Creative Representation of My Girltopia

As part of envisioning my girltopia, I found it helpful to ponder through art and I would like to share this project here in hopes that it will inspire others to explore their ideal world through art. This particular piece of artwork it the result. For me this was an exercise in making thoughts and emotions appear on paper. It was an exercise of reaching into the past and forward into the future. The girl stands on the edge of a balcony, looking out over a lake, towards the mountain beyond. She has taken the time to pause in her journey, looking towards her goal and contemplating the value of it. Every piece is meant to represent a hope for girls in my vision of girltopia. I chose a cut paper medium because I truly feel that the ideal world for girls is not just one picture, but truly the combined and layered ideas created by the ingenuity of the human race. I placed her in the mountains because that is the place where I have come closest to seeing a real girltopia. She is in nature and yet is not truly a part of it. She is accepted into this landscape and, in turn, accepts the world around her. This is not the end of the journey - girltopia - it is merely the true beginning of a lasting and meaningful shift in prejudice that moves us one step closer to a world of shared ideas, valued relationships, and mutual respect.

What is Ideal?

Ideal originally meant "existing in idea." Its sense of perfection was first applied in the 15th century. Particularly interesting is the definition of idealism as the belief that: "reality is made up of only ideas." Used as an adjective, it means "in the best conceivable situation." The definitions are endless. (For more definitions, click here) But to me, ideal is a place. A place of simple ideas, a place where ideas can be heard, a place where issues gain enough credence to be addressed effectively. A place that could make a difference in the lives of many. 

It is a place where everyone can feel safe. 

 “Women's safety is a social issue, not a geographic one”
- Dr Sheba Rakesh, founder of the women's empowerment organization, Pankh 

So many women around the world today are not safe in their homes. They are caught in war zones, are victims of domestic abuse, and are forced into early marriage. If every girl around the world could be certain that she was safe, the world would be a much better place.  

It is a place where everyone is guaranteed three solid meals a day. 

"It was a matter of life and death. I couldn't wait any longer, not while my children were starving." - Alem (Eritrea) 
To read more of Alem's story, click here.

Women all around the world struggle to feed themselves every day. This is unacceptable. If every woman could be certain that she would be able to obtain food  for herself and her family, women around the world would be able to turn their attention and ingenuity to solving the problems that exist in the world today.

It is a place where everyone has the opportunity to choose their own future. 

"Peace, please: ‘I didn’t raise my boy to kill or be killed.’ " 

- Zahra Bibi, Peace Activist in Pakistan (learn more here).

Women all around the world are not able to make their own choices. They cannot choose their own future due to a lack of education or political freedom. This may seem small, but by being unable to choose their future, their creativity and innovation go without use. They are forced to remain where others have told them to be, doing what others have told them to do. In this century, we need women who can help us solve the world's problems. Women who can innovate, plan, and create. And this starts with letting them choose their own path. 

It is a place where everyone has a voice - where people will listen. 

An FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] consultation in 1984 defined communication for development as "a social process, designed to seek a common understanding among all the participants of a development initiative, creating a basis for concerted action."
To learn more about their current efforts to promote women's communication click here. 

Listening to each other is vital. Women all around the world do not have a voice in their communities, do not have an ability to convey their suffering or their ideas. In a world where women are silenced, their ideas and insights are not heard, but, more importantly, their issues are often ignored. Women deserve a voice and giving them that voice is an opportunity not only for them, but for a world in need of their ideas.

It is a place where everyone matters and is accepted for who they are.

"To inspire and engage women to choose language that honors and celebrates themselves and each other. By doing so, women will make a profound and positive impact on themselves, each other, their families, their workplace, their communities and the world."
- The mission of Honoring Women Worldwide. To see all of their amazing projects, click here.

It is essential that women are able to appreciate each other and their own accomplishments. A woman's accomplishments deserve to be revered as much as a man's and should not mean less because of her gender. In a world where accomplishments, effort, and progress are appreciated, each action towards a positive change becomes more connected and more welcome.

It is a place where every mistake is simply an opportunity to grow.

"It's common knowledge that people can learn as much from their mistakes as anything. And yet traditional teaching methods often deny students the chance to learn from their mistakes by preventing them from making mistakes."
- David Ginsburg on the importance of mistakes in the learning process. Learn more here.

This is an issue that is slightly more broad in its focus, as it could (and should) be applied to a larger group than just the young women of the world. Mistakes are vital to success, and yet the modern world portrays mistakes as the totally undesirable measure of failure. But mistakes are also a measure of how close one is to success. In a world that values mistakes, there's no telling what we might be able to accomplish. 

Essentially, it is a place to gain the courage, confidence, and character needed to envision a better world. And it's time that existed in more than "idea."