Student Creates Protest Art Using Donald Trump’s Demeaning Quotes About Women

Aria Watson, now 18, was two weeks shy of being old enough to vote in November’s U.S. presidential elections. Regardless, Donald Trump’s victory affected her deeply, and the Clatsop Community College student felt compelled to express her disgust and disappointment via a (NSFW) photo project for her photography class, according to BuzzFeed. “When Trump beat Clinton, my heart shattered,” she said. “I knew I had to create something different,” the budding artist told the site.

So the Oregon student went about recruiting female friends and family members to pose for shots in which some of Trump’s most misogynistic quotes were scrawled on their bodies. She called the project #SignedByTrump.

“Must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees” was written across the back of a model, who is seen kneeling, above. Trump infamously said this to a contestant, Brande Roderick, on his Celebrity Apprentice TV show. (Roderick later defended the president-elect, calling the words “innocent BDSM flirting.”)

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Another woman’s bare legs bear the words “blood coming out of her whatever,” a reference to a dig Trump took at Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, a Trump adversary, after she moderated one of the GOP debates. His full quote, to CNN Tonight, was “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”

A topless model has the words “A person who is very flat-chested is very hard to be a 10,” which Trump told radio host Howard Stern during one of his frequent appearances on Stern’s show. And Trump considers himself an expert on the topic, having owned beauty pageants, including Miss Universe and Miss USA (he recently sold them). And, of course, one woman is photographed with the line heard around the world — “Grab them by the p**** — which Trump uttered to then-host of Access Hollywood Billy Bush when the two presumably thought their mic was off.

When Watson posted her haunting images — which evoke vulnerability and empowerment at the same time — to Facebook and Instagram, they were deleted, most likely because they show partial and full nudity. So when she published them on Tumblr this week, she didn’t expect them to go viral. But they did — and quickly.

“All I wanted from these photos was to help people realize who Donald Trump really is, and I just want to feel heard,” she told BuzzFeed. “I know most people are set on their opinions about Trump, but I just hope one person sees ‘#SignedByTrump’ and it opens their eyes,” she revealed of her meager expectations.

“Over the past few days, I’ve gotten messages that have brought me to tears,” she told BuzzFeed. “To everyone who has supported me and ‘#SignedByTrump,’ don’t let anyone silence you. Don’t be afraid to speak up about what you are passionate about.” Speaking of passion, it was important to Watson to include women of color in her project, but unfortunately she wasn’t able to. She wants the public to know that the intention was there, though.

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According to BuzzFeed, “her town and college are so small that the majority of people are white. ‘The only other women of color I knew weren’t 18 yet, but if they were, I would have asked them to model for me,’ she said.” Watson did manage to get one Hispanic woman to pose for her.

The teen’s project calls to mind other instances of women scrawling Trump’s most degrading comments on their bodies to make a powerful statement. Bustle rounded up 35 women who photographed parts of their bodies bearing lines such as “You have to treat ’em like s***,” “You’re disgusting,” and “Face of a dog.” Some women used other things as their canvas. One scrawled on the sidewalk in chalk, “Girls. We’re supposed to call them women. They’re girls to me.” And a woman wrote, “Crude, rude, obnoxious, and dumb,” on pretty fall leaves in her lap, juxtaposing the ugly against the beautiful.

Tumblr may have brought awareness to Watson’s campaign, but her success has now transcended that. According to her Twitter, apparel and accessories company the Outrage is partnering with the student to release a collection of #SignedByTrump merchandise, and 15 percent of profits will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union in Trump’s name.

However the message gets across, a very humble Watson just hopes it gets across. To her, the meaning behind her project seems more important than any recognition she’s getting for it. “I don’t know why Donald Trump is in office, or how this even happened, but he is,” she told BuzzFeed. “What we need more than ever is to come together. We are stronger together.”

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