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8 comics that perfectly capture society's ridiculous expectations for women

"We are just humans, multifaceted and fascinating, divided by judgement, discrimination, and double standards."

@lainey.molnar/Instagram

"We are just humans, multifaceted and fascinating."

It’s one thing to talk about the unfair and unrealistic societal expectations that are still put on women. But it’s another thing to see exactly what those double standards look like in real life.

And, that, in essence, is often what artist Lainey Molnar’s work is all about.

On her popular Instagram account, Molnar has tackled all kinds of topics around womanhood and feminism—everything from the unsettling differences between men and women’s safety items that appear on a Google search to generational toxic relationships with food—using strikingly candid comic illustrations, many of which have depict cartoon versions of herself.

While Molnar told Upworthy that her work generally aims to make “complex topics simple and thought provoking,” she often wishes to delve more into nuance, like the intersection of class, race and religion in women’s issues. And that is what inspired some of her latest images.

“I wanted to create a series with all female characters about predominantly female experiences that show the double standards stemming from these issues. Because we can’t empower women without supporting social justice all the way, everything connects,” she shared.

One image shows a white woman, affluently dressed, being praised as a “single mother of three.” While a Black woman is noted for having “three baby daddies.” Another of a similar theme shows a young white girl getting commended for learning another language, while an Indian girl of the same age is chastised for “not speaking English properly.”

There’s also a white woman who is told it’s “cool” that she’s embracing her natural curls, while a Black woman sporting an afro is called “unkempt and unprofessional.”

Touching on wealth status, Molnar depicted one girl being complimented for her “vintage” outfit while another is patronized for getting hand-me-downs.

Lastly, a woman wearing a hijab is told that she’s “oppressed” and “can’t think for herself” while another woman is called “classy” for her modesty.

Take a look at all eight in the carousel below:

In her post’s caption, Molnar wrote “We are just humans, multifaceted and fascinating, divided by judgment, discrimination, and double standards. The world needs to do better.” Many of her comics tend to have a thoughtful musing attached to them.

When it comes to having meaningful conversations about important issues, it can be hard to strike a balance between oversimplification and getting buried in nuance. But art can be a valuable tool in not only helping people understand a message on an emotional and visceral level, but also be able to carry an image with them. One that helps them have better conversations moving forward.

To check out more of her work, check out Molnar’s Instagram here.

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Artist takes the best 'good news' stories and transforms them into masterful illustrations ›

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Celebrity

Adam Driver has a graceful and funny response to interviewer who criticized his looks

"Would it be easier if you looked like Robert Redford?"

via Dick Thomas Johnson/Wikimedia Commons and Jim Greenhill / Wikimedia Commons

Journalist Chris Wallace and actor Adam Driver.

Female actors in Hollywood are routinely criticized by the press, producers and fans on social media for their appearances. It must be incredibly daunting to undergo constant scrutiny just to do your job and express yourself through your art.

For the most part, men have it a lot easier in Hollywood, where the superficial importance of looks is a less critical to their success. That double standard is why a recent interaction between actor Adam Driver and journalist Chris Wallace is so interesting.

It’s a rare moment when a member of the press is critical of a man’s looks to his face. But Driver handles the situation with grace and humor.

Driver appeared on a recent episode of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” to promote his new film “Ferrari,” where he plays Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the iconic car brand. During the interview, Wallace compliments Driver by saying he is often compared to iconic stars such as Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino.

“Those are the actors that made me want to be an actor, you know, so that’s a nice comparison,” Driver said while adding that he avoids listening to compliments or negative comments about his career.

“The New Yorker also called me a ‘horse face,’ so I don’t — I take it with a grain of salt,” Driver said. “I remember reading one reviewer [who wrote]: ‘His agent probably doesn’t know whether to put him in a movie or the Kentucky Derby.’ So I take it, you know, if you believe the good thing, then you have to believe the bad thing. So I try to not absorb anything.”

Wallace then affirmed the insult with his next question.

