Ornelas, Paola

Hey everyone! I've been struggling to get my laptop to work, but I finally did it! I'm Paola, and I was born and raised in San Diego. Many of you may have heard of the city, however I am from a very small neighborhood literally a couple steps from the border that not many have heard of. It is called San Ysidro. I was initially a Math/Econ major. This past quarter however, I took Chicanx 10B and something in me just clicked, I knew that this is what I wanted to pursue and it was what I wanted my life to revolve around- helping and building my people. Now, I'm a Chicanx major with a minor in Spanish. I have been dancing folklorico for 4 years now, and it is something that helps me feel connected to my heritage and culture and has given me a sense of identity. Currently I'm a part of UCLA's own grupo folkorico (GFU). I am excited to see what this course has to offer, especially since I have a very small understanding and background with anything art related.

Although the readings each discussed a different main topic, they all gave insight into how women in the art industry, and in general, are always given the short end of the stick. Nochlin discusses the lack of resources women faced in the 1800s and Venegas talks about the socioeconomic disadvantages, but they both realize that these were pieces of the puzzle of why there are no women artists. Society has been male-centered for years, this hinders how far a woman can go with their own efforts. If no one believes she will succeed, and she isn't given the tools to, then it is nearly impossible for her to be well known, or even considered at all.