Hint: It has to do with Obama.

Brooklyn-based artist Alexandra Rubinstein isn’t shy about female sexuality. In fact, her work revels in it, often flipping the so-called “male gaze” into a distinctly female one. Take, for example, her recent series A Dream Come True (Celebrity Cunnilingus), which features male heartthrobs going down on women from a female point of view (a favorite is one of Drake putting in *werk*, appropriately titled Best I Ever Had). Her art is both political and fun, commenting on the way women’s sexuality is evolving in today’s society without taking itself too seriously. We caught up with Alexandra on the phone to chat about pubic hair, heartthrobs, and the role of art as a means of resistance in today’s political economy.

You were born in Russia—how has your upbringing influenced your work?

We moved here when I was 9 and it’s definitely a big part of my work because it was a difficult transition, assimilating into a new country. I’d just started going through puberty when I moved, so I think I was more sensitive and more aware of different expectations both cultures placed on me as a woman. I spent a lot of my youth just trying to resolve both of those cultures.

Can you speak to the different expectations that each culture placed on you?

Everyone knows Russian culture is much more stereotypically misogynistic and there’s a lot of value placed on female appearance. American culture is definitely a lot more progressive but there is more nuanced misogyny and sexism.

Both place a lot value on female appearance but the way they address female sexuality is different. American culture allows women more freedom to express themselves for sure but we’re still not there, you

Brooklyn-based artist Alexandra Rubinstein isn’t shy about female sexuality. In fact, her work revels in it, often flipping the so-called “male gaze” into a distinctly female one. Take, for example, her recent series A Dream Come True (Celebrity Cunnilingus), which features male heartthrobs going down on women from a female point of view (a favorite is one of Drake putting in *werk*, appropriately titled Best I Ever Had).