LaShawnda Jones – författare

Fantasies: Wide Awake is a photo-illustrated ode to a young woman''s sexual awakening. It begins with an air of innocence which quickly morphs into throbbing anticipation to become a poetic treatise of her yearnings for an unattainable man. Fantasies: Wide Awake journeys into the psyche of woman emotionally invested in her hopes of connecting with The One. Unfortunately, all joyful almost-beginnings don''t manifest into happy endings.

Rejoice in doing well. I AM Woman is a triumphant expose on the needs and care of tth sl. Overall, in the larger Sisterhood of Womanhood, I know the struggle is universal. Across the United States, no matter what demographic groups we fall into, Women are essentially telling the same story. We aren''t seen. We aren''t valued. We are not respected. We have to fight for any measure approaching equality to a standard set by men. We may have different starting points, but for the most part, we are all chasing the same goals: love, acceptance, appreciation, and respect for our individual wholeness.

I want my work to combat the visceral hyper-sexualization and objectification of womanhood, girlhood and the feminine form everywhere. Closer to home, Black Women and Girls are hyper-sexualized, objectified, used, abused, and discarded without even the acknowledgment or defense of our humanity. On one hand, we''re lauded and imitated as sexual icons, on the other hand, we''re reviled for our fertility and physical versatility with no respect for our sacred femininity. It''s such a destructive dichotomy that we can do great harm to ourselves simply trying to figure out how to navigate society for survival.