WomenCinemakersquestion the perception of the image sociopolitically. Is it erotica, glamour, seedy or storytelling?Your use of splicing and cut-up methodsnot only reconstructs the original materialbut imbues it with voyeuristic tension. feels tantalisingly elusive, as ifdeliberately leaving certain questionsunanswered. Was this a conscious choice toprovoke introspection, or a reflection of theinherent limitations and ambiguities ofworking with found footage?Diana Ali: The surface and the materiality ofthe film strip is distressed. It already has ahistory and I am adding to that story that oncewas. It has a physical unpredictability, such asthe melting celluloid so I am collaborating withthat material. I am an active co-producer withthe footage. Materiality of the film stripcontributes considerably with the meaning.With the nature of this sort of collaboration,there is an open ended plot line. I like thisambiguity. I always feel like art should leave us
WomenCinemakersguessing, wanting more, tease us and flirt withus.The narratives I devise are there for others to benosy, to be introduced to a secret that is notfully disclosed. Otherwise, people becomejudgemental and this starts to disrupt the openendedness.Your transformation of mundane glamourreels into a meditation on concealed desire isstriking. How do you view the relationshipbetween surface-level aesthetics and thedeeper societal subtexts that underpin themin Kind Regards?Diana Ali: The surface level aesthetics comes asa surprise. It is a gift you open and you are notsure whether it is useful, decorative orsomething to fix but it grows on you. That iswhen the imagination starts to kick in. I havesome complex dialogues in my head which isdifficult to articulate conversationally. It is trickyto be coherent when communicating thesecomplex dialogues verbally. Hence the art is asubstitute and an offering of this frustration.
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A still from
WomenCinemakersOne can invite misinformation anddisinformation but without evidence onecannot win the argument. I am speaking interms of platonic, romantic and familialrelationships. The subtext I am talking about isfrom a feminist lens. The film exploresunderlying themes of female empowerment.Are the women in this film victims, exposed orin control? In this case the playfulness of thenarrative is one of empowerment. They arelaughing and have authority of the situation,especially by belittling the male character.Kind Regards excavates the hiddenpsychological landscapes of the 1960s. Wereally appreciate the meta-commentary onvoyeurism embedded in your film. How doyou perceive the audience's role as bothwitness and participant?Diana Ali: The voyeurism is multi-faceted.There is the male character spying in on thewomen, but then the women turn this aroundand lure him in, then we have a femalecharacter observing another. To suggest thatthe audience are voyeurs is quite exciting.
WomenCinemakersDoes that make them guilty of being a part ofthe narrative, are they committing an offence?The film is open to passive participants to activeviewers. Either way they have the option to stopand be engaged and have space to think abouttheir own fantasies or purely daydream. Aswitnesses, the audience can consider their owncensorship. At what point will they walk away ifa particular scene is deemed too inappropriate?As viewers we can formulate our own selfcensorship.Travel and personal identities play a key rolein your practice. How does the act of“getting lost” and collecting found orhidden images shape the way you view anddocument cultural and languageboundaries? Are these boundaries obstaclesor opportunities for your approach?Diana Ali: I have always been fascinated withhow cultural and language boundaries inviteovercoming barriers, especially in terms ofproblem solving, confrontation and evolution ofself-confidence. I have had the experience ofthis myself growing up and going through life. I
WomenCinemakerscertainly see them as obstacles but I embracebarriers because it questions our ignoranceand lack of understanding of others. Whentravelling we choose to see landmarks andplaces to gain experiences. I like to contesthow we form our experiences through beinglost. I am rubbish at finding a place and donot have a sense of direction, even though Itry. Hence, I have learnt to embrace beinglost. I like to get lost because it is aserendipitous and one stumbles across theunexpected and that is exciting. You comeacross something you realise you are notlooking for. It sounds like a cliché but gettinglost gives one freedom to be and to do. Thereis no point in becoming frustrated about notfollowing a plan.Language and text appear to be central toyour process, particularly in how theymanipulate meaning. How do you decidewhen and how to integrate text into yourvisuals, and what role do ambiguity ormultiple interpretations play in yourstorytelling?Diana Ali: It is important for me not to