Wrapped up in Feminism

Presenter: Haylee Mathews

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Fall

Faculty Mentor:

Department: Philosophy

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1r7Ix1UFyzOXt9B1M5o4eJr3nmlZBJaKz

Abstract:
My research was on 1980s feminism and quilting. Quilting in the 80s was about creative expression and women having power over how they spend their time. Women quilted and created other artworks to get out their built up anger from constant oppression. The center patch I added to the quilt is to represent the hard work that participants in the feminist movement have done to make men and women equal. I did not use a pattern for this quilt and I also had never made a quilt before. The trial and error, mistakes and mending was fun to figure out how to make this piece on my own. There are many mistakes, such as the corners, but I now know how to fix those errors for my next quilt. Women in the 80s steered away from traditional womanly jobs, such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare, and branched out to things like artwork. Art gave women a sense of empowerment. Though quilting was not the most popular mode of art for the feminist movement, it is still a great way to convey meaning and sentiment. I chose this medium to show my own creative expression and empowerment.