An ongoing project examining my youth as a tomboy, struggling with notions of what it meant to be a girl.

Lessons #5-8: You can't......

What can you do in a dress besides look pretty? Not much, I realized as a young tomboy. The restrictions placed on your actions are endless; you might get dirty or hurt or ruin your dress. Much like a strait-jacket, once the dress was on, I was powerless and contained. Even when not physically wearing a dress, those same restraints and concerns were voiced to me. The things that I couldn’t do while wearing a dress carried over into every aspect of my life. I realized that it wasn’t the dress everyone was worried about, but my “girlness”, my ability to fit neatly into my assigned gender role. This restrictive role, like the dresses, limits those who are in it. It shows us what we can and can not do. I am slowly undoing the binds.

Lessons #5-8 are a collection of once-worn little girl's dresses whose sleeves have been elongated and fashioned with buckles, creating adorable strait-jackets. The restrictions my gender role placed upon me were present the year round, so I created one dress strait-jacket for each season, accompanied by a title telling me what I can't do.

Lesson #5: You can't climb trees in a dress. (Spring)

Lesson #6: You can't catch frogs in a dress. (Summer)

Lesson #7: You can't ride a bike in a dress. (Fall)

Lesson #8: You can't go sledding in a dress. (Winter)