Strands of Genius: Special Edition - Celebrating Women
Strands of Genius: Special Edition - Celebrating Women
WRITING FROM | Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
WORKING ON | ELC applications
LOOKING AHEAD
Tues, March 16 @ 2p ET / 7p GMT| Workshop: Creativity in the Time of Crisis with Serial Marketers (RSVP)
Weds, March 24 @ 9:30a GMT | Speaking: Faris @ Spark 2021 with Magnetic Media (RSVP)
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
I’m writing this edition of Strands on International Women’s Day, having just done yoga with nearly 40 other ladies from around the world, so I’m feeling a whole lot of gratitude right now. A huge thanks to Kim Mackenzie for co-sponsoring the event with me, and to Elea Soler for guiding us through some stretches. After moving together, we used breakout rooms to discuss: How has being a woman positively affected your career? It was refreshing to get to celebrate ourselves, rather than focus on how far we have to go with gender equality.
After we left, I couldn’t stop thinking about just how many women I admire, and so I decided on the spot to spend some time virtually with some artists who inspire me. When I say ‘spend some time,’ I mean that I have literally spent the day consuming media and art from women I admire, and thinking about which artists I should highlight and share. And y’all, what a day it has been. It has given me such joy to reflect on just how many women there are to celebrate. And so, we’ve got a special edition of Strands today.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
all the ladies out there who are doing the damn thing, but especially: Ashley, Ali, Aisha, Alex, Antonia, Adrija, Alison, Big Moms, Bergen, Becky, Bianca, Cindy, Caitlin, Camille, Carrie, Carla, Chelsea, Courtney, Coni, Cordelia, Cristina, Dana, Dani, Kim, Eliz, Erin, Elea, Elisabeth, Evey, Farrah, Frances, Georgia, Gwenyth, Heather, Jen, Jess, Jesse, Julia, Jodi, Kate, Kara, Kristen, Katy, Kim, Lillian, Lauren, Laila, Leila, Lisa, Lizzie, Laura, Laurie, Leona, Louise, Liz, Lyndsey, mom, Marion, Marissa, Maclean, Mel, Melanie, Melissa, Michelle, Morgan, Marcy, Madison, Marina, Megan, Margaret, Meranne, Michelle, Nathalie, Natalie, Nell, Nikki, Nicole, Natlaya, Mikey, Polly, Preeti, Rebecca, Sara Beth, Sara, Sibilla, Sophie, Stella, Terri, Teresa, Uyen, Victoria & Vera.
OUR SECOND EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING COMMUNITY | SPRING ELC
This is a mastermind-like program designed to connect creative thinkers around the world, through less-traditional learning. Each session will have you looking at work - and maybe even the world - differently, with prompts and exercises that you can steal and replicate within your organization.
This is for the second cohort of the ELC, which will meet on Tuesdays at 10a PT / 1p ET / 6p GMT / (+1 day, Wednesday 7am NZDT). We'll kick off on April 13, and then meet: April 20 & 27 May 4, 11, 18, & 25th. (Add a day if you're an early riser based in Auckland.)
Learn more about what to expect | Apply here
:: THE LINKS ::
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN VISUAL ARTS
Portia Munson | “Pink Project” | It’s no surprise I’m attracted to the color pink — But even so, it’s hard to reconcile with ‘the pink tax’ (many products for women cost more). Portia Munson said, “I was always really attracted to and loved the color pink, but I think I wanted to know what it was about. When I got to art school, and later, I was thinking, well what is it about this color? Why am I attracted to it? It can’t just be that it symbolizes passive prettiness.” She went on to expound the color’s force, and to capitalize on the way it has been used to categorize women.
“[Feminist] was almost more of a dirty word for a while there. I’ve been really noticing that, reading about it and seeing it on Instagram, there’s so much pride and strength in it now. It’s almost more important than ever for women to be putting that kind of power and energy out there, to really critique our roles and perceptions and expectations.” - Portia Munson via Artsy
Ebony G Patterson | Ebony is a Jamaican-born visual artist who I fell in love with after seeing her work at a 21C hotel. She’s known for installations with tapestry, flowers, beads, and other decorative elements. From a distance, they’re beautiful and sparkly, but up close other elements are revealed that aren’t so easy to swallow.
