On my art piece, featuring broken red shard glasses, inside the glasses are the uterus, money and coins behind, a syringe, and a birth control blister packet. The intense red color symbolizes urgency, chaos, and hopelessness against the yellow background. Expanding on it, it could also represent violence and struggles around reproductive justice. The yellow…
America Hates Women
After taking a Reproductive Justice course, I felt as if everything I had learned before the class about reproductive rights and justice was a complete lie. This collage piece is a visual representation of some of the feelings and rage I experienced when researching themes such as forced sterilization and how black bodies are used…
2 Worlds, One Reality
“2 Worlds, One Reality” is an art piece done by Marlene Cardenas, it was inspired by the contrasting societal viewpoints on women’s reproductive rights and the tension between the abortion debate. With the most recent presidential election and Donald Trump’s victory, the fight for women’s reproductive rights is at an all time high due to…
Untitled
With the 2024 election results and the current state when it comes to reproductive justice it’s transparent what can be expected. Reproductive justice has been a sensitive topic for years, juggling women’s rights to basic reproductive rights to their own body. This issue has become a political topic putting the rights of women in the…
Flor Cosmica
The inspiration of this picture was a culmination of a few different ideas and pieces of literature: Sandra Cisneros’ “Guadalupe Sex Goddess,” Andrea Smith’s “Better Dead Than Pregnant” and the ideas of “Territorio-Cuerpo-Tierra” or Body-Land-Territory, the Cosmic Race and Mestizaje. Cisneros’ piece speaks of Latinx experiences with their sexuality, its taboo at home and ultimately…
Living with Shame
In my artwork, I drew a snake wrapped around an anatomical heart and used the text “shame on me.” My piece is meant to focus on sexual violence and the effect it has on its victims. The snake represents Medusa, while the heart represents the victims. I wanted to portray Medusa as she is often…
Lilith, the First Feminist
My art titled “Lilith, the First Feminist” represents the untold story of the very start of women’s independence and empowerment. According to Jewish mythology, Lilith was Adam’s first wife but was later exiled from the Garden of Eden. As I was born and raised under a religious indoctrination, Lilith’s name was not once said unless…
Barbie: A Love Letter to Women
In the summer of 2023, millions of people worldwide rushed to their local movie theaters dressed in pink to watch the fourteenth highest-grossed film worldwide. The highly anticipated Barbie had quickly captured the hearts of viewers worldwide, especially those of the young girls and women watching. Equipped with both a gut wrenching monologue of what…
A Hidden Garden
This Hidden Garden represented is the garden that woman contain within themselves. The shape in which these vines grow is meant to outline the reproductive system specifically the uterus. On the right hand side the vines, and flowers are blooming, there is life, there is joy, there is prosperity. This is to highlight the powerful…
Woman Are The Tree of Life
Naturopathic medicine and holistic practices allow women’s reproductive system to become one with the Earth’s roots and heal itself. By using holistic practices women are able to find the root cause of their reproductive problems and not just put a band aid over their problems like Western medicine teaches women. Naturopathic medicine dates back millions…
Breaking the Cycle
The iconography depicted is a purple-colored necklace made in the style of a silver choker necklace with a broken clasp and a purple ribbon coming from the hands. The purple is representing the color chosen to depict domestic violence and was adopted from the women’s suffragette movement. The broken chain is used to represent breaking…
Blooming Paths to Reproductive Justice
In my artwork, the uterus is at the center, showing how important women’s reproductive health and rights are. But it’s not alone—it’s surrounded by lots of flowers. Each flower represents a different part of the journey towards reproductive freedom. This art piece is like a message of hope. It shows that even when things are…
Medusa Breaking Walls
My art piece Medusa Breaking Walls had great inspiration from Greek mythology specifically from Medusas story. I chose Medusa because her story always kept me interested. Medusa’s image has so much symbolism, but instead of revering her for defeat with Perseus, I’m inspired by her strength. Most commonly, Medusa suggests that she is an apotropaic…
Women In Palestine
There is an extremely long history of women being treated unfairly in Palestine due to the rooted sexism within the country. Generations of Palestinian women have had to suffer through society, only perceiving them for what their bodies can be good for. They suffer from the aftermath of colonization and the historical systematic sexism. What…
We Will Not Be Silenced!