givethe full story away. The viewer needs to fill intheir own imagination according to theirfantasies and expectations depending on theirpersonal and cultural experiences. There arealways multiple interpretations when onelooks at an artwork otherwise it becomes ananswer. When we have the answer, we moveon and do not spend time to contemplate andponder. My work does not have an answer, aparticular ‘real’ story or a correct way ofinterpretation. It is more about aninterrogation. The work is not based onconventional literary or cinematic devices butAvant Garde ones, or so I like to think. If I toldyou the truth you might be disappointed. Soambiguity is very important. When we do notknow the truth, we snoop around till we get it.Hence the viewer might never go away andthat is a good thing for an artist!I start with a jumble of sentences that I savefrom texts, social media, mass media, journals,books, all sorts of factual and fictionalmaterials. This goes back to the jigsaw andmaking it fit in with that image. There’s a lot
of juggling about, editing, reworking andreinventing that goes on. Ultimately, it is a storythat tentatively connects with me and my innerthoughts and sometimes fantasies.Thank you so much for taking the time toshare your insights with us, Diana. Before wewrap up, we’d love to hear about what’snext for you. Could you share a glimpse intoyour future projects or any ideas you’recurrently exploring? Additionally, how doyou envision your practice evolving in thecoming years, particularly in relation to yourthemes of storytelling, personal identity, andcultural interplay? Are there any newmediums, collaborations, or directionsyou’re excited to pursue?Diana Ali: I don’t have plan that far into thefuture for creative ideas otherwise youdisappoint yourself. My practice has changedover the years because life, experiences andcircumstances change. I am very open to mouldmy practice depending on what life throws atme. This is the privilege of being an artist. WeWomenCinemakers
can be resilient, reactionary and adaptable tochange.For now I know that I will keep collectingfound footage, wait for stories to manifest inmy head through problems, experiences,political concerns and allow this to feed intomy practice. Global issues are foreverchallenging and this fuels my practice.As part of my practice I curate internationallyand I see this as an extension of my practice. Ilike to bring different fragments of cultureinto one space through promoting andrepresenting artists who have similarthoughts, concepts and themes. I aminterested in storytelling as a form ofcommunication and this can be done withconnecting with others.This year I will be touring my ‘Hide Me, StealMe, Be Nice to Me’ exhibition to Matla atArthall Gellery. The link is herehttps://hidestealnice.blogspot.com/Previously it was shown at Art Center Caravel,ARTE.M Association, Madeira.The concept is about how we face manybarriers globally where our identities arebeing bruised, rejected, and turned away. Thisleaves a tension for bodies, thoughts, andcircumstances to be accepted and co-exist.The featured artists contest and questionwhat it means to face barriers. The exhibitionshows work which questions freedom ofmovement, immigration laws, finding asylumand a sense of belonging without beingdisplaced.Interestingly and scarily enough the workshipped was detained by customs in Portugallast year and never made it to the exhibitionspace. But talking about serendipitousexperiences, it proved the point of how weand the artwork that represents us does nothave a freedom to roam due to politicalconsequences of Brexit barriers, internationalimmigration laws and crossing borders. Thework become lost but it reinforced a reality.Thank you so much,www.dianaali.comWomenCinemakers
Hello Ai-Chun and welcome to: for this special editionwe have selected Crowded Dreams, anextremely interesting video that our readershave already started to get to know in theintroductory pages of this article and that canbe viewed atAn interview by Francis L. Quettierand Dora S. [email protected] work, with its geometric precision andcareful attention to detail, constructs a vividvisual landscape that resonates with theviewer’s personal experience of modern life.We truly appreciate the thoughtful way inwhich you’ve transformed everydaycityscapes into a metaphorical space. Whenwalking us through the genesis of, would you tell us whatAI-CHUN HUANGWomenCinemakers meetsLives and works in _________________________________This is a busy and crowded city in Asia with so many people’s desires and dreams, life goals…etc.Pedestrians pass through the big roads which are transformed into athletics running tracks, meanwhile,there are traffic lights counting down the remaining time. On the wall, there is the calendar which is tornpage by page, showing that the lifetime is getting less and less. It is a story that shows how we live our lifewith so many desires and how people live like in the prison.
