"I enjoy being a girl!"
Exaggerated femininity greets the viewers as they moved to the first of the three thesis installations. The title, "I enjoy being a girl", comes from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1958 musical Flower Drum Song. In the song the lead actress sings about getting dressed up, doing one’s hair and makeup, being complimented for her looks, and eventually meeting the boy she will marry. This song focuses on the looks and vanity of the young woman. This title tied directly into the parody of the woman in the piece and allowed the viewers to connect to the absurdity of the imagery. Imagery in I enjoy being a girl focused on the items a woman uses to prepare herself for the day and to keep herself beautiful. A mirrored vanity and beauty products, tied to the act of being vain, a play on the homonym. The copious number of bottles that covered the vanity and fell onto the floor were false objects that served as a hording of beauty. As the viewers looked at the bottles more closely, they saw that some, such as the lipstick on the right of the vanity, were real but most of the bottles were false and would not be useful in any beauty regiment. Fur, feathers, gold and costume jewelry were also fake, yet until the viewers looked closer, they could only see the lavishness of the outside of the items. The intent was to draw attention to the excessive lengths that women use to beautify themselves, even applying items that do not achieve this goal. Though the false items were humorous, each image in this scene tied back to the serious issue of young women’s insecurity with their looks and the negative effects of the constant pressure from the media and society to fill the accepted standard of beauty.
