Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are feminist masked avengers in the tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and Batman. We use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose sexism, racism and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture. We wear gorilla masks in public and take the names of dead women artists as pseudonyms. One of our goals is to reinvent the “f” word—feminism. Another is to undermine the idea of a mainstream narrative in the production of visual culture by revealing the understory, the subtext, the forgotten, the overlooked, the understated and the downright unfair. Our work has been passed around the world by our tireless supporters. In 2001, the Girls evolved into three separate groups: Guerrilla Girls, GuerrillaGirlsBroadband and Guerrilla GirlsOn Tour. Members of our group, the Guerrilla Girls (www.guerrillagirls.com), have been involved in just about every GG project since 1985.

In the last few years we have done over 90 appearances and actions all over the world, plus stickers, posters, billboards and many other projects. We created a large scale installation for the Venice Biennale, brainstormed with Greenpeace, and participated in Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign in the UK. In 2006-7, we unveiled our latest anti-film industry billboard in Hollywood just in time for the Oscars, created large scale projects for Istanbul, Mexico City and Athens, and attacked the Museum of Modern Art at its own Feminist Futures Symposium. Our work has appeared in The New York Times, The London Times, The New Yorker, and Bitch; on NPR, the BBC and the CBC; and in many art and feminist texts. We are the authors of several books including The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls’ Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes and The Guerrilla Girls’ Art Museum Activity Book. What’s next? More facts, humor and fake fur! More creative complaining! We could be anyone; we are everywhere.

One of the Guerrilla Girls’ goals is to change people’s minds about the “f” word—feminism. We believe that feminism is a way of looking at the world. We think its sad that feminism has been demonized in the media for so long that many people who believe in the tenets of feminism (equal pay for equal work, human rights for women worldwide) do not consider themselves feminists. On the other hand, we’ve met huge numbers of self-declared feminists all over the world, fighting—often against huge odds—for change. There are many feminisms: each generation creates its own version, which is a good thing. There are many feminisms: each generation creates its own version, which is a good thing. Our message: find your own crazy, creative way to be a feminist and an activist. That’s what we do.