Today we are introducing an amazing artist who has created wonderful comics on what it is like to be a girl judging girls. The artist’s name is Julie Hang aka juliehang.art.
We all must have heard the phrase “not like other girls”, either from some or a girl herself.
Julie has been drawing since childhood and has always solved creating artworks. Growing up like most girls she was a shy and anxious kid and had a hard time making friends. Hence justifying the situation she started to believe in the “not like the other girls” phenomenon.
“Instead of recognizing my anxiety and trying to overcome it, I’d thought I’m just not like the other girls. Reading ‘me vs. other girls’ comics online validated those negative feelings and stereotypes I had towards other girls, and made me feel like judging others was the ‘cool’ thing to do.” Julie said in an interview.
She became judgemental of other girls just living by their choices and presumed that uncool. She started believing in the stereotype of being a girl and distanced herself further from them. This resulted in her not being able to enjoy the simple things because they were too girly. Later she realized she enjoyed doing those activities very much.
As she grew as an artist and a person she realized there was more to a person if you get to know them. The turning point in her life was when she attended summer camp in high school art school.
This realization got her to make the “not like other girls” series. Talking about her lonely childhood Julie said when you are young and trying to figure out who you are, the one thing you want is to have individuality. That leads to a lot of self-doubt and judgment towards others.
“In recent years, I’ve felt as though webcomics are headed in a more positive and inclusive direction, with deeper meanings and consideration for their readers, and I’m more than happy to be contributing to that movement” Stated Julie.
Here are some comments on Julie’s artwork.