137Kviews
Artist Illustrates The Pressures She And Other Women Face From Society In 24 New Honest Comics
Interview With ArtistWhen enough people adhere to the same standard, that standard transforms into a societal expectation that is mutually and openly agreed upon without the need for law. Men shouldn't show emotion, and women should wear makeup, are two standards that are prevalent enough to be found everywhere.
But each of us is unique. These "expectations" do not accurately describe the majority of people. Therefore, artist Lainey Molnar explores these topics in particular as she creates comics that most people, especially women, can relate to.
With that being said, Lainey's work has been featured on Bored Panda previously, and if you'd like to see the previous parts to this series, then make sure to click here, here, and here.
More info: Instagram
This post may include affiliate links.
Rapists deserve to be beaten with a hot iron stick for the rest of eternity
This time around, Bored Panda reached out to Lainey with some new questions regarding her upcoming works.
"As of late, I started posting short videos around the topics of being a woman, relationships, little wisdom, and self-healing besides the regular illustrations and I'm enjoying them tremendously. Instagram infamously changed their algorithm to favor videos, slashing so many creators' engagement and forcing them to do videos they're not necessarily comfortable with, but I feel like I can get even deeper this way to support women all over the world."
We also wanted to know if the artist had a comic she was proud of, and we thought it was only fair if she'd share her thoughts with us!
"My absolute favorite is one of my earliest illustrations that I recently re-drew. I know that so many of us women are criticized or shunned by society by not hitting the "right" milestones, not hitting them at the right time, or having entirely different plans than what is expected. My goal is to lift the weight of societal stigma from every woman's shoulder, because personal life decisions that don't hurt anyone are not right or wrong, they're simply... personal. I am 33, single, I don't plan on having children, and I'm traveling the world instead of settling down. I don't have a college degree, I can't drive a car, I don't own an apartment, and I don't feel like a black sheep, I just feel like myself. As everyone should."
Artists go through a few art phases trying to find the art style they could call their own, and for Lainey, it is likely the same, given that the artist is currently thinking about pursuing her ultimate dream.
"Before digital art, I used to draw with markers which I really miss, but I don't have time for it anymore, but my ultimate dream is to paint on designer handbags. My background is in fashion and my hobby is refurbishing (vintage) designer accessories in the name of sustainability and value, so creating artworks on pieces I already consider artworks would marry all of my passions and talents."
Starting out with comics (or art in general) isn't easy, so we asked the artist if she had any tips to share for those who might be starting out.
"This is an advice to everyone creating any kind of art: Do not put too much weight on how you are doing on social media. Having followers or likes doesn't validate how valuable your art is, it's simply a tool to echo your voice. The art and the message should come from your heart and it should be something you would create the same way just for yourself if you lived in a hut up in the mountains for a year with no internet. I started off creating these comics just for myself, to process my experience as a woman in the world and I didn't intend to have an audience or have it as a full-time job. Until this day I refuse to draw anything that doesn't come from the heart."
When it comes to people having overall opinions on her comics, here's what the artist thinks, "My biggest goal is for all women to feel seen, heard, and feel like they are not alone. To give them a new perspective about things the system, the patriarchy, life, and society taught them are the norm. To give them tools to heal themselves from past traumas and stuck patterns. I know this might sound incredibly ambitious, but I'm set on changing the world."
Most artists usually create art in order to accomplish something, therefore we were wondering if Lainey perhaps felt the same in some type of way.
"I truly hope that I can establish a community where like-minded women uplift one another. I am fascinated by how it's happening in the comment section under each one of my posts, they get vulnerable, share their personal stories, like and support one another. I believe there is a huge need for a safe space online for women where there is no judgment and they can share, express, bond, and grow. So I'm planning on building all that in the future - starting with my Instagram page."
See, the issues is that people think that it's all because of how easy it is to buy a gun. No, it is not. I am from a country where all you need to buy a gun is a shooting pass and money, for some firearms you don't even need the shooting pass. Never in the history of my country and all of it's predecessors has there been a school shooting. Guns don't kill unless a person fires it. The problem lies with Americans being both irresponsible with guns and quite often unhinged enough to not understand the value of a human life. Also, their school system is so horrid that no wonder this happens.
