“Don’t do that! It’s not ‘ladylike’.” I can recall being told this on more than one occasion while growing up. Though I cannot recall what exactly I was doing at the time, it could have been anything from saying a "bad word" to talking with my mouth full. Historically, women have faced harsher scrutiny of their behaviour, have been pressured to adhere to a certain code of conduct and I would argue, still are today. While studying art history, I was drawn to the opulence and beauty of baroque-era portraits of women. Beneath the gilded gold flourishes though, there is little consideration given to the true nature of the subject—the woman is merely an object.

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As an artist and a woman, I am interested in the different ways in which women are portrayed; both in the past and the present. This series of 8 images is named for "unladylike" characteristics, and underneath is a quote from “True Politeness, A Hand-Book of Etiquette For Ladies”published in 1847. Inspired in part by “How Would have Been” by Romina Ressia, while creating this series I wanted to examine the notion of “ladylike” in both contemporary and bygone times. In this period of fourth wave feminism; intersectional feminism, that broadens its aims and reaches out through social media, women from the 18th century seem very far away indeed. This series attempts to root out “ladylike” standards that still linger in modern society, pervasive even through the leaps and bounds women’s rights and freedoms have made and, I hope, will continue to make.