WomenCinemakersphilosophical or personal experiences promptedyou to construct this narrative of the systemicnature of urban life?AI-CHUN HUANG: First of all, let me introduce mybackground a little bit since my animations have astrong connection with my life journey.I am a multimedia artist from Taiwan, specializing inexperimental animations, painting, digitalinstallation, or any inspirational resources whereverand whenever on my hands. I graduated as a finearts bachelor in National Taiwan Normal University,and a fine arts master in National Taiwan universityof Arts. So I have a very solid background of visualart practice since I was little. However, I didn’t limitmyself to just one medium, I like to explore differentmedia and materials whenever I have on my hands.Thanks to my academic art training from college tograduate school, I really made a solid foundation toflexibly use the advantage of medium and learn totell a good story sincerely. So the animation is justone of my tools to express my story through mypoetic perspective. I am open to transforming mystory into different platforms and media.interview
WomenCinemakers
The Holy Mountain, 13x18cm, digital printing , 2016It was how this animation series began. It started with a small painting and I transformed this into a short film.
WomenCinemakersI like to put artistic and experimental elementsinto my artworks and share my provoking ideasto people. For the past 7 years, I started to workon 2D animations due to my nomad artistlimitation. I tried to express my ideas throughdigital media which is easier to carry no matterwhere I travel. Before my nomad artist journey, Ihad been an art teacher in public schools inTaiwan for over 9 years, and those teachingexperiences gave me a lot of pressure and socialexpectation. My first animation “The HolyMountain” is also related to those life limitationsand I took inspiration from the cityscape of myhometown’’, Taipei, which is a busy city with adense population. It is just like my animation“Crowded Dreams”'s scenery, so many peoplegreedily pursue their dreams, time reminds us weare running out of time, so we need to movefaster and faster. And this animation seriesincludes 3 animation short films, “the HolyMountain” “The Crowded Dreams” & “TheManipulation of life”, they are all related togetherand circling around similar life topics.My artworks are about my roots, my home andmy culture. My artworks focus on lifelimitations and social expectations from anAsian immigrant woman's perspective and usemetaphors from my Asian cultural icons.In my childhood memory, I always sit in front ofmy window which is surrounded by the ironbars cage, although it looked beautiful, and Iwatched the city scenery through the cagewindow. It seemed like I was confined to aniron cage and imagined another scenery in mymind. Sometimes I dream of a holy mountain infront of me which is made of concrete junglebuildings. The limitation for me is just likesocial expectation and judgment which mademe limited. And windows are a transitionbetween the real and mental space. It bringsme to another space, it can be the past, nowand the future, somewhere I dream of. I alsochose a wire fence which is usually seen on thetop of the house wall. This icon stronglyrepresents the bounded social status.
I use art creation to transform those sceneries inmy life journey into poetic pictures, and alsocombining with my life growth context into myartworks.I choose ” video poem” to record my life scenarios,through hand-drawing, words, and digital painting,from micro to macro perspective, therefore, Iinterpret those memories recorded from my selfjourney road into meaningful sceneries in my mind.Between moving on and off in my journey, I readthe very memorable moment of my life and myvideo poem flowing with the time.I still remember my mentor in my graduate schooltime, the Taiwanese sculptor Tsai Ken, he alwaysreminded me, when you really want to saysomething through your artworks without anyexternal purposes, then you are really turninginto a real artist. I am really sure that I am doing
art sincerely from my heart and really want to saysomething from my true life experience andperspective. I am really an artist now. This actuallytook me over 10 years even after my masterdegree. I was confused why I need to do art if noone wants to pay you a penny. But now, goingthrough so many obstacles and recognition fromthe public, I finally see the reason why I want todo these animations and artworks. I want to provemy existence through my art and make someresonate with people in this world.In terms of structure, your video ischaracterised by an almost architecturalprecision. How did you approach the design ofthese repeating visual patterns, and do you seethis as a reflection of urban or psychologicallandscapes?
