Introduction

Have you heard of the saying “walk a mile in their shoes?” This capstone project allows audience members to do just that, in relation to women in stem fields. The artist will focus on people's perception and assumptions of women, specifically the double bind, women being kind and therefore weak and women being stern and therefore rude. This project consists of the artist’s interpretation and replica of Pat Kelley's painting accompanied by a poem portraying the stereotypes surrounding woman in STEM fields and the impact of these subconscious biases. 

Literature Review- Artistic Influence

For the artistic literature influence an important influence is Pat Kelley, as she depicts what a stereotypical beautiful and gentle woman looks like. Kelley does this by emphasizing the subject’s kind and nurturing nature and what role she plays in comparison to men (Kelley). Contrarily, Frida Kahlo illustrates her struggles with gender expectations physical and emotional pain and cultural identity conflicts through many of her paintings. Her work captures the paradox of being forced into contradictory roles like being strong yet vulnerable to criticism (Kahlo). These two artists, though expressing it differently, portray the same message of women forced into roles because of the double bind. 

Literature Review- Scholarly Influence

Researching and completing literature review, the artist utilized an article about the double bind and learned about many stereotypes. Specifically, about women being kind and therefore weak and women being stern and therefore rude. The double bind describes women as, “to be one is to be seen as nice, but weak. To be the other is to be seen as competent, but unlikable” (Vedantam). Another source by Bloodhart discusses woman's self-esteem, which connects to the double bind as well. When women pushed forward, they're judged and if they hold back their overlooked; this makes success feel impossible and therefore with a lack of self-esteem women self-select out of opportunities (Bloodhart). 

Methods

With a replica of Pat Kelley's work, the artist recognizes her motive, portraying how women are viewed in society. Pat Kelley achieves this through women's relation to beauty objectification or roles they are expected to fulfill. This project enhances the original painting by cropping it to emphasize the body. Directing the viewers gaze mimicks the way sexism operates. This replica changes the context but appreciates the original artist’s message. The poem gives context and a storyline to the painting, as the painting stand as intrigue for the audience. In addition, literature reviews were completed. Lastly, an interview was conducted with Yelena Sapoznick, who works in a STEM field as an economist. Qualitative interview questions were supplied like, “How do you approach leadership in your workplace?” and “Do you ever feel like you need to be more authoritative to be respected?”

Audience and Impact

         The audience viewing this capstone project, for people who share the identity of women in STEM fields should feel a sense of belonging whereas people who do not share this identity may learn about it and get a sense of what it’s like. The audience members may know of many stereotypes against women. Therefore, the focus of the impact is the stereotype of women needing to be gentle and kind versus strong and firm as society doesn't allow women to be both. With this people will recognize that they too have the subconscious bias and learn about the impact it has on woman's self-esteem and furthering gender inequality as recognition is a step towards progress.

References

Bloodhart, Brittany, et al. "Outperforming yet undervalued: Undergraduate women 

in STEM." Plos one 15.6 (2020): e0234685.

Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. 1940, Harry

 Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Kelley, Pat. Woman with Wine and Cigarette. Oil on canvas.

Vedantam, Shankar, et al. "Too Sweet, Or Too Shrill? The Double Bind For 

Women." NPR, 18 Oct. 

2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/10/18/498309357/too-sweet-or-too-shrill-the-double-bind-for-women.​

Acknowledgments

-       Heather Bremenstuhl- As the artists faculty advisor, Heather provided Sabrina not only guidance and amazing ideas, but also comfort when she struggled through the creation of her capstone project. 

-       Yelena Sapoznick- Though Yelena, is the artists mother, she also assited the artist by being a candidate for her interviews. She provided lots of valuable imput and personal connections with this project. 

-       Tilly Gaughan- As an english major, Tilly peer reviewed the artists poem and provided meaningful feedback to emphasize the imagry andt he message.