"Female monsters and the statue of David"

(acrylic painting on plywood, 24X36, 1998)

"Now that women are jockeys, baseball umpires, atomic scientists, and business executives, maybe someday they can master parallel parking."
Bill Vaughan

"A misogynist is a man who hates women as much as women hate each other."
HL Mencken

"Women who can do. Those who can't become feminists."
Bobby Riggs

"I love the women's movement... especially when I am walking behind it."
Rush Limbaugh

This painting is quite old, but I still like it because for me it's a constant reminder of how fragile and uncertain my young mind once was. I came to the States at sixteen from a country where women weren't oppressed, but still had less opportunities to succeed than their male counterparts. However, I've never allowed myself to be discriminated against, because I figured out at an early age that I can get what I want and be respected by any man because of my convictions, my strength and my mind.

Then, I started college and my sociology professor changed all that. She made me less sure of myself, because I repeatedly heard from her about the oppression of women in the US. She made me feel that I would almost have to physically fight men in order to get somewhere. Thankfully my sentiments passed rather quickly, because once again I was able to realize that getting respect from people has nothing to do with my gender and everything to do with my abilities and my intelligence, in a modern country that is. Although, I still concider feminism as necessary, because I believe that women and men all over the world need to fight for equal rights in the Third World countries where women are still being abused and oppressed.