Mickalene Thomas’s work draws from Western art history to examine and redefine beauty, race, gender, and sexuality. Best known for her complex paintings made of rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel, Thomas frequently references the 1970s through images from blaxploitation films and Ebony and Jet magazines, as well as materials such as vibrant fabrics. Alluding to a period in which Black female identity in popular media was often eroticized, her photographs serve as spaces for validation and self-reflection. Through her work, Thomas asserts that women are most powerful when they are in control of their sexuality.