“I’ve always been interested in working-class cultures and spaces, and the way that dress becomes a really important tool for advocating for one’s presence and using those kinds of materials as a way of self-actualization. If you exist in a society that says your body has no value because of the neighborhood that you’re from, the shade of your skin, or your economic standing, then what does it mean for somebody who is disenfranchised to procure objects that seem to speak to luxury as a way of saying, “Well, I have these things that you associate value with, so now what? Why am I not valuable? I have these things, too. I can access these things, too.” The thing I think that’s really interesting, for example, is the idea of the “knockoff.” Even when in recognizing it’s not the real thing, for a moment you see it, and by extension in seeing it you see me. In seeing me, it means you have to give acknowledgement to my presence and my body, and that I’m not something you can deny irrespective of whatever ideas or understandings you may have come to because of the systems that we exist in. The act of doing this as defiance is interesting to me.” - Ebony G Patterson via Bomb MagazineErin Riley | Erin is a textile and tapestry artist, who I’m absolutely obsessed with. Never before had I seen rape kits or period blood in textile art, and damn, was I missing out.
“Right now I am really inspired by figuring out what it means to be a woman in this world. I am super into challenging the ideas of sexy, and welcoming other women’s input on my work, and I soon will be trying to invite image submissions. I think what inspires me the most as I grow up is that so many of women’s experiences are similar when it comes to dating, being sexy, and trying to be a productive, respected member of society.
I am also inspired by the things that are happening in the world, in my family and all around me. I am navigating the experiences we are all sharing and trying to understand how we, as humans, are changing with the world around us, or staying the same.” - Erin Riley via Textile Artist
Nina Chanel Abney | I love her bright, bold colors and political/societal commentary.
“We consume so much varied and disparate information every day,” Abney said. “We can scroll down from images of a wedding to images of someone who just died, to posts about shopping for a sweater. Part of what my work does is mirror back to the world what seems to have become a way of life. It’s also a way for me to process what I’m sometimes complicit in or allow myself to engage in.”
“Yes, when you’re Black and queer, crazy things happen in the world because of those things. That’s part of my daily life,” she said. “But another part of my daily life is that fact that I’m just a regular human being like everyone else.…My work is a place where I can sometimes use caricature, absurdity, and ambivalence to process some of the heavy issues and experiences, even grief. But my work is also a place where I want to feel free to bring up any topic or subject I’d like to focus on.” - Nina Chanel Abney via ArtsyZoe Buckman | I’m a big fan of neon, and first discovered her piece titled ‘Champ’, a 43-foot installation, which features a neon uterus and two boxing gloves. This is from a series called “Mostly, it’s just uncomfortable,” which was what doctors told her before several gynecological procedures. She also has a series called ‘Let Her Rave’ which further explores the patriarchal context that we live within, (and why men feel the need to give women permission to do things.)
“I find Sunset Strip to be objectification overload, with all these advertising images and movie billboards of young women not only promoting the same standards of beauty but also images that can be quite sexually violent,” Ms. Buckman said, referring to the legendary stretch through West Hollywood with a long history of louche casinos, nightclubs and erotic businesses. She is interested in how her illuminated sign in this context “offers a completely different view of femininity” and will be prominently visible to passing cars.” via The New York Times (also loved her interview with Gallerie Magazine)
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN MUSIC |
Maren Morris | Start with: Girl & her interview with Playboy
More than 4 decades after Dolly Parton appeared on Playboy, Maren Morris graced the cover. She’s a badass beauty, a phenomenal singer and songwriter, who co-produced her own albums and isn’t shy about speaking her mind — whether it’s about sexuality, motherhood or mental health.Kacey Musgraves | Start with: Follow Your Arrow & her diary of a song for NY Times
Back in 2013, her first ever single piqued my interest with lyrics like “roll up a joint, or don’t” and “kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls, if that’s what you’re into.” It’s one thing for Katy Perry to sing about kissing a girl and liking it, but it doesn’t often happen in the south, or in country music. In fact, her lyrics were censored at the Country Music Awards. These days she’s making waves for talking about her huge hit ‘Slow Burn’ came from an acid trip.Janelle Monae | Start with: Pynk & then watch the entire ‘Emotion Picture’ Dirty Computer and Why Janelle Monae’s ‘Dirty Computer’ Film is a timely new Sci-Fi Masterpiece (via Rolling Stone)
