Exploring Gender Expectations: 25 New Comics By Artist Lainey Molnar

Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to the illustrator to ask some questions!

When asked about upcoming projects, Lainey shared her excitement about experimenting with a new medium: “As of late I started posting short videos around the topics of being a woman, relationships, little wisdoms, and self-healing besides the regular illustrations, and I'm enjoying them tremendously. Instagram infamously changed their algorithm to favour videos, slashing so many creators' engagement and forcing them to do videos they're not necessarily comfortable with, but I feel like I can get even deeper this way to support women all over the world.”

As for exploring other art styles, Lainey has a dream project in mind that merges her passions: “Before digital art I used to draw with markers, which I really miss, but I don’t have time for it anymore. My ultimate dream is to paint on designer handbags. My background is in fashion, and my hobby is refurbishing (vintage) designer accessories in the name of sustainability and value. Creating artworks on pieces I already consider artworks would marry all of my passions and talents.”

When it comes to advice for aspiring comic artists, Molnar emphasizes the importance of staying true to one’s creative voice: “This is an advice to everyone creating any kind of art: Do not put too much weight on how you are doing on social media. Having followers or likes doesn’t validate how valuable your art is—it’s simply a tool to echo your voice. The art and the message should come from your heart, and it should be something you would create the same way just for yourself if you lived in a hut up in the mountains for a year with no internet. I started off creating these comics just for myself, to process my experience as a woman in the world, and I didn’t intend to have an audience or have it as a full-time job. Until this day I refuse to draw anything that doesn’t come from the heart.”

Lainey’s ultimate goal for her work is ambitious but deeply meaningful: “My biggest goal is for all women to feel seen, heard, and feel like they are not alone. To give them a new perspective about things the system, the patriarchy, life, and society taught them are the norm. To give them tools to heal themselves from past traumas and stuck patterns. I know this might sound incredibly ambitious, but I’m set on changing the world.”

Expanding on this vision, she hopes her comics help foster a larger community of support and growth: “I truly hope that I can establish a community where like-minded women uplift one another. I am fascinated how it’s happening in the comment section under each one of my posts—they get vulnerable, share their personal stories, like and support one another. I believe there is a huge need for a safe space online for women where there is no judgment, and they can share, express, bond, and grow. So I’m planning on building all that in the future.”

One comment from a follower particularly stood out to the illustrator and affirmed the impact of her work: “One time I received a message from a follower that she has shown my illustrations to her young brother, and they started having discussions around what girls and women are going through. She told me that her brother was only familiar with the male narrative and ended up opening his mind to so much on the ‘other’ side and even sharing the illustrations with his friends. This is the kind of ripple effect I aim for with everything I do. I just start the conversation, but how it’s interpreted or how it unfolds is fascinating.”

Outside of her art, Lainey has a wide array of hobbies: “Besides doing art and refurbishing accessories and trying to read all the books in the world while traveling to every corner of the globe, I love to do puzzles. It’s becoming a problem because I buy and do them at such a rate that they have taken over my apartment. Maybe I should consider making puzzles with my illustrations—that would be a fitting project!”