Is it about butchering black girls’ hair to keep white people comfortable? Is it about a woman visiting the same violence on her daughter as was done to her by her mother a generation prior? Is this girl just too… “different” to go into the world unaltered? Does she need to be toned down so she can succeed? Does she need to be defenseless before she is deemed safe by powerful people who would do her harm if given half a reason? Is one of those people holding those scissors?

[I.D. digital art of a young girl medusa sitting in a chair in a kitchen, crying as a woman cuts the heads off of medusa’s snakes. the woman’s head is out of frame, but her blonde hair is visible as she pulls three snakes taught, beginning to chop them with scissors as blood spurts. four snakes have been cut already, their remains lying dead on the floor as the rest of the snakes, all sporting pink bows around their necks, cower in fear. the majority of the illustration has been colored in black and deep saturated yellows and oranges, while medusa’s skin and hair are green. her pinafore has the same color palette as the background. her knees are also scuffed, bruised with orange and one of them bandaged. her cut strands of snake hair are not bandaged and continue to bleed. end I.D.]

There’s a sequel!

“Becoming Me.” by BottlingSunshine

Image ID: A digital illustration of a young Medusa woman braiding her green snakes in front of a mirror and while her eyes are covered with a sleep mask. The mirror is centered in the drawing and surrounded by the orange-pink background. She is wearing a white sleep mask with “closed eyes” on it and a black top with white lacey ruffles at the collar and cuffs. Two snake heads are seen in the mirror while the rest are out of view. The front of the vanity holding the mirror is littered with various dolls and stuffed animals with their eyes crossed out, candy, an image of eyes in a round frame that are also crossed out, nail polish in pink and black, ribbons, and a friendship bracelet plus polaroids. The wall above the vanity is pink and near-white striped and covered in small polaroids or photos taped on the wall and various portraits in yellow frames. The yellow frames show the woman as a young girl holding her arms anxiously with her head cut off from view, covering her face, or simply have dark static backgrounds. There is a sharpie on the lower shelf of the vanity. End iD

From the artist, re: the second image.

With all the times you’ve been put down it may be hard to look at yourself, but I hope one day you can. You’re amazing.

Happy to do a little follow up to my most recent illustration. I got a lot of comments hoping that she was gonna be okay and she will be. Healing takes time.