Score Performance #3:
The audience is placed in a circle
-two lights on either side of the circle
I am carried in by two male bodies and set in the circle
Repeat the “we need feminism speech” while cutting off the
One side of the room have pretty women playing
Other side have the repeated speech of we need feminism
I in the middle wrapped in plastic wrap try to undo myself completely
Bold= what the women say
Italicized= male’s say
We still need feminism because when people get married it is assumed the woman will take the man’s last name.
Because when women are assaulted, they are often the ones who feel ashamed.
We still need feminism because we teach women how to prevent rape, instead of teaching people to not view women as objects.
Because women are told that walking alone at night makes them “an easy target.”
Because, sometimes, a movie’s rating (PG-13 versus R) depends on how much a female appears to be enjoying sex in a certain scene.
We still need feminism because our bodies are still being legislated,
because McDonald’s still asks us if we want a girl or boy toy,
because we use terms like “bitch” and pussy” to imply weakness.
We need feminism because FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), the act of cutting off and restitching female genitals to prevent pleasurable sex — and can happen to girls as young as 5 months old — is still practiced in 29 countries.
Because more than 120 countries don’t have laws against marital rape, and still allow child brides — some as young as 6 years old.
We need feminism because infanticides, the act of killing children within a year of birth, can be attributed to millions of fewer females than males in Middle Eastern countries,
and because in Afghanistan women going to college can be considered justifiable grounds for disfiguring.
Being a feminist does not mean you think women can’t speak for themselves, it means you realize that, even though some may be lucky enough to, there’s still many who can’t.
“Don’t be slutty, don’t have sex. But be sexy. If you’re too sexy though and you get raped then that’s your own fault because you’re not actually supposed to listen to us about being sexy, even though we tell you your value is derived from how sexy you are. If you get into a position of power, we will assume that you used your sex appeal to get there and not your brains and we will mock you even though we told you the only thing that mattered was your sex appeal. Make yourself accessible to us, but holy shit stop being so desperate and needy. Don’t be a tease. If we want to have sex with you, Don’t friend zone us, even though we just fucking told you not to have sex.”
Really good self-reflection Madison! Great video documentation. I loved seeing it happen again -- only differently. Also the video's vantage point was interesting as when you watch it -- you are looking down at you squirming frantically, trying to break loose.
ReplyDeleteWhat you write at the end of this self-reflection is stronger than the words
I heard during the performance. I am tired of being an object. I am tired of being pretty for other people. I am tired of being shamed for loving myself. I am tired of being called selfish because I care about my person. I am a human being. And I am a women...
think about this....