Idealized images of women are everywhere. Magazines, TV shows, movies, advertisements, and our Instagram feeds are constantly bombarding us with picture-perfect women in varying shades of artificial. The (male-dominated) media’s obsession with feminine beauty has caused our generation to buy into an industry that's growing faster than the GDP of the developed world. Whoa.
According the The Economist, the beauty industry makes $160 billion a year off of our desire to look pretty. We’re served up images of what the patriarchy thinks feminine beauty is and then we’re expected to mimic it, which is hurtful, expensive, and exhausting. Luckily, Polly Nor feels our pain.
Polly Nor is a freelance illustrator based in London. She graduated school in 2011 and has done illustrations for Bloomsbury Publishing, Dazed Digital, Hunger TV and Complex Magazine, so she's basically a big deal. She also happens to be a social media hero and low-key feminist icon.
Polly Nor’s semi-disturbing illustrations are a breath of fresh air (especially if you follow her on Instagram) since they're satirical yet honest images of imperfect women (who don’t give a f@#k about being imperfect) in a sea of Kylie Jenners, 15-second makeup tutorials, and unrealistic expectations. The women in her art aren't objectified, sexualized, idealized, or censored in any way, which is both radically feminist and playfully scandalous.
Polly Nor’s illustrations are glimpses into the bedrooms of women who are over it. The viewer imagines that the female character in each illustration has come home from work or school, taken off her makeup, gotten into an outfit that’s comfortable (aka her underwear or nothing at all) and is fully at home with herself (and her demons).
The demons, shockingly enough, don’t make the viewer feel any less safe and comfortable within the world Polly Nor illustrates. Polly Nor told Dazed magazine that her illustrations are inspired by “funny texts, angry tweets, memes and selfies”, as well as typical “girl chat,” so you can imagine that the demonic figures represent annoying ex-boyfriends, annoying current boyfriends, poisonous frenemies, personified insecurity or sexual frustration, or just straight-up female wickedness. The point is that these images don't cover up any of the less-than-pretty elements of womanhood like the mainstream media does, but instead welcome them into the bedroom, the bathroom, and the selfie. The demons are disarmed by each woman’s air of self-assurance and comfort, which allows viewers to feel okay about having some bad sh*t in their lives too.
Looking at Polly Nor’s work and seeing a bit of yourself in every piece is not supposed to make you feel shame, but the opposite. When you're laying on your bed with your belly hanging out, no makeup on, no bra on, not trying to look good for anyone, you’re still a work of art. I know it’s cheesy, but seeing yourself as still cool even when you look kinda gross is a lesson in complete freedom. Polly Nor's work can help you give yourself permission to not only face your demons and maybe even make friends with them, but also make friends with yourself in your most honest state, leg hair included.
Follow @PollyNor on Instagram and check out more of her work on pollynor.com.
