Sit Like a Lady 4
sit like a lady, art, figurative art, modern art, contemporary art, r hermelyn di silvestro, printmaking, monotype, pink, manspreading, work on paper, visual metaphor, gender stereotypes, powerful position,
15647
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Sit Like a Lady
Sit Like a Lady 4

Monotype, Oil, 17.5″ x 15.25″

 

We are taught to play roles every day, worrying about what we are supposed to do, and stressing about what every other person thinks of us. We are told what makes a lady, that it is something intangible, yet ever important. It lives in the way we speak, walk, and dress. I thought of my mother as this piece came to life, and she said, “sit like a lady.”

 

She sits confident and powerful, in a body position often associated with men. In this ‘wide’ position, she challenges the customary gender stereotypes of ‘a powerful position’ for a man being ‘a sexual signal position’ for a woman. Sit Like a Lady is a visual metaphor for the practice of ‘wo+manspreading.’