Introduction
a collaboration with performance artist carmen paz venegas.
inspired by little red riding hood and the essays written by tracy williams on the importance of the fairy tale as a source of cautionary cultural instructions. cannibalism, abjection and sexuality are implicit in this tale as well as the disempowering of the young girl and the colour red.
the girl in red explores the stigma attached to women who wear a bright
red as a means to become noticed and throw themselves at men. this is especially true in my country of birth chile, in which women are judged by what they wear, the colour of the skin, hair, as a sure way of defining codes of good taste, morals and social class origins.
today’s american society, when it comes to dress codes, might be more tolerant and less judgmental. however, my observation, race is an issue and the stigma attached to red still exist everywhere. in any social gathering, most women are not wearing it and it is safe to say that in this country, one must carefully tread the red dress.