What a funny world we live in now! I once saw a post explaining what happens when we share an opinion these days. It said something like 'when you post I love oranges on FB, anonymous people will come back at you with oh so you don't like Apples!' It's not even a question but a full blown accusation. If I had a psyche degree I would try to analyse it but seriously I've got better things to do and achieve in my life than be wasting mental energy on this sort of base level interaction. I do experience this phenomena in my art practice though so at the risk of alienating those who choose to be alienated I am going to explain why my art inspiration comes from biological women. That's not to say it can't be an inspiration to anyone who feels moved by it but as an artist I must be inspired by something. Until now I've been scared to say it in case I offended people but I also have to practice what I preach if I am to continue abiding by my chosen word of the year which I stated in an earlier post as 'Authenticity'. So here we go.
The short and easy answer is I AM a biological woman! It's all I know. Does that mean I don't like Men or Trans or anybody else? No it doesn't. I've been on stage since I was 4, believe me, I have friends from all walks of life and I love them all equally and respect their right to live in whatever way feels authentic to them. What it does mean though is that the only life I can fully relate to is the one I have experienced. Subsequently I feel it is the ONLY way of life I have any authority to comment on and when I look back, it inspires me greatly for many reasons.
My work is informed by my personal experiences as a biological woman. The pain of childbirth, the marathon and relentlessness of being a mother, hormonal overhauls and what they do to our brain chemistry, our muscles and joints but also the natural gifts they bring and how we can harness them to our advantage. One that comes to mind is the heightened gift of intuition that is said to come from having babies who can't speak. It's not to say you have to have babies to develop intuition but more that having babies forces those women to develop it. On a broader level our natural propensity to love, sacrifice, nurture, support & give of ourselves. Our big picture thinking - there's benefits to being able to think of multiple things at once and form larger pictures but sometimes it's overwhelming and a bloody nightmare too and I wish I could do the man thing and just not think at all or at the very least just one thing at a time. This is not a derogatory criticism of men at all. They actually have this ability and I'm totally jealous. It also has its benefits but imagine those two ways of thinking working together equally. Big picture expansion combined with unwavering single focus. Oh the possibilities.
So why are these things so important to me? Well, it's because women have been distracted for too long. Too busy worrying about the superficial things instead of really valuing themselves and supporting each other. The world has pit us against men and trans and worst of all each other and even ourselves and that is so very sad. It's also a devastating waste of a talent and resources.
If you are a woman reading this, I want you to know that even when your hair is a mess and you're covered in baby vomit and haven't had a shower for 3 days you are still extraordinary. If you're thinking I'm just a stay at home mum, just look at what you're managing. Lesser beings would crumble under the weight of that responsibility let alone the sleep depravation. This level of resilience, sacrifice, commitment and juggling is what the world desperately needs. It's not always about grandiose gestures and saving the world. It's about recognising that women are capable of this no matter what setting they are in. Whether it's a dirty kitchen or a boardroom those same attributes are present, needed and infinitely valuable.
Got a problem? Give it to a woman! Trust me, we're already on a multitasking roll, it's what we do. What's one more?
I guess I just want women to be proud of who they are without feeling the need to compete and compare with anyone else male, trans or otherwise. I want them to respect their amazing bodies and what they are capable of. I want them to know that nothing they do is insignificant. I want them to understand that they have ways of doing things that are solely unique to a woman's brain structure and that those ways have many many benefits. Most of all I want women to live authentically as the unique, talented, beautiful, strong, vulnerable, problem solving, love making, nurturing and complex beings they are and not conforming clones of what they have been told they 'should' be. Women have much more to offer than that and the sooner they realise it for themselves, the sooner we can all benefit from it!
Yours in Support and Art.