Label
2024, “In This Place: American Dreams”
Linda Stein’s print focuses on freedom of expression. Although that liberty is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, the artist’s utopia of gender expression is far from reality. Queer and trans people consistently fall victim to harassment and discrimination in the workplace, schools, from strangers, family, and even by the same government that created the “freedom for all” narrative. However, it’s not impossible for this utopia to become reality. It starts with people in power, large companies, and the government. These entities are so powerful because they are listened to, but what are they saying? For decades, people have had to protest and riot just for equality. If those in power would listen to the people they were designed to serve, the United States could look a little more like the utopia Stein and so many others have imagined.
—Parker Whaley, Washburn University student