I started my project by thinking of ways I could further push my previous work and different ways in which I could display it under the current circumstances, if I was unable to display my work in my studio. I wanted to continue to further explore how women's bodies are objectified and how it is to actually experience my own body.
Following some digital artworks I created during summer regarding Ask FM and the ways it effected my mental health as a teenager to spread awareness for Mental Health Awareness week. Ask FM is a website that allows users to post anonymous comments and questions to a person's profile. I noticed a lot of the questions or messages I received on there were very degrading and objectified me. Anonymous people either described my body or what they'd like to do to it. The language which was used mortified me and had a massive impact on me and the way I have presented/ experienced myself and my body since then. It made me question why people speak of women as if they are trophies or objects, something they can control. Why are people so demeaning when describing or speaking about women's bodies?
Here are only a few examples of the messages I received.
Language is so influential and important in society that it shapes ideals, opinions and the way we think about others or ourselves. It encouraged me to explore language (slang terms and phrases) in relation to the female body. I decided to explore these ideas I would create a short digital animation/ film to visualise how women's bodies are described through language and slang.
Not all of the messages I received described my body or genitalia but a lot of them were of sexual nature which was very degrading and shameful. It made me feel disgusting, that my body was being spoken about in such ways.
I posted this Instagram story -
I was shocked with how many responses I had, a lot of the terms/ phrases that I had never heard of. I found that after that I couldn't stop noticing these words and phrases, I noticed that social media was saturated with them and how much they were used in general conversation. I made two lists with my findings and added some I already knew myself:
Slang terms used to describe a vagina:
· Axe Wound
· Beaver
· Beef Curtains
· Clunge
· Cum Dumpster
· Cunt
· Flange
· Gash
· Growler
· Ham Sandwich
· Hanging Gammon
· Meat Flaps
· Meat Sleeve
· Minge
· Coin Purse
· Penis Fly Trap
· Kitty
· Pussy
· Flower
· Slit
· Snatch
· The Hairy Handbag
· Twat
· Wizard Sleeve
Slang terms used to describe breasts:
· Baps
· Cherry Bakewell’s
· Chesticles
· Coconuts
· Fried Eggs
· Fun Bags
· Ironing Board
· Jugs
· Knockers
· Lady Lumps
· Meat Mountains
· Melons
· Milk Jugs
· Puppies
· Rack
· Shoulder Boulders
· The Girls
· The Twins
I decided I wanted to create work to visualise the names used to describe vulvas and breasts. I did this to show humour but to also highlight the ridiculousness of these vulgar and derogatory terms as they are built on masculinity and the patriarchy. I wanted to show how they shouldn’t be used loosely in conversation as they are demeaning. The words are trophy-like when used by men because they can be seen as an achievement.
After further research, I found men reference women’s pubic hair a lot when using slang terms. For example - Jungle Cunt or A Bush and metaphors that are invoked by furry animals (Pussy or Beaver for example.) My assumption is, that because the presence of women’s pubic hair is foregrounded by its position in relation to the vulva, it is then noted often by men. I visualised the slang word "Beaver" in relation to the female body by sewing a small stuffed beaver to a pair of knickers. I made the beaver with felt and stuffed it with a pillow innards.
(Jacob beautifully modelling the beaver knickers I created.)
I think the use of the beaver attached to the knickers is really effective as it creates a very naïve, innocent and child-like visualisation of the ridiculous term used to describe a woman's genitalia. I am unsure as to whether I will carry on with this kind of work as I would prefer to focus on this project in a digital format.
I do not have too much experience in this area (film/ digital works) but I'm very interested in gaining knowledge within this area as due to the current situation (pandemic) digital works are on the rise and much easier to access. I feel as though digital animations or film will be more fitting for my project. This is because social media and the internet is saturated with these terms and I question whether social media is to blame solely for the use of these derogatory and vulgar terms or whether society is too?
I began to look different ways I could create short animations and how I'd be able to visualise/ animate women's genitalia. I created a selection of digital drawings to represent all the different types of vulvas and breasts there are. (ALL BREASTS AND VULVAS ARE DIFFERENT.) This is because through social media and online aggression towards women aim to reinforce negative and hostile slurs to promote traditional, cultural beliefs about femininity, such as beauty ideals, and they shame victims by accusing them of falling short of these standards whether that's about having the 'perfect' vagina/ vulva or breasts.
Here are the digital vulva drawings I created -
I really like these digital drawings as I think they look really interesting and could imagine them in some sort of animation. I decided to put them together I also really like the use of colours I've used as I picked rather typical feminine colours. I will also create these digital drawings of breasts.
Maybe I could make them seem as if they were talking or singing?
I went on to create an animation of a vulva. I gave the vulva human qualities - eyes. This is because it already looked as if it had a nose and mouth. The song I chose was 'That's Not My Name' - The Ting Tings, I chose this as I felt the song was rather fitting to the subject, this is because the language and slang terms used aren't the correct way/ ways to describe or label women's genitals.
I found this quite difficult to make as I had to create this short snippet of video in a stop motion. It was very time consuming but effective as it created a child-like, naïve and fun image of a serious matter. On the other hand, I do think the colours I've chosen take away from the fun, almost theatrical aspect of the video.
Overall, I don't think this worked as well as I'd initially planned. Maybe instead of creating new digital images, I could just further develop my previous digital designs in a similar way. This is because I feel the colours I used in the previous animation were a lot brighter and striking that the traditional colours associated with vulvas and vaginas.
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