My name is Tatiana Fazlali Zare, and I'm an artist based in Brooklyn, New York.
And this is my project, Stop Telling Women to Smile.
Stop Telling Women to Smile is a public art series that is addressing street harassment,
particularly gender-based street harassment.
I started the project about a year ago, and I started it because I wanted to talk about
my experiences with street harassment.
It was my way of speaking back to my harassers, guys who say things to me on the street that
are unwelcome, that are unwanted, that are aggressive and assertive, and really make
you feel uncomfortable and harassed.
I thought it was important to talk about street harassment, where it actually happens
and the environment.
So instead of doing a painting, which is what I usually do because I'm primarily an oil
painter, I decided to try something new and go outside and talk about street harassment
there and speak up for myself and express myself and what I wanted to say about it in
this environment, where it actually happens.
I sit down and I talk with women, and we talk about street harassment, we talk about their
experiences, I hear their stories, what they want to say to harassers, and I draw their
portraits, and I put it outside in the street.
So I'm putting a face to these words.
It's not just, hey, street harassment is bad.
You actually get to see this person's face, this woman's face, who goes through this daily
and what she wants to say about it.
I've experienced a lot of street harassment, and it's really crazy.
Some of the things that I hear, and when I tell the stories to people that don't live
in New York, they just can't believe what happens here.
And it's really bad.
It's an everyday thing, not just daily, it's all through the day, anywhere that happens
to be walking.
And there's a range, there's a range from what they think is nice, which is hey, beautiful
or something.
But they'll still get mad if you don't respond, they're like, well, you're welcome, bitch,
or something, because you're supposed to be so grateful that they care.
It's like, I didn't really ask you, I don't really need to give you the time.
Eight of you did it today, I can't stop.
For each and every one of you, I have places to go and things to do.
I do not have unlimited time, but then if I pay attention to all of you, I'm a whore.
So I mean, what am I supposed to do here?
I've given myself a curfew, because I feel like there are times I can't even walk down
quiet streets.
I feel like even the quieter the street, the more dangerous that it is, because of the
level of harassment that you receive, and I guess the entitlement people feel, if they're
complimenting you in the way that they feel is complimentary, they feel like you owe them
something.
I don't know to what extent someone will go as far as what they think that I owe.
I shoot their photograph, I draw their portrait from that photograph, and I come up with a
caption, I come up with a text for the poster that's inspired by what they told me.
Sometimes it's a direct quote, sometimes it's simply something that kind of sums up.
I feel like what their experiences are and what they feel about street harassment, and
I add that to the poster.
I design the posters, I print them out, and I go out and I weed-paste.
It's really fun, I feel like it's a great and perfect medium for this project.
I make the weed-paste at home usually, and I go out, usually by myself, sometimes in
a group, and we'll weed-paste these posters around.
I try to put them up in the area where the woman lives, or where she feels close to street
harassment, and then I put them up everywhere.
I try to put them up wherever I can.
I realize that street harassment doesn't happen in one community, it doesn't happen in one
neighborhood, it happens everywhere, and so I try to spread these posters out and cover
a lot of ground.
I always fantasize about walking around with a huge sign over my head that says, I'm not
here for you.
I am not here for you, the fucking end, like that's it, I'm not here for you.
That's not what my existence is about.
I actually don't give a fuck if that sounds selfish, but I have nothing to do with you,
and I don't have to do anything for you, or about you, whatsoever.
That is my sole choice, you know, and it will be about me.
Every poster is personal and specific in particular, and when you put them all together, you see
how it fits into this context, you have this whole group of women who are all speaking
their voices and all saying what they want to say about street harassment.
