Feminism seeks to dismantle systems of oppression. There have been many symbols raised that seek to carry the banner of feminism in their charge. For instance, the “Fearless Girl” bronze statue that stands in front of the charging bull on Wall Street falls short in seeking to dismantle systems of oppression.

Kristen Visbal composed the bronze sculpture of the “Fearless Girl.” It is a girl standing bold and tall across from the big bronze bull sculpture in Manhattan’s financial district. In addition, there is a plaque below the statue that states, “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”

As an artist myself, I interpret this as an elite feminist symbol; an image that illustrates diversifying the workplace with women. Of course, it raises awareness for women to have equal opportunities to become leaders and take on executive positions.

However, it lacks a broad feminist message. A majority of the women in our society are not part of the elites.

There is one crucial difference between a feminist that is part of the elites and a feminist who identifies with the working class: Experience.

Life is quite different for women who have millions of dollars as a CEO than women who work long hours to provide for their families. These women are average mothers, daughters and sisters trying to survive the capitalistic city. 

Making a certain number of women wealthy does not help the rest of the population. This kind of effort is more crap than any girl could ever expel. We, as a society, should not be concerned about making sure there are extremely wealthy women in the financial world. We need to pay more attention to women who suffer from being in poverty or  living close to it. These women do not have a standard of living.

So what are we going to do?

Illustrating art to send a message or raise awareness is more bull than composing something that positively helps the majority of women, like artists giving their time to expose art at day cares to help working parents and/or single parents.

Artists could also create a tool that would allow women to get free feminine products, such as sanitary pads and tampons. It is not a woman’s fault she has to deal once a month with a painful and messy cycle that lasts for a week. Along with the infliction of emotional and physical pain, women still need to spend their well-earned money to buy products that will help them maintain their working routine.

Moving away from art, it would be beneficial for women who are married, have children or are nursing their elderly parents to get the recognition they deserve. Many women who belong to one of these groups are underrepresented. Yet, their jobs are some of the toughest jobs and generally do not have an element of monetary income.

There should be a free program for families who are living below the poverty line to receive extra help. Although we have to be realistic, nothing is ever free. To say the least, women are obligated to have the opportunity to pay a reasonable amount for extra help.

Women work hard, yet do not get enough recognition. They deserve all the liberties and rights as anyone else does. Women who do great work deserve great rewards or, as Betty Friedan states, “no woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor.”