Artist Statement
I, with Pride!
“I, with Pride!” aims to say: “Only you can determine what you are because no one else is you.” With this series of illustrations, I want to tell people that they are the ones who know themselves best and if anyone says otherwise, they are incorrect. You are valid. My work’s topic is about asexuality and the feelings an asexual person faces in our present society that values sex as a mandatory point of connection in a deep relationship.
Asexuality means experiencing little to no sexual attraction to others; in other words, an asexual has little to no desire to have sex with another person. My first illustration, “Discovery” is about a girl named Jenny recognizing and excitedly exploring the asexual label; a feeling of finally having a word to describe this aspect of herself. Jenny has many interests and things that she loves that are not sex, and she shouldn’t be any different without those thoughts.
My second image, “Dismissal” is about Jenny’s peers denying her asexuality. Asexuals often get told that they’ll eventually meet “the one”, that they’re still too young, or that they’re a late bloomer, as if it’s just a temporary phase. Here, Jenny is being presented sexual things which disrupt her thoughts. She’s trying to understand why it’s necessary to have these things when she was already so happy before.
This third image, “Isolation” has Jenny almost ashamed for not understanding what her peers are saying. She has all the sexual things on the ground around her feet since she failed to grasp their significance and her peers have their backs turned to her. What does it mean when supposedly temporary things persist? It means that there’s something wrong. Even though everyone is saying there’s something wrong, she can’t help but think otherwise.
My last illustration in the series, “Pride” depicts Jenny being cheerful and proud of her sexuality. She is uplifted and surrounded by the things that she loves, proud to be asexual. She likes that part of herself, and only she needs to be the one to like it because she’s the only one that can be her.
This series is accompanied by my comic, ZOMZOMBiE GiRL, which shows the same character in a supernatural story that features her asexuality being a part of her identity. I’ve personally learned a lot of my own life lessons through my enjoyment of graphic novels, and I’d like to reach people in the same fun and engaging way.