I created “we will not be silenced” based on the labels and the norms that have been set on women for years. I wanted to focus on women’s voices and the suppression that we continue to face. Society has made it so difficult for women to feel comfortable enough to talk about their experiences, especially…
A Woman is a Flower
A woman is A flower, a piece of nature that comes in all forms, colors, shapes, and sizes. Just like a woman A flower is beauty and femininity, life and growth, fragility and strength, fertility, and motherhood. Women should be free to grow and blossom into their best selves, but society does not give women…
Termination & Christianity
To begin with, abortion and Christianity have a convoluted and lengthy history. On top of that, a number of biblical passages are often cited by Christians on either side of the abortion question. However, as a Christian individual, I strongly believe that abortion is against my personal values or misaligned with my beliefs, which is…
You Have to Buy a Ticket Every Time
Recently a friend reached out to my and confined in me that she was sexually assaulted by a person who only a week before she had been head over heels for. In supporting this friend it occurred to me that I had experienced something similar, so had my sister, and so had numerous women in…
My Body, My Choice, When Will It End?
I drew a picture of a woman naked, labeled “my body, my choice” while being surrounded by other images depicting birth control, a uterus, and abortion. I wanted to focus on birth control, abortion, and women’s freedom of choice of what they want to use and do to their bodies. Women have always had to…
Your Words
In a world full of judgement, the words I often hear being a woman have become so over said that it has numbed me to any reaction. I hear ‘Bitch’, when I stand up for myself and set boundaries, or ‘Slut’ when I have the same fun a man might have. When I read cases…
Silence is Comfort
Silence Comfort is the name of the painting. The reason I chose to call it, this is that many women tend to keep their emotions to themselves. It is because they feel like they need to. As a woman, we have always been faced with backlash or hate for anything. To be considered even remotely…
Locker Room Talk
Public harassment is a problem the majority of women face on a day to day basis. Whether it be catcalling or comments online, they are humiliating and a constant worry. They often fall under the same theme, degrading comments about the body, insistence that they want sex in some form, or coercion to harmful stereotypes/gender…
Reclaiming Our Identities as Women
I have always struggled with being comfortable in my own skin. For as long as I can remember, I knew that I wasn’t what guys found pretty, that I was just the funny friend. It didn’t help that everyone around me looked like each other, Hispanic, short, and pretty. And it hurt. A lot. It…
Goddess of Venus
The Goddess of Venus represents love, beauty, femininity, sex, desire, and prosperity. I chose the Goddess of Venus because femininity can look so different for everyone. I remember growing up and like many young girls, we are curious about discovering our identity and where we fit in with everyone. I remember thinking that I wanted…
Now I See, Now I Believe
Now I See, Now I believe All this time never knowing Everything I ever needed Was inside me all along All the love and acceptance Now I see, Now I believe Harsh words from the outside Self doubt overwhelming Kept in the shame Felt alone and frustrated Now I see, Now I believe Years in…
Cancer
A punch to my guts And a pierced bleeding heart That’s how I feel When my loved one must part Come to me in dreams to her I said As she lay unable to move on her bed We all knew there would be no recovery only drain Cancer in bone is the worst kind…
Daughters of The Sun
I created a collage art piece that was inspired by an Akashic Record reading I had a few months ago. It dove into the spiritual work my great-grandmother and her sister did when they were alive. A lot of imagery came forward to represent their work with curanderismo, and I felt the need to display…
The Queen of Swords
A Photo Essay documenting a Limpia performed by Marlha Sanchez on Alejandra Ramirez, photographed by Carolina Adame. The Queen of Swords A Poem by Alejandra Ramirez Its okay, mija It’s okay, we know you’ve been through some shit We know you’ve been hurt We know you’ve been living for everyone but yourself But, you are…
Chalcihuitlicue (“She of the Jade Skirt”)
Chalcihuitlicue (“She of the Jade Skirt”) is an Aztec deity of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism. Chalchiuhtlicue is associated with fertility and she is the patroness of childbirth. This photo project hilighted 4 dieties. Selisa Loeza is portrayed as Chalcihuitlicue.
El Sol
Dedicated to “El Sol,” my son, my sun. This summer, and always, you invite me into play. Watercolor on paper.
