Wells Community Curatorial Committee: Yadira Arevalo Sarah Crawford Jananie Kalyanaraman Cari Merritt Ophelia Overton Midori Ozaki Magaly Salas Gyewol Song Graphic Design: Erick Huerta Ophelia Overton SoYun Cho
Translations: Yadira Arevalo Armida Corral Alejandra Gaeta Erick Huerta Editor: Susan Henry CSPG Staff: Carol A. Wells Founder and Executive Director Alejandra Gaeta Archivist Emily Sulzer Archivist Erick Huerta Office and Social Media Manager
All reasonable attempts have been made to obtain permission for images reproduced here. Please address any oversights to:
Center for the Study of Political Graphics 3916 Sepulveda Boulevard Suite 103, Culver City, CA 90230 www.politicalgraphics.org Š 2020 Center for the Study of Political Graphics All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner without permission.