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Brushstrokes: Cartoons For Activism

A cartoon showing a scene at a bus stop, where a man seated on a bench ogles a woman that is passing by, and the woman's genitals seem to show him the middle finger.

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I’ve always had a ridiculous cartoon view of the world. It’s natural that most of my life I ‘ve scribbled the images that popped into my head in the dirt, on bits of paper, tables and any surface available. Until now I never thought to show them or even to keep them.  Then I saw how my cartooning heroes Noi Apisuk, Mary Leunig and Han Lay are able to tweak, tickle, and pinch us with their cartoons.  I want to try to do that. Cartoons seem so innocent they often slip past censorship; they poke holes in power bubbles and can speak when words fail us. My cartoons have been used by women activists to illustrate our demands and experiences.