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“They’re Eating Me!” Photo Project

This photo project was created as part of the OmniArts GB Queer Creatives group B6: Snapshots In Time.

Vox is sitting cross legged in a clearing in a forest, with their eyes closed and head bowed, their short curls falling into their face. They are surrounded by a range of vintage porcelain dolls. Some are on their lap, and others are positioned closely next to and in front of them. Vox is laying on grass with their eyes closed, and their arms above their head, with one of their hands gently resting in the other. They have dark brown underarm hair, and are wearing a beard made from embroidered marguerite flowers. The text on their cropped t-shirt can be clearly read. Vox is sitting cross legged in a clearing in a forest, staring at the camera with a blank expression on their face. Their short dark curls are falling over their forehead on one side, and on top of their round glasses. They are surrounded by a range of vintage porcelain dolls. Some are on their lap, and others are positioned closely next to and in front of them.

About This Photo Project

When I was a kid, I collected porcelain dolls, because my grandma did. As a teenager, I was told by many people that porcelain dolls were ‘creepy’ and a part of me found great joy in being other than the ‘norm’.

Combining my love of crafting, and my frustration at the binary society I have to exist in, “THEY’RE EATING ME!” is a satirical photo series posing a genuine thought provoking question about how ingrained gender stereotypes are in our society.

T-shirt hand embroidered by me, and marguerite beard made from embroidery stumpwork, also by me.

Growing up, my younger brother and I did a lot of the same things, both of us often crossing the stereotypical gendering society gives to many activities. As we got older and spent more time with our peers and in society, the activities we did started to diverge from each other more and more, veering towards the stereotypically masc for him, and fem for me.

I pondered my word choice for my t-shirt carefully. I opted to go with the directed statement, rather than a more general one, as I feel it is more impactful. My aim is for anyone seeing these photos to consider themselves as the “you” in some way, be that as a parent, teacher, community member, clothes designer, shop assistant, advertising executive, film director, health care worker, songwriter or peer. Everyone plays a role in the upbringing of a child

You cannot escape the fact that regardless of if you personally have children or not, everyone is a part of society, and contribute to the continued normalisation of gendering people based on the genitals they had when they came out of the womb.

My statement is intentionally vague regarding any other potential sex traits, as a way of also highlighting intersex traits, and how still to this day, intersex people are operated on as babies for the sole purpose of trying to force that person to fit into the narrow, binary opinion western society has of gender.

 

text reads "visual arts" in a funky varied font. Background is a film reel with watercolour paint splatters on and around it in purple, yellow, and turquoise. Above this are three hanging lamps with beams shining down on the text.
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