āImage Credit: Carol Rossetti
When Brazilian graphic designer Carol RossettiĀ began posting colorful illustrations of women and their stories toĀ Facebook, she had no idea how popular they would become.Ā
Thousands of shares throughout the world later, the appeal of Rosettiās work is clear. Much like the street art phenomenonĀ Stop Telling Women To Smile, Rossettiās empowering images are the kind you want to post on every street corner, as both a reminder and affirmation of womenās bodily autonomy.Ā
āIt has always bothered me, the worldās attempts to control womenās bodies, behavior and identities,ā Rossetti toldĀ MicĀ via email. āItās a kind of oppression so deeply entangled in our culture that most people donāt even see itās there, and how cruel it can be.ā
Rossettiās illustrations touch upon an impressive range of intersectional topics, including LGBTQ identity, body image, ageism, racism, sexism and ableism.Ā Some characters are based on the experiences of friends or her own life, while others draw inspiration from the stories many women have shared across the Internet.Ā
āI see those situations I portray every day,ā she wrote. āI lived some of them myself.ā
Despite quickly garnering thousands of enthusiastic comments and shares on Facebook, the project started as something personal ā so personal, in fact, that Rossetti is still figuring out what to call it. For now, the images reside in albums simply titled āWOMEN in english!ā or āMujeres en espaƱol!ā which is fitting: Rossettiās illustrations encompass a vast set of experiences that together create a powerful picture of both womenās identity and oppression.
One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the way it has struck such a global chord.Ā Rossetti originally wrote the text of the illustrations in Portuguese, and then worked with an Australian woman to translate them to English. A group of Israeli feminists also took it upon themselves to create versions of the illustrations inĀ Hebrew. Now, more people have reached out to Rossetti through Facebook and offered to translate her work into even more languages. Next on the docket? Spanish, Russian, German and Lithuanian.
Itās an inspiring show of global solidarity, but the message of Rossettiās art is clear in any language.Ā Above all, her images celebrate being true to oneself, respecting others and questioning what society tells us is acceptable or beautiful.
āI canāt change the world by myself,ā Rossetti said. āBut Iād love to know that my work made people review their privileges and be more open to understanding and respecting one another.āā
From the site:Ā All images courtesy Carol Rossetti and used with permission.Ā You can find more illustrations, as well as more languages, on herĀ Facebook page.
