Exit
“Women are not seeking your validation,” quips another.
“I asked [friends] if they’d like
to participate in the project, and
all of them having street harassment as a consistent issue in their
lives agreed and were happy to be
a part of it,” Fazlalizadeh explained
to The Huffington Post. “For most
of them, we sat and had a conversation about their experiences and
what it is they’d like to say back
to harassers. I used those conversations as inspiration for the text
underneath their portraits.”
Fazlalizadeh first posted her
drawings in Philadelphia and
Brooklyn, but has since created a
Kickstarter campaign to help fund
a broader endeavor. She wants to
travel to Baltimore, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Chicago
to meet and draw women living in
the rest of the country, using sites
like Hollaback and StopStreetHarassment.org to help navigate the
various communities.
Thus far she has primarily focused on the experience of
women, but she’s open to expanding the project to men who have
encountered street harassment
based on their gender or sexual
orientation as well.
ART
HUFFINGTON
09.22.13
“As the work gained attention, I
realized how many different types
of people can relate to this and
have stories to tell. I’ve had conversations with men at STWTS related events who wanted to talk about
their experiences with street harassment,” Fazlalizadeh recounted.
“I know it happens, and it’s impor-
There are always those
who want to tell women
that their experiences are
not valid or not important
whenever they speak up.
For me as a black woman,
this is particularly true.”
tant, and it’s something I may take
on in the future. Right now though,
I want to focus on women — of
varying backgrounds — to really
tackle the ways in which our bodies are sexualized and mistreated in
the public space.”
The STWTS Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than
the $15,000 Fazlalizadeh is seeking, with 12 days to go. According to
the site, a portion of the funds will
be allocated to working with a filmmaker to document the project.
As for those individuals who