"Stop Telling Women to Smile" is an art project that has grown into a nationwide street art campaign to deter gender-based street harassment. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's portraits include captions that tell passersby what women don't want to hear when they're walking down the street. Fazlalizadeh shared images of her work with people around the world so they could wheat-paste them in their communities on Friday, April 4, as part of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. This self-portait of Fazlalizadeh captures a common form of street harassment in which men often tell women to "smile."
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
"Stop Telling Women to Smile" is an art project that has grown into a nationwide street art campaign to deter gender-based street harassment. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's portraits include captions that tell passersby what women don't want to hear when they're walking down the street. Fazlalizadeh shared images of her work with people around the world so they could wheat-paste them in their communities on Friday, April 4, as part of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. This self-portait of Fazlalizadeh captures a common form of street harassment in which men often tell women to "smile."
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com
The Oklahoma-born, New York-based artist made her first set of posters in 2012 using likenesses of her friends. Since then she has taken her project on the road, talking to women across the country about their experiences with street harassment and creating posters based on their sentiments.
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
The Oklahoma-born, New York-based artist made her first set of posters in 2012 using likenesses of her friends. Since then she has taken her project on the road, talking to women across the country about their experiences with street harassment and creating posters based on their sentiments.
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com
Through a network of supporters and collaborators, Fazlalizadeh usually meets a group of women in any given city for a discussion about street harassment. She takes their pictures, creates drawings based on the photographs and comes up with a phrase based on the person's comments.
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
Through a network of supporters and collaborators, Fazlalizadeh usually meets a group of women in any given city for a discussion about street harassment. She takes their pictures, creates drawings based on the photographs and comes up with a phrase based on the person's comments.
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com
Fazlalizadeh creates a set of posters for each city she visits. This poster was created in Philadelphia.
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
Fazlalizadeh creates a set of posters for each city she visits. This poster was created in Philadelphia.
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com
Fazlalizadeh wheat-pastes her posters so they have a temporary lifespan.
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
Fazlalizadeh wheat-pastes her posters so they have a temporary lifespan.
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com
While the forms of street harassment women experience tend to vary depending on location, harassment's impact is always the same, Fazlalizadeh says: making women feel unsafe and vulnerable in their community.
'Stop Telling Women to Smile' —
While the forms of street harassment women experience tend to vary depending on location, harassment's impact is always the same, Fazlalizadeh says: making women feel unsafe and vulnerable in their community.
Courtesy stoptellingwomentosmile.com