“You don’t look like the typical movie star,” Wallace noted before asking if it was a “help” or a “hindrance” to his career. “A hindrance in only breaking mirrors wherever I go and having a misshapen outsized body that I can’t fit through doorways, or most clothes or fit into most cars,” the actor joked. “Apart from that, it’s good.”

After Driver’s response, Wallace kept to the same line of questioning, asking him if he thought his career would be easier if he looked like “All the President’s Men” and “The Natural” star Robert Redford. He drove the point home even further by putting up an image of Redford on the screen, juxtaposed with Driver. “It would just be different,” Driver said. “Who doesn’t want to look like Robert Redford? I’ve accepted this is how I look.”

The exchange went viral on X, where people praised Diver for his thoughtful and funny responses to a series of questions many saw as inappropriate.

There are many good reasons for people to feel angry over the way Wallace badgered Driver into talking about his looks. But the positive takeaway from the interview should be that Driver was proud to say that he has “accepted” how he looks, regardless of the amount of ink wasted by others who comment on his appearance.

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What does it mean to look "suspicious"?

It's a question a lot of Twitter users are asking on what would've been Trayvon Martin's 23rd birthday.

In case you need a refresher: Six years ago, Florida resident George Zimmerman — who was on local neighborhood watch duty after a string of local robberies — called the Sanford Police Department to report Martin for being "suspicious."

Martin, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, was walking home to his father's fiancee's house after buying a bag of Skittles and Arizona iced tea from a local convenience store. Minutes later, Zimmerman fatally shot him.

He was 17 years old.

Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images.

Unfortunately, Martin's is just one name in a long list of young black men shot and killed after being labeled "suspicious."

As some Twitter users pointed out, it's a racial double standard that doesn't apply to his white counterparts:

But perhaps the most poignant remark in tribute to Martin's legacy came from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter, Bernice.

On Feb. 5, the day after the Super Bowl, King took to Twitter to point out a troubling double standard in our reactions to mayhem erupting on the streets.

Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrated their Super Bowl victory by flipping over cars, toppling light poles, stealing trees, looting gas stations, and burning property — but despite all that violence, many media outlets brushed off these violent acts as being merely "rowdy."

Meanwhile, when civil unrest broke out in Baltimore after Gray's death in 2015, public officials, political commentators, and members of the U.S. public decried "rioting" protesters.

According to reports, cars and buildings were set on fire. The windows of local businesses were smashed and some were looted. But as King pointed out, those riots erupted out of a continuing trend of young black people being punished by extrajudicial killings and a system that fails to provide their family and communities with any justice.

Of course, the riots in Philadelphia weren't met with the same level of nationwide condemnation as the ones that took place in the aftermath of Gray's death or the verdict that set Zimmerman free.

Martin's death — and Zimmerman's eventual acquittal — helped give birth to the Black Lives Matter movement to fight against the trend of young black lives being systemically targeted and killed.

After hearing reports of the riots after the Super Bowl, Hank Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter New York, lambasted the hypocrisy in statements made to Newsweek on Jan. 5.

"Somehow, it seems there's a line drawn in the sand where destruction of property because of a sports victory is OK and acceptable in America," Newsome said. "However, if you have people who are fighting for their most basic human right, the right to live, they will be condemned."

As Twitter user @StarrburyMike suggested on Sunday evening, it's time to hold all Americans — especially those in positions of power — accountable for this racial double standard.

Hillary Clinton is a worried American and 6 other things we learned today.

Her interview was a highlight of the Women in the World Summit's second day.

In the nearly five months since the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has kept a relatively low profile. On Thursday, she gave her first interview.

In a candid sit-down with Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times at the annual Women in the World Summit, the twice-elected U.S. senator and former secretary of state touched on everything ranging from the role Russia played in the election to whether she plans on running for office again.

Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

On the aftermath of the election, coping with loss, and deciding to move forward:

"I'm doing pretty well, all things considered. The aftermath of the election was so devastating, and everything that has come to light in the days and weeks since have been also troubling. So I just had to make up my mind that yes, I was going to get out of bed, and yes, I was going to go for a lot of long walks in the woods, and I was going to see my grandchildren a lot and spend time with my family and my friends. ... So, I'm OK. I will put it this way: as a person, I'm OK; as an American, I'm pretty worried."

On what it was like to be the first woman nominated by a major party only to lose to a man who bragged about sexual assault:

"Certainly, misogyny played a role. I mean, that just has to be admitted. And why and what the underlying reasons were is what I'm trying to parse out myself."

"I think in this election there was a very real struggle between what is viewed as change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans, and change which is worrisome and threatening to so many others. And you layer on the first woman president over that and I think some people, women included, had real problems."

Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

On double standards and why young women shouldn't give up:

"We need more young people, and we particularly need young women. ... With men, success and ambition are correlated with likability, so the more successful a man is, the more likable he is. With a women, it's the exact opposite."

On why Congress should think twice before gutting women's health care:

"'Why do we have to cover maternal care?' Well, I don't know, maybe you were dropped by immaculate conception?" she joked.

"This is in our national security interest," she added later, stressing the importance of making sure women have access to reproductive health care around the world. "The more we support women, the more we support democracy."

On one of her favorite memes in the post-election world:

She thought the photo of men discussing how they planned to obliterate women's health care was pretty ridiculous, too.

On criticism coming from supporters or detractors:

"Toughen up your skin. Take criticism seriously, but not personally. ... I am always open to people saying, 'Oh, you should have done that.' Sometimes I don't know how to fix what they're concerned about, but I try. So I take it seriously, but I don't any longer ... take it personally. Because part of the attacks, the personal attacks, part of the bullying, part of the name-calling that has certainly become much more pervasive because of the internet, is to crush your spirit and to make you feel inadequate; to make you doubt yourself. And I just refuse to do that."

Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

Finally, on whether she'll ever run for office again:

"I am looking at doing interesting things. I don't think that will include ever running for office again. ... I think there are lots of ways to make a difference, to work in all sectors of our society — the for-profit, the not-for profit — looking for ways that you can help people live their own lives better, tell their own stories better. ... I am committed to the unfinished business of the 21st century: the rights of women and girls."

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We're 11 days out from the election. So, let's talk about Hillary Clinton. No, seriously. - Upworthy ›

17 amazing women who probably aren't in history books, but should be.

Some women won't be found in history books. Don't let them be forgotten.

True

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman elected to Congress in U.S. history. Four years later, she ran for president.

It's a bit embarrassing, but I'll admit that her name didn't immediately ring a bell to me. Growing up, even as a self-described history buff, I don't recall ever seeing Chisholm's name in a textbook. That's a problem.

But that was before I came across Rori, a cartoonist and freelance illustrator, and her "100 Days, 100 Women" project that was inspired by Chisholm's forgotten place in history.

‌Shirley Chisholm. All illustrations courtesy of Rori.‌

"She's not well known," Rori writes in an email, talking about Chisholm. "That's a shame, but really common."

"100 Days, 100 Women" is dedicated to shining a light on powerful women from history who don't get the recognition they deserve — through comics.

"People do great things and history forgets them," writes Rori. "Maybe their story is seen as a sidenote, or doesn't fit smoothly into the narrative."

She's right too. For the longest time, recorded history revolved around men — or at least that's the way it's been portrayed in books that were, almost certainly by no coincidence, written by men. Quietly, though, women have been leaving their mark on the world, and it's time they got their due.

That's where Rori comes in.

‌Sybil Ludington and Tammy Duckworth‌‌Lady Triệu and Anita Hill‌

The project is Rori's way of giving back to young girls who are searching for their own role models.

Growing up, Rori was drawn to the stories that make up our forgotten history. Sure, there have been powerful female role models to look up to, but Rori felt as though there simply weren't enough who were visible and well-known. With this spark of curiosity and purpose, she set off on learning about some of the women time forgot.