I wanted to give you half an upvote 😂because I belief it's both. Guns (in the US) are available at your local supermarkt ffs. Things like mental health care and education for all are way harder (or well, more long term) to solve than to ban or even regulate the ownership of weapons. There are countries where you can't even buy scissors as a 17 y/o yet children can have (sometimes even pink and cute looking👀) guns from their supermarket🥲
Load More Replies...As I said when Roe vs Wade was overturned: It's not ok to have an abortion, but it's totally fine to let that child be born only to be killed like.. 7 years later... ? (or you know, be born into a family that doesn't want them, or can't provide for them, etc etc)
You notice the parallel between states that have the strictest abortion laws are also the states that have the laxest gun laws ( not to mention the lowest rates of COVID vaccination)?
Load More Replies..."if anything happens, i love you" ... the most heartbreaking short film i ever seen
I literally had a 1hr lockdown on my first day of school
In kindergarten 2nd Monday spent 2.5 hr i under lockdown
Load More Replies...After the shootings in Uvalde, one little girl could only be identified by the pair of green shoes she wore. People seem to think that people shot with an AR-15 look like gunshot victims in movies - one or two wounds in the torso or head. The truth is, guns like that rip the victims into shreds, utterly destroying them.
at one of the high school i go to the wall are glass where the hell is the safety in that. can someone please tell me the answer.
This is heartbreaking and the cycle will continue to happen in the United States if stronger gun laws are not put in place. It scares me when parts of the U.S. government care so much more about pleasing the NRA than they do protecting the innocent life of a child. Children should be going to school and playing with friends, not getting killed in a place of learning.
When I was thirteen, there was a threat to schools in my area. I’m going to name my town Townsburg. The guy posted on Facebook something along the lines of “Going to go shoot some Townsburg high schools”. There was a high school in my area named Townsburg high school, and my best friends sister went there. I was in middle school, and I first learned about it when we went out for a Mask Break because COVID. We were stopped and told we couldn’t go outside. My 3rd period teacher explained what was happening and kids started leaving school with their parents. In my last class we had 12 students of 27. My friends sister said that she had 3 kids in a lot of her classes because of the fear. Everyone was scared and now I have anxiety about a threat being real
Republicans don't care about children, despite them using kids as a political p**n. They only cares about guns and profit.
Stricter gun regulations are necessary. But why should a guy with a hunting rifle who's never harmed a person in his life and is by all accounts a good person be forced to give up their gun?
Yeah that’s why people should need a hunting license to own a gun
Load More Replies...Someone show this to all the Republicans who think it's a crime to allow a woman reproductive rights, yet find slaughtering these same babies in a classroom perfectly acceptable. As an American I'm so furious about this it defies words.! No more politicians who take money from the NRA! No more old men deciding my reproductive choices!
I remember when we were forced out of my school because there was a bomb threat. We left the school immediately and had to go home. I had no coat, backpack, or phone. I thought I was going to die and I didn’t even have my phone to text my parents that I love them. We need to change.
We are younger woman have to start standing up. For example, how is the media still allowed to use the term "toyboys" but a when a man dates a much older woman it becomes "age is just a number"?
Just another day in America. People greedy and self-centered ruining families towns cities and homes. It's sickening to live in the States these days.
Not only America, I've lived in much worse countries trust me the situation there is worse then here.
Load More Replies...Just wear your bulletproof backpack you dummy! /s We're not going to address the root cause of this, we'll just try to fight the symptoms.
Bulletproof backpack? You do know that first of all the backpack will only protect the back, but not the head or chest. And second of all, adults shouldn't kill others especially children and I refuse to live in a world where children have to wear Bulletproof clothing because of adult stupidity.
Load More Replies...It says “children” not just girls. There’s nothing gender biased about this post
Load More Replies...Molnar has been in the comic scene for quite some time now so we were curious whether she had any comments from her followers that might've particularly stood out.
"One time I received a message from a follower that she has shown my illustrations to her young brother and they started having discussions about what girls and women are going through. She told me that her brother was only familiar with the male narrative and ended up opening his mind to so much on the 'other' side and even sharing the illustrations with his friends. This is the kind of ripple effect I aim for with everything I do. I just start the conversation, but how it's interpreted or how it unfolds is fascinating."
Lmao as a black woman, I didn't get called beautiful until I made myself look less black. People literally went out of their way to make sure they thought I was ugly and would never date me, despite having no interest them. Just because I was nice to them, they were scared I was interested in them or they'd become bullied for it. Because I'm brown I can make myself 'look' like different POC depending on especially my hair and the way I introduce myself as. Despite having the same features, I'm seen as far more attractive when people think im asian/latina/native American (I'm pretty ambiguous when not wearing black hairstyles because of mixed ancestry). I'm also seen as more intelligent and people approach me less aggressively. I mean, the girl in the pic IS beautiful, but not the best example for this picture, because the racism is just as real as what is being portrayed here: ageism and sexism. Luckily its getting better with more representation!
