Emily Hooge

Artist Statement

“The thing women have yet to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it.” - Roseanne Barr

As women, too often we have been told to be quiet, to wait our turn, to sit down, to submit, and to change when we work against typical societal standards and expectations. We are judged on our abilities to be beautiful, to be skinny, to be sexy, to be daughters, sisters, mothers, and partners. We must say yes, even when we want to say no. To be considered “woman” is to be considered inferior - not only in the eyes of society, but also by those who surround you.

My work, collectively known as The Burden of Being Woman, focuses on the expectations of women in today’s societies as well as the dwindling freedoms afforded to us. As a young woman, it has become clear to me that while being a woman can be magical, powerful, and illuminating, my identity can also be easily limited. By creating bright, pointed posters that address the negativity surrounding sexual assault survivors as well as cyanotype prints that showcase the duality between sex and purity, I aim to bring awareness to the burdens associated with what women are meant to look, speak, and think like. Additionally, with my fabric sculpture piece, I aim to illustrate the unfortunate reversal of many pro-women and pro-reproductive laws and connect that to the stereotypical ideation of women in the 1950s and 60s.