Making Believe: A Reclamation of Girlhood Play as Femme Resistance explores the perceived realms of power found in girlhood, such as make-believe, dress-up, and imaginative play. Filled with glitter, sequins, and polyester, these worlds I built with my sisters and friends were all I cared about. In these spaces, we could be loud, playful, and dream together – we, little girls, had power and freedom here. And at that time, I truly believed that anything out of reach was simply because of my age – a blissful ignorance. However, I was quickly made aware that the same spaces I once loved were silly, stupid, and frivolous. They were labeled as “girly” and consequently stripped of their power.

In this body of work, I reinstate value into the objects and images of my own girlhood, while critiquing my current feminine reality and frustrations. I imagine a world in which the safety and freedom of girlhood play are protected. By subverting the objects and images of my girlhood, I reinsert my adult body into these spaces of play and highlight the distance that lies between my girlish ignorance and the disillusionment of my modern femme experience, where play and power are foreign.

Although perhaps a mere fantasy or daydream, this exploration is an act of defiance in a world that aims to quiet feminine interests, expression, and play. Through the recreation and reimagining of these childhood spaces, I grant myself permission to exist again in the sanctuary of my girlish imaginings. It’s an endeavor of reclaiming whatever power I can, of asserting autonomy in a world that too often dictates who I should be. “Making Believe” is my attempt to carve out a space where the power found in girlhood play is held in reverence – a reminder to make myself believe as I once did.