WomenCinemakersAI-CHUN HUANG: Like I mentioned previously,when I was child, I grew up in the high-populatedTaipei city. In my room’s window, I witnessed howthe mountain far from my window was beingcovered by the lots of high buildings year by yearwhen I grew up. So it was naturally presented thismemory through my animations to see thetransition and what it is behind through thismetaphor. But of course, I want to speed up thetransition and what I perceive in this city to let theaudience immerse themselves in the change of thefast development. If I didn’t grow up in Taipei, thisfilm would never have been created in my life. It isalso crucial to me to show my authentic memoryin my art journey. I always found somethinginspiring and meaningful from those small lifemoments. It is a good way to force myself to betrue to myself and think deeper about my life.This animation is talking about my life story andculture background. I am always a well-behavedgirl and listen to my parents, teachers, and elders'opinions. I didn't even doubt my path until Ibecame a public school teacher and my life is fullof discipline and obedience, and I was always busywith accomplishing my life goal. When I getpressure from my endless workloads then I start todoubt myself and try to find a way out of thisrepetition and chaos. This also became my artinspiration to make this animation. I was raised ina very typical Asian family which my parentsbelieve if you work hard, and you can succeed. It isalso what they believe and learn from theirbackground. Even since I grew up, I feel thatpursuing my life success is the key value to fit intothe group, and I found out I rarely get the positiverecognition and encouragement from my parents.They are the parents who want me to improve andmostly only mention my disadvantages. That's whyI am always looking for some recognition fromothers. Actually, my story is a minimized reflectionof this society.On the other hand, I visited Hong kong before, Iwas also amazed by those high buildings. Thedensity is way more than Taipei, so Hong Kong isa good reference for me to create this kind ofAsian urban landscape with hustle and bustles.Therefore, I just put my life stories behind theurban landscapes, and the physical and mental
The Holy Mountain, 2D animation, 2018(Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHLlhWJF5Sc )
city sceneries are just perfectly matching what Iwant to say to the world.The title, Crowded Dreams, is both evocativeand ambiguous. Could you expand on itsmeaning? Were you aiming to reflect collective
WomenCinemakersaspirations or the chaos of individual desireswithin a crowd?AI-CHUN HUANG: Correct, it reflects a little citygirl’s mind and being squeezed into the crowd
WomenCinemakerswith so many people’s desires. I used thoseelements in my animation, like endless buildingunits and clock’s tic-tac sound in the back, thecalendar being wiped off one by one, peoplepassing through the road intersection……etc.They show that time is chasing and pushingeveryone to the tiny space of the world mentallyand physically.We were particularly struck by the geometricaesthetic and repetitive structures in CrowdedDreams. Can you share your artistic intentionsbehind this almost fractal-like approach?Were you aiming to evoke a sense ofendlessness or confinement?AI-CHUN HUANG: Correct. Actually, I also don’tknow why I like the repetitive pattern since I wasyoung. I have another painting series aboutTaiwan city patterns. I like to show this collectivememory and put those elements together inorder. I selected some typical Taiwaneseapartment appearance elements and drew theminto some decorative style illustrations. I think itis a decorative aesthetic that fascinates me themost, and it is a very simple and strong visualprinciple to create beauty, even though some ofthose city icons are not really pretty.Over the past few years, my work has been rootedin my homeland of nearly 30 years—Taiwan. I havea particular interest in the architectural style of
Taiwan during the economic boom of the 1980sand 1990s, which coincided with my formativeyears. This period saw a transition between oldand new: the demolition of military dependents’villages and the rise of modern apartments andhigh-rises. I chose to represent these collectivehousing patterns through repetitive motifs,deliberately reflecting the cultural codes thatemerge from the interaction between residentsand their living spaces. At the same time, thesemotifs embody the shared memories ofTaiwanese people’s growth.To me, the old houses and historic communitiesare treasures. Recurring patterns in my work
WomenCinemakers interviewinclude the varied iron window grilles found onTaiwanese residential exteriors, the densely packedappearance of military dependents’ villages andpublic housing, the skyline dotted with rooftop illegalstructures, and the façade of buildings adorned withlayers of signage. These architectural patterns serveas a visual language to decode the psychologicalstate and cultural characteristics of urban residents inTaiwan.We are particularly impressed by the dynamicinterplay between movement and stillness in yourvideo. How did you create such a compellingrhythm?AI-CHUN HUANG: I guess my sensitivity and instincttoward motion pictures really help me control therhythm of my animations. I have been a big fan of allkinds of movies and theater art since I was little. Ididn’t really have academic training for animations,so it is just my personal experience toward films. But Ialso know that the pace of story-telling will also leadto viewers resonating with the story or not. I am kindof gradually manipulating this without consciousthought.
WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakersCrowded Dreams portrays life as a kind of selfimposed prison driven by desires and societalexpectations. Do you view this metaphor as acritique of modern life, or is it more of anobservation on human nature?AI-CHUN HUANG: I would say both. It is my reallife experience and reflection, so I use my art tointerpret in my way and I really enjoy adding myown poetic interpretation to tell the story. It is alsomy real life recording, at the same time, it is also asurreal imagination and a metaphor. I think that isthe interesting part of my animations, and I reallyenjoy manipulating this strategy.The juxtaposition of traditional andcontemporary elements in your work creates afascinating tension. We really appreciate thenuanced layers in your sound design. The fusionof rhythmic ethnic elements with acontemporary sonic environment is striking.What was your inspiration for this auditoryblend, and how does it complement the visualnarrative? Was this a deliberate commentary oninterview
WomenCinemakerscultural evolution, or did it emerge naturallyduring the creative process?AI-CHUN HUANG: Actually, it came up naturally atthe end of my production process when most of myvisual clips were finished. At that time, I was anindependent animation artist with a low budget, so Ijust directly searched for the suitable royalty-freemusic on the youtube audio library. However, I stilltook some effort to choose suitable music and Ifound this one with fast pace, clear beats, even with alittle bit of tension and an Asian city vibe. It sounds alittle bit abstract but I imagine that it will besomething with drum-beat sound, maybe like themusic from some Chinese Martial arts films(forexample, modern kung fu films) during the 1990s,when the main characters fight each other with thetension and silence and imminent feeling, there willbe some drum beats coming alone with the rhythmof the combat. Thanks for this question focusing onmy animation’s music, it also helps me find the rootsof my idea and original expectations of this video. Ididn’t have an academic music training background,but I am a big music fan with diving in diverse genres,interview
WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakers
especially I have a big movie memory library in mybrain. Those music and visual metaphors perfectlycombined together and became my classicalreferences when I have some inspirations in my dailylife. Those inspirations came naturally with autogenerated background music in my brain. I think itjust came from my childhood memory and thoselively sound effects from my real life.During my process, once I finish most of my visualparts, I will work on the same time to find suitablemusic as reference or just directly use it and thenstart to adjust the motion speed, rhythm and lengthto match the current music. Besides, I am also verysurprised every time to let my animation matchdifferent music to see the emotions are totallychanged.There is still a lot of improvement for me tocollaborate with other musicians and foley artists, sofeel free to contact me for other collaborations in thefuture. I would like to see more possibilities for myanimations.WomenCinemakers interview
Your video feels deeply immersive, almostmeditative, despite its commentary on societalpressure, that invites the viewers to reflectdeeply on their own lives. The narrative arc ofCrowded Dreams seems open tointerpretation, offering layers of meaning tobe explored by the viewer. How do youapproach the balance between guiding theaudience toward a specific message andallowing them the freedom to draw their ownconclusions? Do you intentionally leave spacefor personal reflection, or are there particularthemes or ideas you hope to highlight,regardless of the viewer’s perspective?AI-CHUN HUANG: Correct. I am the filmmakerwho can be understood through my animation,so obviously, I use straight forward metaphors totell the story. But I am also balancing to leave thespace for viewers’ reflection at the same time. It isjust ambiguous to control. That is also thedifficulty for filmmakers. I think I really enjoycollating and editing my idea clips into somethingambiguous and direct at the same time.Thanks a lot for your time and for sharingyour thoughts, Ai-Chun. Finally, would youlike to tell us readers something about yourfuture projects? How do you see your workevolving?AI-CHUN HUANG: I currently work as an UXdesigner in a marketing company in Seattle.During weekends, I go back to my artist role todo my art project. I am open to all kinds ofcollaborations with other artists and communities,such as public art. It is always fun to keep memaking something new and enrich my artworks inso many different territories. My recent art projectwhich I am still working on is \"The journey of mybaby and I\". I combined my UX design andmotion design skills with my art practice to makean interactive website. I am also thinking ofmaking this story into an animation and a picturebook. So I am also looking for a book publicationcompany who will be interested in my animationpicture book.About the project, on this website, you can openthe suitcase and click those objects and triggerWomenCinemakers
