"Art For Feminism."

This week's letter follows the impactful journey of Monika Lidman, my grandmother.

"Art For Feminism."

Cause: Feminism

Avenues used: Art, storytelling, and voice

Methods used: Creativity, consistency and determination

Monika Lidman defines feminism as a lifestyle that seeks equality. Feminism found many different places to grow through Monika's life. She learned to use her voice in situations where a woman's voice was minimized and found various avenues to share her cause. The first story that she shared with me revealed her confidence, her determination, and her optimism.

Monika Lidman attended Cherry Creek High School and found value in her education. Monika loved this guy named Tim Owens and also valued their relationship. At young ages, they decided to have sex. This decision was not uncommon among their age group back then. When she found out that she was pregnant, their decision became suddenly "unpromising." 

 Pregnant at 17, she was told that she could not stay in school or graduate with a high school diploma. Across the country, young, unwed, pregnant women were immediately expelled. Many hid their family shame and were sent to Florence Crittenton homes located across the country. 

This is what the residential homes looked like.

These options shaped the foremost question going through Monika's mind. Imagine having your child taken away from you and never knowing if you would ever see them again. Monika thought about all of the young women going through this situation. She wondered why they were so unfairly punished when the males involved in these situations continued their lives as usual. Monika had not read too much about feminism before this, but she suddenly understood that women lacked equal treatment. 

Here, I quote what Monika said to the school counselors because that day, she found and used her voice, ultimately to change the rules that have been outlined in books for a very long time. She said, "You two are counselors! You are supposed to help girls get a good education. With your friends who are counselors, you must know of hundreds of girls who have had to quit school or "disappear" to surrender their babies. Doesn't it bother you?" These words must have stuck with them because Monika became the first pregnant teen to stay in school and graduate with her high school class. To this day, she lives a life connected with her child, a girl who grew to be my mother.

Here is Monika (far left) with her younger sister and her newborn daughter, Pia.

Something Monika said resonated with me. She said, "Many factors combined had stationed me to be an 'agent for change.' I did not move mountains or start a movement, but I stood up and asked the right questions to the right people at the right time. I believed that pregnant, teen girls should not be punished by losing their education, especially when there were no consequences for boys." Monika used her voice to join the growing number of women who were seeking equality.

Monika proceeded to examine and respond to unequal situations, reading and learning more about feminism. Though she was a strong writer, she saw art as better suited for reaching people. When she studied art, she decided to focus on listening to and sharing women's stories. Her art life has been dedicated to the female experience: women's work, women's issues, and women's bodies. She believed in sharing "the power of women's lived experience, as told through their own stories." It was from there that Monika paved her unique pathway through social changes. 

Decades after my mother's birth, Monika began a performance piece. It involved creating a hand-sewn, life-sized 18-pound sculptural figure named "MOMO." She carried the doll with her everywhere she went for two years, documenting exchanges. 

This photo shows Monika carrying the MOMO doll around the city of Boulder, Colorado.

The MOMO project addressed the many burdens, and long-term responsibilities carried (mostly) by women. Most women would ask about the doll and then quickly begin to tell about their burdens. Monika incorporated "YOUR FERTILITY" on the doll's abdomen, which was a statement about the burden of her worry about inadequate birth control and the burden of raising children alone. 

Monika firmly believes in working against the old idea that "biology is destiny." Her issue is primary. She wants women to get the help, funds, and education they need to make their own choices about their bodies. "Fertility has mostly taxed women's minds and hearts, since the beginning of time." Women should not be forced to abort or raise a child that is not, to them, wanted and beloved. This is an issue close to her heart.

Here is the MOMO doll, the sculptural figure that Monika created. Monika learned volumes about women, and herself, during the two years she carried MOMO.

Thank you for your continued time and support,

Ruby