In modern society, women have been given this false sense of choice, that self-hypersexualization is empowering simply because there is a newfound sense of agency. Women are also taught to want this choice, to feel “empowered”. This then feeds into the preconceived idea that women are meant to be desired by men. I think we’re missing a key point here: women are allowed to sexualize themselves because they have desire. A woman can want to have sex and act sexually without that becoming a reflection of her worth. Historically, men have been encouraged to pursue sex as an accomplishment, while women are taught to be desirable but maintain a “hard to get” attitude. I think there should be an equal push and pull, where neither person’s sexuality determines their worth in society.
For this project, I created a button pin that reads, “Wanna come over and watch porn on my flatscreen mirror.” I wanted to create something that allows a woman to be openly sexual without immediately being labeled a slut. It’s funny. I also think there’s a distinct difference between wearing my pin and one that says “make him work for it.” The latter still places a woman’s sexuality in relation to a man’s desire, while my pin allows the woman to express desire herself.
I designed my pin using Google Docs, measured the pin base, printed and cut out my design, and assembled it using my pin press machine. I chose a button pin because I carry a bag around campus every day, where people are actively thinking and open discussion is encouraged. Its provocative nature creates a reaction, which gives me an opportunity to open a conversation. I see this as simultaneously an act of self-expression and resistance, connecting to Medina-López’s discussion of rasquache rhetorics. While rasquache comes from a specific Chicanx cultural history, I connected with the practice of using available resources to create something that challenges existing expectations. My pin might not resolve the contradictions surrounding female sexual liberation, but I think its ability to provoke those questions is what gives it meaning.
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