The inspiration for the illustrations comes from the desire to disrupt mainstream media and everyday social injustice. There are so many lies that we as a society are led to believe, especially regarding gender. Over the past few years I’ve learned so much about social justice and wanted unmask and interrogate some of these untruths. It’s fun to draw and good practice to try identify one thing each day that might be a lightbulb moment for someone else.
The zine “Recipes for Self Love” is made up of contributions from other women on the topic of practicing self love. Women submit a written piece or visual representation of how they manage to practice self love in a world that wants them to hate themselves. I pair artists with the written pieces and put the book together to print.
We live in a capitalist world that benefits greatly from people’s feelings of inadequacy. The more insecure you are, the more money and time you’re bound to spend on trying to “fix” yourself. The beauty myth is one lie that affects women in particular. This idea communicates that a woman’s value is based on how beautiful society deems her to be, nothing more. This myth is affirmed everywhere in society, it’s taught to us when we are young and drummed into us as we grow up. We internalize this notion, making it very difficult to firstly even identify it, and secondly challenge it. Practicing self love is an ongoing journey, often difficult, and we don’t always get it right but it’s totally rewarding and worth while. I hope my illustrations can help women smash the patriarchy and combat internalized sexism.
Author: Alison Stewart
Author Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: I started the zine when I was struggling with my mental health and wanted to find out how other women manage to practice self love. I couldn’t find any resources so I started my own. The zine is made up of submissions from all different kinds of women on the topic of practicing self love. It’s full of inspiring tips and tricks. Both issues are available on my Etsy account, and I’m currently working on the third issue (look out for the call for submissions). The Instagram account came about as a way to promote the zine but turned into a whole thing of its own, which I love. I make inspiring intersectional illustrations about social justice, body positivity and general feminist issues.
Link to social media or website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ILoveMeILoveYou | Instagram @recipesforselflove