When I first saw her music video for Pynk, I couldn’t help but giggle: She was wearing pants that looked like female genitalia, with Tessa Thompson acting as her clitoris. But sitting with it, within the context of Dirty Computer, I couldn’t help but come back to just how powerful these messages were. “In the candy-colored world of “Pynk,” women express desire for each other and themselves rather than men. In fact, no men appear in the video,” writes Meg Matthias in a paper that explores gender definition and sexuality in the music video. Janelle Monae pushed back against what was expected from her in order to carve her own path. As she said, “I don’t shy away from my lived cultural experiences. I’m a Black queer woman from the middle of America. I bring that with me everywhere I go. I wear it proudly. I might show up in a meeting with an astronaut suit on—I have several times, actually. We embrace the things that make us unique.”Lizzo | Start with Juice & then watch her NPR Tiny Desk concert and 73 Questions (via Vogue)
It’s hard not to love Lizzo for her catchy tunes, and ridiculous vocal pipes — Even Rihanna gave her a standing ovation at the 2019 BET Awards. But she’s more than just her music, she’s a feminist icon who talks about her mental health, self love, her sexuality, her body image struggles, and how you don’t need a partner to be happy. (She refers to this sometimes as being ‘self-partnered’ which I also love.) She’s relentlessly positive in her music, and even her lyrics talk about lifting others up (‘If I’m shining, everybody gonna shine!’). As she said, “I think women should embrace whatever it is about themselves. I think femininity is also something that can be in flux. I think a woman can also embrace her masculinity. I think a woman can embrace her androgyny, her abilities to be everything. I personally am a hyper-feminine woman. I embrace my masculine side, but I am hyper-feminine. I have a lingerie closet in my bedroom, and I wanted to celebrate that about myself. I think that it ain’t for everybody, but I do think that we should be celebrating ourselves more.” - Lizzo for PBSMiranda Lambert | Mama’s Broken Heart & her NPR interview
I’ve loved Miranda for forever and a day — From her early singles of ‘Kerosene’ and ‘Gunpowder & Lead,’ to her later ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ (actually written by Kacey Musgraves) which I sang on repeat for at least a full year. Like some of the other women on this list, she challenged cultural perceptions of being a woman. She lifted other women up, forming The Pistol Annies as a side project while her career was taking off, collaborating with Carrie Underwood on ‘Something Bad’ and more recently with Elle King (Rob Schneider’s daughter) on ‘Drunk and I Don’t Wanna Go Home.’ And like us, she’s a big believer in fun: “I don’t ever want this to not be fun,” she’s said.The Chicks | Start with For Her & then listen to the entire Gaslighter album
My dad signed The Dixie Chicks to Sony Music Nashville, and we danced to Wide Open Spaces as our father-daughter dance at my wedding. I was devastated when they stopped making music, and equally thrilled when Gaslighter came out this year and they dropped the Dixie. I never made it through Folklore (I still love T. Swift, it was just too sad to listen to during such a sad year), but Gaslighter was my most listened to album of the year, according to Spotify. It was fun and cheeky and sad and hopeful, all at once.
As Emily Yahr writes for the Washington Post, “The story of the Chicks, one of the top-selling bands in history, exists in two parallel universes.In one, they are a cautionary tale that scared half a generation of country singers into never saying anything about current events, lest they get “Dixie Chicked.” Everyone in the industry is well-aware their country career imploded in 2003 when Maines told an overseas audience just before the Iraq War: “We’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”
In the other, they are outspoken heroes that inspired the second half to defy anyone who dared to tell them to shut up and sing. The incident not only made the group a household name, it freed them to have any kind of career they wanted. No longer compelled to appeal to corporate radio, they roared back three years later with the double-platinum “Taking the Long Way,” firing back at critics with tracks such as “Not Ready to Make Nice,” and won album, song and record of the year at the Grammy Awards. After a decade-long hiatus working on separate projects — Maines recorded a rock album, sisters Maguire and Strayer formed the Court Yard Hounds — the Chicks returned in 2016 for a reunion tour in front of sold-out arenas around the world. Two years later, they started recording ‘Gaslighter.’”These songs, plus a few other faves on this YouTube playlist
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN MUSIC |
I reached the limit of Substack before I could editorialize my favorite female comedians, but here they are regardless.
Cameron Esposito | Rape Jokes
Garfunkel & Oates | musical comedy shorts: Loophole (especially for any of those who grew up with virginity promises), Pregnant Women are Smug, Sports Go Sports, The College Try, & Save the Rich
Iliza Shlesinger | Confirmed Kills (Netflix) (especially loved the Party Goblin bit) and Elder Millennial
Ali Wong | Hard Knock Wife, Baby Cobra (Netflix) & her book ‘Dear Girls’ (and these ‘best of’ bits)
Hannah Gadsby | Nanette (oh em geeeeee!!) (Netflix)
Tig Notaro | Happy to Be Here (Netflix) (her Indigo Girls bit had us in fits of giggles)
Chelsea Handler | Kids, They’re Not That Great Compliation
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support!
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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