interviewthose animations.The suitcase is also a metaphor toshow my life's journey traveling around the world,and to await people to unbox it and read my story.It’s about a mother's life journey, and it tells myfemale role transition to be a mother. I collectedvaluable and poetic moments, like my baby movingwith heart-beating in the womb, a time tunnelshowing women’s different roles. Here is the link forthis art project of the current process. Click this link:I’m a nomad artist who likes to travel, even with mykids. I really like to combine traveling and artpractice together. Traveling the world can help meinput new inspirations, and creating art is to outputwhat I absorb and digest from my body. I wastrained for art practice for 20 years, and art becamea major way to express myself and my lifeperspective. I feel so much joy and self-achievementthrough making art, and I will keep moving and seeyou on the roads.WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakers
Hello Melissa, Stephanie and Aitana, andwelcome to makers. For thisAn interview by Francis L. Quettierand Dora S. [email protected] edition we have selected, an extremely interestingshort dance film that our readers havealready started to get to know in theintroductory pages of this article andWomenCinemakers meetsMonumental is a celebration of Mexico City's burgeoning feminist movement, which protests femicide, domestic abuse,narco-gender-violence, and misogyny which are perpetrated at massive rates with impunity in Mexico.It responds to the conservative backlash to the (mainly purple-the color of the Mexican Women's Movement) feministgraffiti on monuments. This video imagines what it would look like if the female monuments could talk, and what it wouldlook like if Mexican society cared as much for female bodies as it does for its monuments. It was filmed at the Colegio delas Vizcaínas en Mexico City's Historic Center.We began working on it via Zoom in early 2020 during the pandemic, on a shoestring budget and with the collaborators indifferent parts of the globe. (Stephanie Sherman and Anais Azul were in the U.S. as the rest of the group was in Mexico).We finally filmed in-person in July of 2021.Stephanie ShermanAitana GalavizMelissa Castro
WomenCinemakersthat can be viewed at.Your film uses artistic expression to addressserious issues, creating a visually impactfuland socially relevant work. The reimagining ofcity monuments gives voice to the silencedand represents the fight against femicide andgender violence. When walking our readersthrough your usual setup and process, wouldyou tell us something about the genesis of? What inspired you to create afilm that addresses the feminist movement inMexico City?Melissa: Hello, thank you so much for theselection and the opportunity to talk about thisfilm. We were in the pandemic and Stephaniecame to me with some ideas to work togethersince our last collaboration, the dance film “Entreojos”, had a better projection that we´ve neverimagined. We were in different countries, she wasin the USA and I was in México, but we kept intouch because of the many virtual projections ourfilm had across the word. So while we wereconfined, she came with me with some ideas toexplore, building a dollhouse to make a dance,interview
WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakers
WomenCinemakersand other amazing ideas she had. At this time inMexico there were divided opinions about thefeminist movement and people and mediastarted to discredit the movement because of the“vandalism” made by the women that marched atthe 8M.We're particularly intrigued by the elegantvisual aesthetic you've crafted for. Your approach balancesauthenticity with powerful cinematic quality.Could you elaborate on how you struck thisbalance? We'd be very interested to hearabout the you made toachieve your vision, particularly in terms ofcinematography and choreography.Melissa: Personally, I don't think we wereparticularly looking for that elegant visualaesthetic, but I think it came with the aestheticthat most of the monuments and architecture theMexico’s City Center have, this colonial andclassic architecture and sculpture with europeaninspiration that is still an important part of theidentity of the city. That value of the historicsymbols and aesthetics is a key element tointerview
understanding the conflict with the 8M’sgraffiti, but as artists we think thosemanifestations are part of keeping the artalive, to make the monuments part of thecause against the violence we, as women,live each day in this city.In terms of choreography we were thinkingabout how this angel as a sculpture wouldcome alive with the movement, and how shestarts moving in a staccato and toughquality because she is made of stone butkeeping her angel softness, and then howshe free her body and movement as shepaints herself.From the visual planning, it was proposed totake advantage of the gray spaces tohighlight even more the color that is sofeared when seen on monuments; like ascream against the gray.Open spaces were chosen to enhance thestrength, the body and the movement of themonument which is rebelling. On the otherhand, close-up shots help us achieve aclearer narrative and a more intimateempathy by focusing on the face of a female