Layer by layer, these hand-cut designs peel back the polished veneer of vintage playing cards from the 1970s, revealing the complex spirit of American women. The models—idealized, white, and one-dimensional—capture the constrained vision of femininity from a time when women were stepping cautiously into the workforce, their voices often stifled. These images, relics of an era, embody an ‘ideal’ that was never real, but imposed. Beneath this facade lies the truth: we live in a world that promises freedom yet holds us in place, pressing us to remain calm, beautiful, stoic. Our rights feel close, as though within arm’s reach, yet we grasp only at shadows. This piece stands as both frustration and resilience—a testament to the strength demanded of women, to embody beauty and grace while yearning, quietly but fiercely, for liberation.