ITS ONLY WORDS....

It's only words......How many times are we told that as kids..words can't hurt you. Well...we all know words can hurt you and people will use words in many ways to manipulate or undermine you.

I've always love the lines of type the diversity and drawn quality of fonts...they create an image that goes beyond the mere individual letters. They create an aesthetic thats makes us curious or turns us off. Propaganda goes beyond graphics and we are sensitive to suggestion through the form of the type as much as the written content.

As someone on the fine art end rather than the graphic design end i use fonts to create a form of aesthetics like painting...to draw the eye across the image...

When i began to deconstruct the whole 'GIRL SHIT' thing and try to make sense of all this 'stuff' or 'shit' that comes with the territory i remembered the power of words and those forbidden as much as their fear.

When i created the 'WHO THE FUCK DOES SHE THINK SHE IS' design it was an angry throwback of all those heard conversations as a child..an instant way to dismiss or belittle another...the idea that someone would dare to be 'something more' or follow their own path....stay between that expected boundary..be a good girl...know your place. What if she's just working out who the fuck she is???

To take words and present them back into the world is always risky..but at least you can choose when and on your terms....we choose to represent ourselves through graphics on our clothes, through fashion, accessories, bags etc....IDENTITY....should never be underestimated!!!!!

I'm not interested in 'shock value' although watching someone gasp can be entertaining...(we all agree on that)....i simply find it extraordinary that words that people are happy to use suddenly cause so much shit because someone chooses to face you with it there.

'CUNT' is probably the most used insult around....some brandish it like a weapon...some shrink from sheer horror and offence but why?...its history is so glorious..why is it ok to use the wondrous description of female sexuality and life as something so insulting.

It's the same with words like 'PUSSY' accepted sland in millions of sentences all day every day but when presented infront of you it just reflects those contradictions.

I guess im interested in how i can voice those words. As a middle aged woman "PUSSY' is probably not the accepted term....'pussy' is used for a younger/attractive woman...not one whos heading towards menapause! SO with the advertisers pushing my purse towards all things 'vintage' (a bit like me) i present that back..i present myself as 'VINTAGE PUSSY' proud and experienced ...

i'm not so arrogant i cant see the humour!!!!!

Its the same with 'CUNT' ....advertisers love the interest in feminism....i can acceptably wear a 'this is what a feminist looks like' tshirt or Dior says i can show my allegiance to feminism through their tshirt but i cant show my equality and freedom as a woman (i believe thats that 'feminism' thing) to wear a tshirt or bag that says 'CUNT' or 'PUSSY' because its insulting????...so my vagina/vulva etc is insulting??????

So we're back to 'its only words'........i guess words are still bound by who gets to say them.........

If youre interested in my ideas and artwork you can find me at www.girlshitartist.com on facebook as GIRL SHIT....pinterest as GIRL SHIT ....instagram@girlshitgirl.

i also run facebook groups ..Girly Confessions(GC)...GC GIG GIRLS....GIRLS THAT MAKE STUFF