Lastly, we wanted to know what kind of hobbies Lainey has aside from making comics, and here's what she shared with us, "Besides doing art and refurbishing accessories and trying to read all the books in the world while traveling to every corner of the globe, I love to do puzzles. It's becoming a problem because I buy and do them in such a rate that they have taken over my apartment. Maybe I should consider making puzzles with my illustrations, that would be a fitting project!"
I don't care who wears a bikini, as long as it is a well fitting bikini where you aren't sausaging your body into two slivers of fabric that are struggling to uphold your public decency.
Yeah, you are still the same person and people don’t get to treat you differently because of how you look
i need help... this i've been going through all year and still don't know what to do... stay with who I need or go and be with who I want/what I deserve
Lainey, thank you so much for sharing these with us! You have a great insight on women's issues and I absolutely love your comics! I hope you plan to share more with us down the road. Keep up the Great work!!!
This art by Lainey is a good example of where a sixty-year-old white American male is learning of a better way to see the world. Thank you, Bored Panda, for helping to make me a more understanding person over the course of the past year we have been hanging out together.
Imma touch the donut. And probably eat it too.
Load More Replies...These are the most honest, thought provoking art boards I've seen. It definitely needs a wider audience. Wonderful. Hope to see more, lots more Thank you!!
The app is screwing with me, and not putting all my comments where I pot them.
Load More Replies...Lainey, I love Love LOVE your work! It is so beautiful and it contains such a powerful message!! Hope you keep making art, Queen!!
Every single time there's a hijab-wearing woman in one of the comics, a whole battle plays out in the comments!! It's so tiring to constantly have to defend my own personal choices. It's not even anyone's business whether I choose to cover up or not! It's my choice!!! I want to wear a hijab so I do. I'm not brainwashed or oppressed into doing so. Why the double standards???
Your messages are powerful, and your art is so, so, so gorgeous.
I was born religious and continue to be religious well into mu adulthood. Pray tell, which comics are "all about being selfish"? Please don't tell me it's the ones with a woman in a hijab, which you seem to have such a problem with. Good sir, live and let live.
Load More Replies...I always tell myself that people who are against feminism misunderstand the meaning of it. Because surely no decent human would be that ignorant and selfish. Comments like this one make me very sad.
Load More Replies...Sadly many women deal with this during daily life, it’s kind of unavoidable.
Load More Replies...I'm so sorry that short panel comics were to long for you to read. I wish you luck with your illiteracy!
Load More Replies...Ahh, is the wittle triggered man-child hurt by empowered women who could whoop his a*s?
Load More Replies...Lainey, thank you so much for sharing these with us! You have a great insight on women's issues and I absolutely love your comics! I hope you plan to share more with us down the road. Keep up the Great work!!!
This art by Lainey is a good example of where a sixty-year-old white American male is learning of a better way to see the world. Thank you, Bored Panda, for helping to make me a more understanding person over the course of the past year we have been hanging out together.
Imma touch the donut. And probably eat it too.
Load More Replies...These are the most honest, thought provoking art boards I've seen. It definitely needs a wider audience. Wonderful. Hope to see more, lots more Thank you!!
The app is screwing with me, and not putting all my comments where I pot them.
Load More Replies...Lainey, I love Love LOVE your work! It is so beautiful and it contains such a powerful message!! Hope you keep making art, Queen!!
Every single time there's a hijab-wearing woman in one of the comics, a whole battle plays out in the comments!! It's so tiring to constantly have to defend my own personal choices. It's not even anyone's business whether I choose to cover up or not! It's my choice!!! I want to wear a hijab so I do. I'm not brainwashed or oppressed into doing so. Why the double standards???
Your messages are powerful, and your art is so, so, so gorgeous.
I was born religious and continue to be religious well into mu adulthood. Pray tell, which comics are "all about being selfish"? Please don't tell me it's the ones with a woman in a hijab, which you seem to have such a problem with. Good sir, live and let live.
Load More Replies...I always tell myself that people who are against feminism misunderstand the meaning of it. Because surely no decent human would be that ignorant and selfish. Comments like this one make me very sad.
Load More Replies...Sadly many women deal with this during daily life, it’s kind of unavoidable.
Load More Replies...I'm so sorry that short panel comics were to long for you to read. I wish you luck with your illiteracy!
Load More Replies...Ahh, is the wittle triggered man-child hurt by empowered women who could whoop his a*s?
Load More Replies...