Comment, Comment, Comment

I'm currently exploring the body. Specifically, our relationships with our body and how that can be changed by the views of others. This was all really sparked out of an interest in the work of Marc Quinn, and eventually his infamous statue of Allison Lapper. It's a really interesting piece of art work. It's a really brave piece of art work. But it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be brave to put a disabled, pregnant woman in a positive light. It shouldn't be questioned whether or not she is allowed to be pregnant, allowed to be beautiful, allowed to have her own agency. 

People have such an interest in other peoples bodies. What they do with it, how they dress it, what they put in it. Usually, this interest is framed as concern. Slut shaming becomes a worry of safety. Fat shaming becomes a concern of health. Skinny shaming becomes a query of mental health. To be perfectly honest, my belief is most of that is bullshit. People want a reason to involve themselves in others bodies, so they make up reasons in a veiled attempt to seem better, to seem like they have the 'best intentions'. 

A few days ago I asked people to submit stories of how other peoples views had altered their relationships with their bodies. Within 18 hour I had 6 A4 pages worth of story after story. In a pleasant surprise, there were more positive stories than I had thought there would be. 

But still, they were overwhelmingly negative. They were overwhelming about weight. The negative comments, the ones people could remember years later, were overwhelmingly made by parents. 

It's not a coincidence. There is something happening here, again and again and again. People, adults, projecting their own issues and thoughts and fears onto kids, teens, other adults. 

So today I physically projected stories onto a mannequin. 

This has lit a fire under me. The Allison Lapper story pissed me off. I don't like how people feel they have a right to her, or anyone elses, bodies. There is something I want to say here, and I'm going to keep going until I say it.