Girlhood: Talking to Girls I Know and Love
Leslie Fonseca
Girlhood: Talking to Girls I Know and Love delves into themes of womanhood, familial relationships, and the shared experiences of Latina women through a series of zines and an animated short film. Inspired by Danny Ische’s illustration style and Jillian Hernandez’s dissertation titled "Miss, You Look Like a Bratz Doll: On Chonga Girls and Sexual-Aesthetic Excess,” this project aims to portray girlhood through the Latinx lens.
Each zine features transcribed audio interviews with four close friends discussing family dynamics, hyper-sexualization, gender stereotypes, and body image in the Latinx community, accompanied by hyper-realistic illustrations. The zines are saddle-stitched with different color threads representing each girl, symbolizing the connection of their shared experiences and providing a platform for their voices to be heard, fostering relatability. Additionally, the project includes an animated short film that further explores the theme of the feminine experience. The animated scenes are inspired by the responses given during the interviews and are accompanied by somber acoustics, reflecting the complexities and nuances of womanhood.
These responses are reinterpreted in a whimsical, dreamlike, and nostalgic aesthetic, aiming to soften the harsh realities experienced by these women.