“It’s not easy being a woman in a world that fails to understand her.” You’ve probably heard this statement a thousand times, but it’s true. Sometimes we feel as if only another woman can understand our struggles, like picking up the perfect outfit, having hundreds of shoes, and the pain that comes with waxing.
The struggles are found in the little things; going to a dirty public restroom can be as stressful as a job interview. There are certain problems only we are faced with, and although they may be considered stereotypes, this doesn’t mean they’re not accurate.
Cassandra Calin decided to share insights of her life through cartoons, to give people the chance to understand what it means to be a modern woman. The Montreal-based illustrator likes to laugh at her own expense, and at the same time, perhaps unintentionally, criticizes the way we have accepted to follow certain rules.
As women, we are taught to wax our legs and other parts of our body, because society wants us to have smooth skin. As a consequence, we manically wax or shave as soon as we feel some roughness on our skin. Men are given the chance to stop shaving if they want to, or let their beards grow, and nobody will judge them. They will never have to choose between being judged or feeling the pain of waxing.
We think we look beautiful after spending hours getting ready, but as soon as we look at a mirror long enough, we cannot help but pinpoint all our imperfections. We search for acceptance by replicating the images of a perfect woman, when in fact she doesn’t exist. We are so absorbed by this concept that we never realize we are imperfectly perfect as we are.
Even though we’ve settled an unspoken agreement with the mirror to feel okay with our image, the rest of the world keeps scrutinizing our looks. If we decide not to wear make-up, we need to prepare ourselves for comments like, “Are you OK?, Did something bad happen?, Oh, you look terrible!” Our sole response is: “I just wanted to sleep in another ten more minutes.”
From time to time, we grumble, thinking men seem to have it easy. They don’t need to spend several minutes waiting in line to have access to a restroom. Men can’t picture the feeling of using a toilet in a place of questionable cleanliness. We can’t sit down on the toilet, can’t put our purses on the floor, and to top it all off, we need to hold the door closed because the lock doesn’t work.
We have mastered the art of balancing objects and doing more than two things at the same time. Even our holidays to the beach need to be carefully planned, because we can’t afford having our period in the middle of the ocean, or having cramps while trying to relax under the blazing sun.
Even sleeping can be problematic; we can’t go to bed with wet hair, and we can’t let it air dry because the next day would become a bad hair day. We roll around in bed, hoping that tomorrow we won’t have to tie it into a ponytail for the third time this week. We also need to make sure to wash our faces and moisturize; otherwise, our previously perfect make up will not only ruin the bedsheets but our skin as well.
We envy the guys who can go to H&M, Old Navy, or Calvin Klein and come out with the perfect outfit in less than sixty minutes. We spend hours searching for the trendiest outfit, only to discover that the last item in the store is not our size. We openly hate the fact that our bodies don’t fit the clothes we want to buy. We blame the fashion industry, because they are responsible for making us feel conscious about the size of our curves. However, we still dream of going to New York’s Fashion Week and wearing the intricate designs. Yes, our bodies are perfect, no matter the size, and one day we will find the perfect pair of jeans.
The perfect day for us is when we get to go home after an exhausting day at the office. We can free ourselves from our bras and spend the rest of the night in a t-shirt and underwear. In the comfort of our homes or bedrooms we can be ourselves and feel happy with the way our bodies look.
Cassandra’s illustrations are filled with humor, and her jokes teach us valuable lessons. We need to poke fun at society’s rules and be happy with what we have. Cartoon after cartoon, she shows us how to laugh at our perfect imperfection. We still need to fight against stereotypes; we still need to break the barriers of prejudice. There is still a long road ahead for us to gain equal rights, but Cassandra’s work can help the rest of the world understand what it means to be a modern woman.
