Status of Women in San Antonio

July 5, 2022 - San Antonio

By Ashley Rocha, Staff Intern | San Antonio Sentinel

The Status of Women in San Antonio: Reflections of Gender Equality exhibition is being shown at the Cultures Commons gallery every Wednesday through Friday at 11 a.m. until Nov. 18.

The exhibition is a culmination of art made to reflect specific aspects of women’s lives. The topics of the artwork stems from the Status of Women in San Antonio Report by Rogelio Sáenz and Lily Casura in 2019. The report discusses issues such as women’s health, income, violence and education.

Sarah Fox, an artist and teacher, chose domestic violence. Her piece, titled “For Momma,” portrays cyclical trauma. It shows a weeping woman surrounded by snakes, but the snakes are also part of the woman. She has eggs in her stomach as well.

“The eggs represent a future,” Fox said.

The snakes circling around the woman are used to show a cycle of violence, pain and the emotional struggle a woman faces when dealing with domestic violence.

“There are complicated feelings that come from leaving an abusive situation,” she said, “if you haven’t lived in these situations, you don’t realize that these women can’t just leave.”

Fox went on to explain, “You have to walk away to put your family first, and the next generation, despite still having feelings of love for the person that is creating the abusive situation.”

The piece was created for her mother, hence the title. “It’s not my story to tell, it’s her story, but I made it for her after she made a hard decision. She was really brave, and I am really proud of her for doing that.”

Fox wants women to know that it is okay to have mixed emotions. “You can love someone and be terrified of them. You can love someone and know you have to leave them.”

All the work Fox creates is about women’s issues, including fertility, abortion, mental health, loss and love. “I want my work to be empowering to women. It’s a sad subject matter… but it’s for women to feel empowered and brave enough to fight back.”

Karen Robinson, a former Airman and registered nurse, combined the two things which she is most passionate about: health and quilting.

Her quilt, titled “Our Health and Wellness,” discusses health issues a woman can face from birth to death.

“Because women represent the cornerstone of a family’s overall health, we must do everything we can in San Antonio to ensure that women have access to quality care as this will also lead to improved health for children and families,” is a quote which Robinson put on the top center of her piece. The quote which Robinson incorporated into her artwork is from Dr. Erika Gonzalez, Chair of Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women.

“We have serious medical health disparity issues in our city and county that impact people significantly,” Robinson said. “It is important that the woman’s heath is addressed.”

Robinson said a “ripple effect” often happens when pregnant women do not receive the healthcare they need. The woman’s health deteriorates and there are often issues with the child as well. Unless these issues are addressed and taken care of, the family as a whole can start to decline.

The quilt is decorated with colors that represent specific things: pink for breast cancer, purple domestic violence and Alzheimer’s disease, and red for heart disease. Robinson used a technique called applique to create the faces and organs. She added women of all ages and races because these issues can affect all women.

The large metallic material in the center of the piece represents a mirror. “As we look at [the quilt], we are looking at ourselves,” Robinson explained.

“I grew up a military brat, I was active duty, my husband is retired military, so I have never had an issue with getting healthcare,” she said. “I am trying to wrap my head around people saying, ‘it’s healthcare disparity’ but we have all these resources, supposedly, so where is the gap, the disconnect, what is the problem?”

“We say it’s ‘available’ but is it truly accessible?” Robinson said. “More people need to talk to people,” she said, “if we aren’t talking to others, we may not know that there is a barrier keeping them from accessing these resources.”

The quilt shows several health issues that women face, such as cancer, strokes, chronic liver disease, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Suicide, domestic violence, and drug and alcohol abuse are also on the quilt.

Pregnancy-related issues, like infant mortality rates, prenatal care, low birth weight and lactation support, are displayed as well.

“I struggled to put the baby toe tag on the quilt, but that is reality,” Robinson said. “It is hard to believe that in this day and age we still deal with such high infant mortality rates while boasting about having prenatal care available.”

In the future, Robinson said she would like to see changes in the numbers on this report. The community has these resources available, but we need to know if they are effective or not.

*All Photos courtesy of the City of San Antonio

Ashley Rocha is from Bovina, Texas, where she graduated from Bovina High School in 2019. She is currently attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She is majoring in journalism and minoring in communications and women’s and gender studies and is expecting to graduate in the fall of 2022.