But it wasn't so long ago that the common response to domestic violence was to sweep it under the rug. Even if people didn't approve, it wasn't something they wanted to interfere with because it was a private matter.
But as more and more courageous people spoke out against it, the issue became public. By the 1980s and 1990s, people started to see the issue explored in the media with movies like The Burning Bed and What's Love Got To Do With It. And now, it's internationally recognized as part of what the United Nations describe as a "global pandemic" of violence against women.
The way to keep people focused on addressing the problem is to continue the conversation, and that's exactly what this "Life Can Be a Fairytale, If You Break the Silence" campaign by aleXsandro Palombo aims to do.
In recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, he has launched an awareness campaign that involves editing photographs of female celebrities to show stark signs of physical abuse. The campaign has received some backlash from Kim Kardashian-West and Kendall Jenner, two of the women depicted, but Palombo intends the campaign to encourage victims of abuse to decry their situation. He says that "the biggest accomplice of violence is the silence," so he spread these images and their accompanying message across social media to break the silence of abuse and "use the antidote of culture" to keep the issue public enough to stimulate real change in eliminating the root of the problem.
And so, these are the images this message was attached to. These celebrities and animated icons are depicted as victims of abuse to demonstrate that even what people think of as a fairy-tale lifestyle can have a monster of abuse lurking beneath it.
1. Madonna.
It's important to note that these images are entirely the work of Palombo and did not feature any participation from the women depicted. Yet Madonna's inclusion in this series is particularly relevant, given the abuse that occurred during her marriage to actor Sean Penn.
2. Gwyneth Paltrow.
There's no record of abuse in Paltrow's history, so her inclusion likely has to do with her position as an identifiable person who has "everything" and can afford to live in the kind of "fairy tale" Palombo's series uses to juxtapose his raw images with.
3. Kristen Stewart.
There are a couple of possible reasons for Stewart's inclusion in Palombo's awareness campaign. It could have to do with her previous efforts to speak out against sexual violence, or it could be the potentially abusive relationship at the heart of Twilight, the series that made her a household name.
4. Emma Watson.
A large degree of the publicity surrounding Palombo's series concerns his inclusion of Emma Watson. Her status as the UN's Goodwill Ambassador for Women and her famous speech in support of their HeForShe campaign certainly make her a provocative choice.
5. Kendall Jenner.
Jenner reportedly "backed the cause" Palombo's series was made for but believed that involvement in the campaign should have been on a voluntary basis. The issue here was that Palombo did not contact any of the women featured before starting his work.
6. Angelina Jolie.
A former Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, Jolie now serves as a special envoy for its High Commission for Refugees. It's unknown whether it's this role or rumors surrounding her estrangement from Jon Voight that inspired Palombo to feature her in this series.
7. Miley Cyrus.
If there are any factors for Cyrus' inclusion in this series besides her level of celebrity, they're unknown at this time.
8. Kim Kardashian-West.
Kardashian outlined the abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband, Damon Thomas, in a formal complaint to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2003. It's unknown whether Palombo knew this when he included her in his series, but it certainly makes it easy to appreciate why she would want some input on the use of her image in his series.
9. Wilma Flintstone.
Before his celebrity photoshops, Palombo created a similar series to raise awareness about domestic violence, this time featuring female cartoon characters. Wilma's inclusion in this series seems inevitable considering her husband is a literal caveman based on Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners.
10. Princess Jasmine.
Given her status as a Disney Princess and the sexism inherent in the laws of Agrabah, there's a logic to Palombo's decision to include Jasmine as a provocative figure for the cartoon version of his domestic violence awareness campaign.
11. Snow White.
There's a definite risk to marrying someone you've never met before. Palombo posits that as handsome as he is, there's no guarantee that Snow White's prince won't be just as evil as the Queen.
12. Wonder Woman.
When people abuse their spouses, they're seeking power over them. But what happens when your abuser is already as powerful as Superman?
13. Olive Oyl.
It was always curious that it was so easy for other men to lure Olive Oyl away from Popeye. Palombo's interpretation of their dynamic certainly casts a grim shadow over Popeye's spinach-infused victories over her potential suitors.
14. Marge Simpson.
This stark scene shows the side of Homer's rage issues that wasn't explored in The Simpsons. But since his abuse of Bart was so commonplace, it's hard to believe that it would just stop there.
15. Lois Griffin.
It's hard to think of a TV family more dysfunctional than the Griffins. I'm not sure if what Palombo is depicting here has ever happened on the show, but the seeds of it are quite apparent.
16. Cinderella.
Similar to Snow White, Cinderella had known her prince for all of one night before they supposedly lived happily ever after. Palombo definitely seems to be challenging that claim.
Collage images via 1. Facebook / Alexsandro Palombo 2. Facebook / Alexsandro Palombo
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