Stop Telling Women to Smile

 

http://www.stoptellingwomentosmile.com/

Here's a wonderful series of posters created by artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh that ring true.  Remember the song "Give Me The Night" (Give me the silvered streets............)?  A young woman's urban  experience is a very different experience from that of a young man.  For one thing, it's scary to walk the streets at night, full of menacing men, fear of rape.  In the daytime, young women are often subject to harassment, and a different kind of predatory attention that, instead of innocent flirtation, often veils a hostile undertone.  I remember it well, the fear and the sense of  psychic, and sometimes physical,  invasion.  Being old has it's perks, and one is that I'm invisible to men, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Stop Telling Women to Smile is an art series by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. The work attempts to address gender based street harassment by placing drawn portraits of women, composed with captions that speak directly to offenders, outside in public spaces. Tatyan Falalizadeh is an illustrator/painter based in Brooklyn, mostly known for her oil paintings. Having recently branched out into public art as a muralist, STWTS was born out of the idea that street art can be an impactful tool for tackling street harassment.   STWTS started in Brooklyn in the fall of 2012. It is an on-going, travelling series and will gradually include many cities and many women participants.  Street harassment is a serious issue that affects women world wide. This project takes women’s voices, and faces, and puts them in the street - creating a bold presence for women in an environment where they are so often made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe.