This last weekend I had the pleasure of being the artist for Rodeo weekly remix event which actually this month marks my 1 year of being on Rodeo. The piece and theme I chose was Paladin Pinups.
I have been exploring this theme at length spam posting on Zora, and wanted to see what the Rodeo community did with it. I wasn't disappointed. Why Paladin Pinups though?
We generally think of Paladins as male because of the roots in ancient Rome and Charlemagne's Court, but many stories and lore paint a different historical picture of women fighting with men or to fight to defend their homes. I’m of Scandinavian descent and it’s 100% documented my women ancestors were badass in a multitude of ways with Viking shield-maidens like Lagertha proven by DNA from Birka graves. Beyond my culture, women warriors have spanned global histories from Greece to China.
Contemporary popular culture it's a pretty accepted trope of women as warriors which largely stems from DnD in the 1970s and other nerd culture from that era. Never in the game were there any sex restrictions to play the class but there was early slightly skewed language and mechanics dependent on sex with by 1989 the core rules to not have any gender gaps in rules. This what seems like a minor decision in creating the game actually is another HUGE point in women empowerment, especially within nerd culture which you can't really be part of if you haven't played DnD a little bit at least. :P
Pinups get heat sometimes for objectifying women which can be true dependent on the artist, but to blanket demonize a memetic is not it. Pinups were SO important to WWII era not only in helping soldiers mentally away at war but also in empowering women. More researchers agree, including the Smithsonian, that pinups were a catalyzing point for the sexual revolution. Both Rosie the Riveter and Betty Page, iconic positive representations of femininity adopted by many, coming from pinup art.
Both paladins and pinups are propaganda. How warriors and women are depicted generally in art is to reaffirm the ruling class at any point in history. With crypto x decentralization, we are at the start of a new era. Instead of central control dictating what narratives people can see, create or engage with, now each creator is as empowered as ever to express freely what they think. I thought Paladin Pinups would be a good exercise in decentralized propaganda when artists are free to create what they wish from a core idea through remixing.
Ultimately, Paladin Pinups are a super charged empowerment of multifaceted nature of feminity. Instead of victims, these women are defenders of themselves and their home. It is such a disservice to us and you to only view women through one lens, missing so much beauty in the nuance of feminity that is just as much the human experience. We can be both sexual and soft with hard and defensive. Strong women in mind, intellect, body and spirit ensure a strong home and strong society and should be celebrated, not demonized.
TY for everyone celebrating with me. Here are links to all the remixes I saw. While the official event is over, anyone can still create a Paladin Pinup. If you do, please include a link in the comments below to share. <3
A great starting point for artists, collectors, or institutions exploring the world of crypto art, including wallet setup and minting digital art on Tezos.