Worry Ware

created BY Emma Quintana

Worry Ware is a collaborative art series that delves into the societal expectations that have burdened women in heterosexual relationships and have largely remained unchanged. Due to traditional gender norms, women perform more housekeeping, child-raising, and cognitive and emotional labor than men. Within this series, I have asked mothers to write down their anxieties while making their children's meals. The mothers then feed their children from the dishes that contain these fears.

The series sheds light on the pervasive impact of gender norms, revealing how women often shoulder a disproportionate workload. While it is essential to acknowledge that women aren't inherently better at tasks like planning, organizing, or multitasking, they are often compelled to master these skills due to the continuous demands society places upon them. These expectations perpetuate traditional gender roles, which expect women to serve as the primary caregivers and emotional pillars within their families.

"Worry Ware" takes a critical look at how the disproportionate burden of caregiving and emotional support placed upon women perpetuates traditional gender roles within the family. By examining the unbalanced distribution of emotional labor, this series fosters conversations on the complexities of gender dynamics in contemporary society.