Not Our Mascot: Judy Chicago, Pussyhat Project™, and White, Middle-Class Feminism
“We will never achieve any real change unless we attack our female role at its roots.”
- Silvia Federici, “Wages Against Housework” (1975)
I first saw Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party (1974–1979), an art installation which has been part of the collection of the Brooklyn Museum since 2007, in late 2016. Despite an undergraduate major in Art History and studying Critical Art Theory in graduate school, I knew little of Chicago’s work. Regardless, I felt compelled to visit the iconic work while briefly living in New York, as not doing so would be an infraction to my identity as a feminist.
Fig. I. Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1974–79. Ceramic, porcelain, textile, 576 × 576 in. (1463 × 1463 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. (Photo: Donald Woodman).
Fig. 2. Judy Chicago and Others Working in The Dinner Party Needlework Loft, 1978. Courtesy of Through the Flower Archive.
fig 3. 25,000 striking women gathered in Reykjavik for Women’s Day Off. Courtesy of Icelandic Women’s History Archives.
Fig. 4. Molly Cleator (R) takes part in the Pussyhat social media campaign to provide pink hats for protesters in the women's march in Washington, D.C., the day after the presidential inauguration, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson.
Fig. 5. Screenshot, Otherwild "the future is female t-shirt," January 22, 2018. Courtesey of the author.
https://otherwild.com/products/the-future-is-female-t-shirt?variant=5122173569
Screenshot "Forever 21 Wild Feminist" courtesy of Refinery 29. Accessed January 22, 2018.
http://www.refinery29.com/2017/08/168773/forever-21-wildfang-copy-wild-feminist-shirt