Perspective

    I do not believe in society. Well, at least not American society. I don't believe in unconsciously and fervently aligning myself with society's rules and arbitrarily-designated hierarchies. This is in part because they don't serve me - because they are set up to place me at the bottom - and partly because my neurodivergence helps me see quite clearly how harmful and pointless they are. It's why I renounce shame of any kind. Society tells us to be ashamed of being different, of being Black, of being a woman, of being "weird", of being fat, of being old, etc. etc. etc. We're told that we need to straighten our teeth, lose weight, and lighten our skin to be beautiful. And we're told that we need to be beautiful to be valuable. To be human. And, what's more, we're told that we should all abide by a one-size-fits-all lifestyle. I mean, why does it matter that you like wearing sweatpants and t-shirts when I like wearing dresses and bright colors? Why does it matter that I don't want to have kids just because they gave your life purpose? It's not only okay that we are all different, but it's the most basic source of beauty in this world.

 

   When I found out I was neurodivergent*, my world began to warp right in front of my eyes. Everything I had been told was a lie. I spent years changing and hiding myself under the premise of "self-growth" because other people forced shame upon me. They interpreted me based on their perspective and their comfort level and then made it my problem. Now, I understand more than ever that shame has no place in this world. There's just people that struggle with one thing and people that struggle with another.

 

Now that you know a little more about who I am, here are some of the ways in which I honor my values and my perspective in my art:

 

Renouncing shame:

It's Nothing Shameful - I put 5 tampons on a display stage to represent my rejection of society's demand that we hide a natural and common part of the human experience - periods. Menstruation. Menses. Monthly bleeding. Our time of the month. Aunt Flow. Periods.

Ugh - There are some experiences that are exclusive to the Black population. In this piece, I depict a common part of everyday life as a Black person.

 

Being yourself: 

Self-portrait #72 - This is how I see myself - colorful, strong-willed (see the words on my bandana), and good "weird".

Vicky - Being neurodivergent, I have no energy to smile when I don't want to, especially because it's such a manual process. This makes other people feel uncomfortable and intimidated. But, in this piece, I capture this facial expression and suspend it in time to show that this is me, whether others like it or not.

     

Strong sense of justice and picking up on things other people don't notice:

Blue in Back - A colorful and fun representation of a sad and unfair truth of American society - that Black women often are put on the back burner and cast aside because we don't fit society's rules about what beauty and womanhood should be. Remember when I said that we must be beautiful to be considered human? What happens when society says that you cannot be beautiful, by definition? You are not considered human. 

 

Pepperoni Phony - Inspired by many men that I've met, this piece casts a light on how the misogynistic patriarchy we live in produces men that think lying and manipulation are the only ways to get what they want from women.

 

*I use the word "neurodivergent" to avoid the stigma (a fancy word for shame) that's attached to the more specific words I could use. Many neurodivergent labels have a limiting stereotype associated with them due to the inaccurate representations of them in media. I use "neurodivergent"  to emphasize the fact that being neurodivergent just means your brain is wired differently. It's not a disease or mental illness to be eradicated.