Radical Cross Stitch

I haven’t been as active here as I should be during the last couple of months. But now I have two new projects to share with you!

This first one is a simple cross stitch that I made some week ago, just to get myself going after a long period of zero inspiration. It’s a quote from some graffiti in the bathroom of a pretty run down Indian restaurant where me and my friends used to go to drink cheap beer a couple of years ago. I think it’s funny and serious at the same time - as a Swedish writer once said; to be a woman and not be a feminist is like shitting yourself in the face. All women should be feminists by birth, then it’s up to you to decide how hardcore you wanna be about it…

This second one is inspired by a song from Swedish punks Sju Svåra År, and they got the quote from Joan Jett - I don’t give a damn about my bad reputation! I love both songs and I think that this cross stitch turned out really well. I wrote a little statement about it on my own blog:

But more important is the fact that a woman that’s not afraid of expressing herself in any way, especially sexually, is still seen as a “bad woman” in societies eyes - she’s a whore, a slut, a sinner & if something bad happens to her, well maybe she deserved it. It must be very confusing growing up in todays (western) world, where the girls are bombarded with images of the “perfect” female body, with the demand on being sexy, being available, to always dress & act according to the expectations of the male eye, but at the same time balance on that thin line that separates them from “loose women”. Not to recognize their own sexuality & say fuck it, i like sleeping around, i like being myself in any way, because if they do they might be marked for life. It is amazing that the notion that a woman who sleeps around is a whore & a man that does the same is a stud is still such a unchallenged part of society. So, to not give a damn about one’s reputation, whether it be sexually or in any other way, is one of the things that might be most important in the feminist struggle today.