"The more I found figures that truly resonated with me, the more confident and inspired I felt!" she wrote.

‌Juana Galán and Nellie Bly‌

The parameters were simple: highlight women in history, the lesser known the better. After starting with around 50 names, the list quickly ballooned to over 150. With so many inspirational women to highlight, some of the more well-known figures (for example, Joan of Arc) wound up on the cutting room floor.

‌Wilma Mankiller and Ida B. Wells‌

Each comic is accompanied by a brief explanation of what historical contribution that woman made along with a link to some further reading. It's a bite-size history lesson perfect for parents, teachers, and students alike.

The list is a work in progress. The only names truly set are the ones that have been drawn already.

So far, Rori's put the finishing touches on around 35 portraits, including civil rights activists (such as Dolores Huerta and Ida B. Wells), the first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova), pioneers in arts and music (Artemisia Gentileschi and Wendy Carlos), and politicians (former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto).

‌Josephine Baker and Lucy Gonzalez Parsons‌‌Benazir Bhutto and Hypatia‌

To keep up with Rori's ongoing list of 100 Days, 100 Women, you can follow her on social media. She posts updates to Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, and she gives special sneak peeks through her Patreon profile.

‌Kumander Guerrero and "Stagecoach" Mary Fields‌‌Rumiko Takahashi and Queen Liliʻuokalani‌

With any hope, Rori's project will inspire a renewed interest in women's history, opening up an entire new universe of role models for young minds.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman elected to Congress in U.S. history. Four years later, she ran for president.

But that was before I came across Rori, a cartoonist and freelance illustrator, and her "100 Days, 100 Women" project that was inspired by Chisholm's forgotten place in history.

‌Shirley Chisholm. All illustrations courtesy of Rori.‌

"She's not well known," Rori writes in an email, talking about Chisholm. "That's a shame, but really common."

"100 Days, 100 Women" is dedicated to shining a light on powerful women from history who don't get the recognition they deserve — through comics.

"People do great things and history forgets them," writes Rori. "Maybe their story is seen as a sidenote, or doesn't fit smoothly into the narrative."

That's where Rori comes in.

‌Sybil Ludington and Tammy Duckworth‌‌Lady Triệu and Anita Hill‌

The project is Rori's way of giving back to young girls who are searching for their own role models.

"The more I found figures that truly resonated with me, the more confident and inspired I felt!" she wrote.

‌Juana Galán and Nellie Bly‌

‌Wilma Mankiller and Ida B. Wells‌

The list is a work in progress. The only names truly set are the ones that have been drawn already.

‌Josephine Baker and Lucy Gonzalez Parsons‌‌Benazir Bhutto and Hypatia‌

To keep up with Rori's ongoing list of 100 Days, 100 Women, you can follow her on social media. She posts updates to Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, and she gives special sneak peeks through her Patreon profile.

‌Kumander Guerrero and "Stagecoach" Mary Fields‌‌Rumiko Takahashi and Queen Liliʻuokalani‌

With any hope, Rori's project will inspire a renewed interest in women's history, opening up an entire new universe of role models for young minds.

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Humans of New York, the popular photo blog you've probably seen on Facebook, did something a bit unusual on Sept. 8, 2016.

It featured Hillary Clinton.

The move was pretty out of the ordinary for Humans of New York (HONY), as the series typically stays away from the muddy waters of U.S. politics.

And although you could argue Clinton's inclusion on HONY was political — everything a candidate does in the gleam of the spotlight is political, after all — the post still struck a chord with women of varied political leanings who can relate.

In the post, Clinton opens up about an experience she had in college when classmates tried intimidating her out of taking a test.

"While we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ And ‘There’s plenty else you can do.’ It turned into a real ‘pile on,'" Clinton explained in the post. "One of them even said: ‘If you take my spot, I’ll get drafted, and I’ll go to Vietnam, and I'll die.’ And they weren’t kidding around."

Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images.

Clinton goes on to explain it was moments like these that taught her, as a woman, she needed to be extra careful in handling her emotions publicly.

It speaks to the double standards often applied to women when it comes to how they should express themselves and their emotions (double standards that, by the way, also hurt men too).

The best part about Clinton's post, however, was how it resonated with other women online.

Many of the commenters were't too kind, as you can imagine.

But there were also many notes from women chiming in on the fact that, regardless of how you feel about Clinton the candidate, her experience shines a light on the type of sexism half the population still has to deal with all the time.

Like how society's mixed messages on how women should think and act can create impossible standards to uphold.

Or how — even to commenters who aren't fans of Clinton — the candidate's firsthand experience hits very close to home.

Of course, in Clinton's case, these double standards have been thrown into a spotlight for the world to see. And it's not pretty.

Other commenters noted how double standards affect all of our perceptions, oftentimes in subconscious ways.

And some gave a shoutout to the women who overcome this type of treatment and keep going.

Clinton's HONY story was impactful because, in a certain sense, it wasn't really about her at all.

People with various political leanings were able to empathize with what she went through. They know how these double standards have affected their own lives in very real ways.

Thousands of people were able to connect with one another over shared experiences in a single Facebook thread. And it had little to do with the candidate who started the conversation.

Clinton's story got to the heart of a much bigger message: We all have emotions, and we should all be free to express them however we choose — regardless of our gender (or the office we're running for).

In 2012, designer Wendy Fox was watching the London Olympics when she noticed something about the women athletes.

"I was really amazed by the physical diversity of the female athletes and how vastly they differ depending on the requirements of the sport," says Fox.

The Women's 100-meter hurdles at the 2012 Olympics in London. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images.

Some of the fastest, strongest, most athletic, and inspiring women in the world don't have bodies that adhere to a societal ideal. They have bodies built for speed, agility, strength, and in short — kicking ass.

Fox decided to turn all 276 female gold medal winners into a poster of inspiration, perspiration, and representation.

Photo via Kickstarter/Wendy Fox.

You may know some of their names — like McKayla Maroney, Misty May-Treanor, and Serena Williams — but you probably haven't heard of most of them.

That might be because, according to a 25-year study, the coverage of women's sports in media is often shamefully small when compared to the coverage men's sports get.

In 2016, a little less than half of the athletes competing in the Olympics will be women. The most in history. So Wendy Fox is stepping it up.

She's turned to Kickstarter to help fund a poster and book filled with illustrations of every woman who wins gold in the Rio Olympics.

Photo via Kickstarter/Wendy Fox.

The goal is to inspire young girls — who will see accomplished women athletes held up as high as men often are — but also to help foster a worldwide interest in women's sports.

Women athletes are too often objectified and sexualized, with little attention paid to their athletic prowess.

A quick Google search for "female athletes" will yield a depressing amount of listicles containing the "hottest" or "sexiest" female athletes instead of anything remotely substantive.

Not to mention the fact that women in general are still held to absurd beauty standards and often judged for the way they look far more than their merits and accomplishments.

Serena Williams at Wimbledon 2016. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.

Just look at what happens over and over to Serena Williams, inarguably one of the greatest athletes of all time. She has to wade through absurd body-shaming controversies while she's busy doing awesome things like, I dunno, WINNING WIMBLEDON.

In her illustrations, Fox is careful to draw the athletes to scale, beautifully depicting the fact that all heights, builds, weights, and skin colors are capable of greatness.

"I would love for girls to look at this project and discover a sport that’s for them," writes Fox in her Kickstarter campaign, "especially a sport that they didn’t even know existed before and for them to make a conscious shift in their perception of what it is that their bodies are capable of."

Photo via Kickstarter/Wendy Fox.

So pay attention in Rio 2016, because the list of women champions is probably going to fill up fast. And if you pay closer attention, you'll see that champions come in all shapes and sizes.