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Meet the artist calling BS on what it means to be a 'proper' feminist

Meet the artist calling BS on what it means to be a 'proper' feminist

Feminism isn't a competition. And this artist wants you to know that.

In fact, her take on what it means to be a feminist is full of contradictions, and that's completely fine.

The illustrator, who simply goes by Ambivalently Yours, started drawing her powder pink pictures in 2012 while studying feminist art and working in the fashion industry.

It was then, she noticed the "huge contradiction".

She told i100.co.uk:

At work, I became know as the feminist killjoy, and in school I was the fashion girl who many assumed was duped by the patriarchy just because I liked cute clothes and feminine colours.

I felt caught somewhere in-between. I both loved and hated it. I felt ambivalent.

Ambivalently Yours (AY) decided to embrace her contradictions, sharing her feminist questions online alongside her artwork, in the hope to find other "ambivalent allies who also live in this place where things are undefined and pink can be powerful".

"I'm really tired of reading articles written by feminists about other feminists whose feminism isn't feminist enough," she explained, highlighting the difference between challenging someone's views and telling them their feminism isn't good enough.

Part of being a feminist is learning to stop letting others decide how you should think and act.

There isn't one uniform or formula that makes someone the perfect feminist.

We can fight the same fight while also understanding our needs and experiences are not universal.

A selection of these illustrations and drawn responses have been curated into a series of zines. Available to buy here.

AY hopes a book will be in the works soon.

More:This woman is fighting the patriarchy with fantastic feminist cartoons

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