The Feministing Five: Naoise Dolan

Earlier this month, we came across Naoise Dolan and her fantastic illustrations that depict many-a-conversation for young feminists. Along with creating this vibrant and witty art, Naoise is currently studying English at Trinity College Dublin. We were so thrilled excited to speak with Naoise to learn more about her, her art, and her feminism.

Naoise Dolan

And now without further ado, the Feministing Five with Naoise Dolan!

Suzanna Bobadilla: What do you enjoy about combining your feminism with your art?

Naoise Dolan: I think artistic representation is such an important battle for women. One thing you really come to understand through studying English is the sheer extent to which men have used art to lie about us. We still have this bizarre perception that objecting to sexism is a modern sensibility, based on extant writings from historical cultures which show women demurely accepting their place. That’s obviously flawed when most of those writings are by men! If feminists now don’t create representations of themselves, future cultures will look back on the rubbish other people produce about us and assume it to be accurate. Basically, I think women need to make it as hard as possible for men to monopolize our rhetorical construction, and if I can play some tiny part in that then super.

There’s also just a really nice cathartic value to putting your life out there. Most of my feminist ideas come from the frustrations I share with my friends — all the douchebag sexists I portray have real-life counterparts, though I’m 100% sure none of them know it’s them I have in mind. That said, it’s pretty grim how many women seem to know their own douchebags who behave just like my douchebags. I guess one of the side effects of being a typical member of a socially dominant group is you’re just not that original; investment in maintaining male privilege isn’t the most niche attribute going, sadly.

SB: What are some of your favorite influences for your art?

ND: Most of Tumblr, to be honest! I adore Kate Beaton as well — her visual and verbal humor work so well together. The New Yorker has some fantastic illustrators who command all of my awe.

The Toast is fairly inspiring, too, in terms of content — I think it’s the first website I ever came across where I was like, “This is my sense of humor, or what would be my sense of humor if I were smarter and more likeable!” The cult following is so so well-deserved.

SB: Along with being a bad-ass artist, you’re also an English major. Who are your favorite feminist literary heroines?

ND: Zora Neale Hurston and Jean Rhys are two of the coolest ladies ever, and I think possibly the one benefit of having to study so much of the white male canon is understanding their achievements in the context of how much bullshit they had to dismantle.

On the fictional front, I have a massive soft spot for Emma Woodhouse (and may or may not ship her with Harriet). She’s the Austen heroine to whom I am most similar, in terms of being a self-centered brat, though sadly not in terms of being independently wealthy or an accomplished social butterfly or whatever.

SB: Let’s pretend it’s 2020 and we check back in with you. How’s life?

ND: Hopefully I’m still making things for the internet in some way! Alternatively, I’ve become really interested in politics and international relations over the past year and I feel it’s one of those things I would have pursued a lot sooner if I hadn’t been taught to regard it as a male preserve, so it would be really cool to be doing something related to that. I’m working on a novel right now, so if I can be recklessly optimistic for a second, maybe that’s available to read somewhere? Even if just on my Tumblr? This one is purely textual, but I have a vague ambition to work on a graphic novel at some stage, too.

The one thing I’m pretty certain of is that I’ll be out of Ireland. I know other queer left-wing feminists who are happy here, so I don’t want to speak for everyone, but I find it unbelievably dull and just not a place that’s conducive to being myself. I’ve tried to learn Arabic but haven’t had the motivation to keep it up, so maybe a spell working somewhere in the Middle East would give me the requisite kick up the arse to make some progress there. Japan is definitely on the bucket list, as is Sweden. I have a feeling I’d really like California, too — being vegan would be a lot easier, apart from anything else. Over here, it’s like, “Soya milk? Back in my day, if you wanted soya milk you had to go out into the farmyard and milk the soya bean yourself.”

SB: You’re stranded on a desert island. You get to take with you one food, one drink, and one feminist. What do you choose?

​ND: Food would be buckwheat pancakes made with almond milk — just so good. Or falafel. Falafel wrapped in buckwheat pancakes so it’s technically one gastronomical entity? Likewise, I’m not sure if ‘almond milk latte’ counts as one drink, but I suppose I’d just have black coffee if not. There are days when I drink five cups before noon.

On the feminist front, it’d have to be Roxane Gay. Or Bim Adewunmi. This is very very hard.