Updated: Apr 16, 2021
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Our culture here in the UK tells us many stories about our bodies. Some of them are very confusing and contradictory. Stories that say they are shameful. That our naked bodies are shameful. That our naked bodies are to be covered up, and hidden away, out of sight. That our genitals are shameful. That are bodies are primarily sexual in purpose. That our naked bodies can only been seen in a sexualized context. On a billboard wrapped up in sexy lingerie. Parading around scantily clad in a music video. Or proactively displaying food items.
Our naked bodies are shameful, unless they are being overtly sexualised and used to sell something, to someone, that they don't really need. This is a little bit confusing right!? And what about all the things we are told to hate, or dislike or strive to change, about our bodies. The many stories we are told about how much more lovable we will be if only our bodies look like...X, Y, Z and don't have, A, B, C. And what about how we are told to treat our bodies and other peoples bodies? And what about all the stories we are told, via films, and TV shows, music videos, and all pornongraphy, that we watch? What if they tell us and teach us all the wrong things? And what if what they teach us goes in? And effects the way we treat ourselves, our own bodies, and the bodies of other humans that we encounter in the world?
And if we grow up believing the stories we are told, that our bodies are shameful, and only good for attracting sexual partners, or selling things, and only attractive or good for selling things, if they look a particular way, and the result of all of that is that we hate our bodies, either secretly or openly, then our bodies can become a prison, rather than a home. And regardless of what our external lives may or may not offer us, if we feel like we are trapped in our bodies, if we feel stuck in ourselves, then are we ever, truly free?
I am excited to announce that I am starting work on my current performance project "How To Be Well In A World That Is Sick?"...funded by the Arts Council Of Wales and The National Lottery, as a part of their Covid-19 Artist Stabilisation Fund. The project is a collaboration between @jackdawtheatre and @newpathways_ and is an exploration of mental health and emotional well being. The work asks questions around how the values of our culture and society impact on us as individuals, particularly in relation to our internal landscapes. This project explores the ways we can navigate trauma, specifically sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual violence, and examines the way these processes are often viewed by society.
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