women

Great Expectations/Μεγάλες Προσδοκίες
‘Great Expectations’ illustration by Angela Zafiris

Happy International Women’s day!

The drawing is a comparison of two generations of women. So much has changed in a hundred years.

When I compare my generation with my mother’s and my grandmother’s I can’t believe how different each generation is.

For example, the women from my grandmother’s generation were only required to get married and have lots of children, do some farm work, and that’s about it.

With my mothers’ generation, women were expected to get married, have a few children, get a job, be great cooks, cleaners and hosts.

Then with my generation of women, we are still expected to get married, have children (maybe one or two), get a higher education, be great chefs, mothers (helicopter mother), wives (no nagging), cleaners, and hosts. But, then there is more added to the plate. She must have impeccable hygiene, dress stylish, be classy, get plastic surgery, be extremely knowledgable- a walking encyclopedia, learn many languages, have many skills and hobbies, have many friends, experiences, travel the world, do men’s work etc.

We have more options, opportunities and equality than ever before, but too much has been put on our plates. A modern woman has to be an extraordinary human being. The bar has been set very high. No excuses anymore. Not with all the options that women before us didn’t have. And although some women can achieve many things in their life, not all women can or even want to…

This type of life is exhausting, and only for people who are made of steel, with never-ending energy deposits, and who possess iron-clad stomachs.

There have been many surveys published in the recent years that have revealed that women are more stressed than men https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/women-stress

According to the survey more and more women feel burned out due to having to balance their home life with a career. Also, they don’t feel that men contribute enough. The truth is that young women today have been exploited and burnt out by modern society. The majority of modern women are over-worked, stressed, angry, anxiety-ridden, and financially insecure. This is a topic that is not discussed enough in any country, as it should be.

End Violence against Women

batteredbride2.jpg

‘Battered Bride’ (Κακοποιημένη νύφη) handmade collage by Angela Zafiris

November 25th is the international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls.

According to a report by the U.N secretary general “..on the basis of data from 2005 to 2016 for 87 countries, 19 per cent of women between 15 and 49 years of age said they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey. In the most extreme cases, such violence can lead to death. In 2012, almost half of all women who were victims of intentional homicide worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member, compared to 6 per cent of male victims.”

These statistics are horrifying and it needs to end. There is not a woman who has not been a victim of violence. This cannot continue to be our reality.

For more information visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_the_Elimination_of_Violence_against_Women

Woman On Top!/Η Γυναικα Στην Κορυφη!

'Woman On Top' collage on canvas by Angela Zafiris

‘Woman On Top’ collage on canvas by Angela Zafiris

This is my humorous feminist collage that I know men (and some non-feminist women) will love so much 😉

Feminism is a subject that has been discussed a lot recently and it has unfortunately become controversial and even taboo for some people. I have heard so many varying definitions of feminism by feminists and anti-feminists and the majority of the definitions are really off and I find that they are made by very ignorant people like celebrities. My definition of feminism is that women shouldn’t be mistreated and discriminated against due to their gender. Throughout human history women have been treated appallingly, they were raped, tortured and suffered verbal and physical abuse at home.  Women had no choice for their future, and no voice. This is why very few women made their mark in history. Today women are still suffering all over the world. It seems that only a little progress has been made.

Yesterday, I was looking at my bookshelf and I noticed that I had a book called, ‘Feminism For Beginners’ from my University years. I decided to read it again with different, older and wiser eyes. The definition of feminism (according to the authors of the book), for anyone who is confused about what it means is: “Women demanding their full rights as human beings.” Also, ‘feminism is about challenging the division of labour in the world that puts men in charge of the public sphere-work, sports, wars, government-while women slave away unpaid in the home, carrying the whole burden of family life”.

I believe that everyone should want equality of the genders, and I would hope that one day people will finally love and respect each and that feminism will not be controversial as it is today.

*If my collage was a little too ‘white’ for some people that is because I only have European magazines to work with.

The Modern Woman/Η Συνχρονη Γυναικα

Collage on canvas by Angela Zafiris

Collage on canvas by Angela Zafiris

High heels
Red lips
She’s careful to never slip
Chin up in the air when she walks
The confidence in her talk
Her ‘multi-tasking’ ability
She’s mastered the code between women
Closeness to the creation
Her love of pretty things
Long hair shining in the sun
Her obsession with beauty
Critical of her body
A career,  marriage and children
All happen so effortlessly
Her pride
Her ego
Are as strong as any mans’.

The modern woman, so much is expected from her. To be everything and to do everything.  She is not simple, she’s very complicated.. I can go on and on about her. The discussion is never-ending.

FYI-The words in Greek are ‘Woman or child?’, ‘Goddess within’ and ‘fearless’.

Bewildered/H Σαστισμένη

“The Bewildered Woman’ mixed-media painting by Angela Zafiris

Just another mixed-media painting of a woman that I completed last week. I don’t know who she is, but I love her eyes. For the background  I used magazines texts and images and I painted over them with yellow and red acrylics. I added some dabs of gesso as well for texture.

Her Gaze/Το Βλέμμα Της

Mixed-media painting on canvas by Angela Zafiris

I don’t usually paint portraits it takes a special kind of courage, but I found it in me and here it is.  I had fun with this one and I am surprised at how satisfied I am with it.  The problem is I am too picky and I notice every little thing that I think is a mistake, but this time I don’t care . Besides no human face is perfect so why should the portrait be perfect?

Great Expectations/Mεγάλες Προσδοκίες

Collage on paper 24 x 32cm  by Angela Zafiris

“By all means, marry.  If you get a good wife you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” SOCRATES

“Παντρεψου. Αμα παρεις μια καλη γυναικα τοτε θα γινεις ευτυχησμενος. Αμα παντρευτεις μια κακη γυναικα, τοτε θα γινεις φιλοσοφος”- ΣΟΚΡΑΤΗΣ

Superwoman

Superwoman

Mixed-media collage on 24 x 32 cm canvas panel by Angela Zafiris

Women have always worn many ‘hats’.  There are so many roles that women have had  to play for thousands of years. It is no wonder that women are known to be better ‘multi-taskers’ than men. Not all women want the same things in life. Not all women want careers and not all women want to be wives and/or mothers. Fortunately, women have more choices than they have ever had, but this of course varies from country to country and from family to family. But,  I know, for example, that in Greece women are not forced into marriage like they were so long ago. And they have a greater voice than they ever did.  Lets not forgot that in Ancient Greece women were not allowed to leave the house alone or have any say about politics and other matters.  I feel that many women today forget the struggles that women in the past had to endure and still do around the world.  It’s important to study the past and to think about how some things have changed and improved and how somethings have not. There are women who are overwhelmed by the choices we have today and who yearn for the time when we had none. I would suggest that those women educate themselves a little more and look back at the conditions that women were living in that prompted them to rise up and to demand equality and respect.