Trigger Warning: This page may contain information relating to someone's gender inequitable experiences including suicides. This may be triggering to readers with similar experiences.
This submission is part of the Expressions of Gender Equity art project - a 2021 International Women's Day initiative. We thank all artists who responded to our artistic briefs and are honoured to showcase their work.
Artist Statement
In response to the art brief:
“This piece is a reflection on how we are labeled, silenced and dismissed when we speak up against abuse. All of the writing in the piece are things that have personally been said to me, which along with physical and sexual abuse have been repeatedly dismissed as something I should just “get over”.
I carry these traumas with me every day and they affect how I function on every level, including my physical health but when I speak up about them I am quickly punished for it. This greatly affects me in the workplace.
The last regular job I had, my (male) boss kept sneaking up and scaring me, throwing heavy objects at me, physically blocking me. When I confronted him about it and said “Please stop, I have PTSD, this really hurts me”, he informed me he was not going to stop because he was having fun, and then laughed at me and said “you have PTSD?? From WHAT?” and walked away from me, still laughing.
I lost my job and he kept his.”
Art Brief
Sarah Frenzel
Bitter and Resentful Woman, 2021
United States | Painting
About the Artist:
Sarah Frenzel is a self taught artist from the US specializing in portraiture and digital painting. She’s also a domestic violence survivor. She uses art as a coping mechanism for CPTSD and as a way to help heal others. When she’s not making art she’s busy being a mother to two human children and an impressive collection of adopted furry friends and houseplants with names.
