There is a fine line between creating awareness and (unnecessary?) attention.
The Internet has afforded the world over (every continent, city, towns, barn and borough) the opportunity to see each other in ways that before it’s invention, was shut off and our knowledge of one another as a world was rationed off and distributed by tiny seeps of whatever media outlets allowed us to have (per region at that).
So with that kind of liaison if you will, if we felt like awareness needed to be brought to something-we were limited to our reach.
Now, the Internet has cut out the middleman and we are free to let the world in on whatever we wish for it to know. With that being the case, it’s like the saying goes:
“With freedom comes responsibility.”
My saying (regarding this newfound freedom of ours—with the invention of the Internet and social media is):
“There is a fine line between creating awareness and attention.”
When I’m online, I do a lot of research and reading about particular subjects and come across certain articles that never make it to the forefront that too, needs attention called to it as, many of these issues were subjects with which the author or persons involved felt “awareness” needed to be brought to the issue.
I will list them (and be sure to tap in to my podcast, posted here to see what I have to say about each and why each are, or are not necessary):
1
An article about creating awareness about women and periods in which a woman took to her Instagram account and posted a live picture of herself (fully clothed-like we women are when we are on our periods) and often times, we have “accidents” just like this:
Well. That was the pic the woman posted and Instagram kindly deleted it and sent her this:
And this was her full reply:
Thank you Instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique. You deleted my photo twice stating that it goes against community guidelines. I will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be okay with a small leak. When your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified, pornified. and treated less than human. thank you.
As a part of my final project for my visual rhetoric course I created this image along with a full set which you can view at www.rupikaur.com to demystify the period and make something that is innate “normal” again cause rape categories in porn are okay. objectification and sexualisation is okay. people getting off on naked underage women. bondage. torture. humiliation. abuse is okay but this makes them uncomfortable. that’s what this work is supposed to do. make you as uncomfortable as you should feel when you watch others get abused and objectified.
This just goes to show who is sitting behind the desk. And whose controlling the show. Whose controlling the media and who is censoring us.
Some women aren’t allowed in their religious place of worship. Out of their homes. To do certain things. And are told they are sick. As if the period is a common cold. Yes. This is here in North America. I have been hospitalised many times because of issues associated with my period. I have been suffering from a sickness related to my period. And ever since I have been working so hard to love it. Embrace it. Celebrate it. Even thought it’s given me so much pain in the past few years. and they want to tell me I should be quiet about this. That all of this we experience collectively does not need to be seen. Just felt secretly behind closed doors. That’s why this is important. Because when I first got my period my mother was sad and worried. And they want to censor all that pain. Experience. Learning. No.
Their patriarchy is leaking.
Their misogyny is leaking.
We will not be censored.
I bleed each month to help make humankind a possibility. My womb is home to the divine. A source of life for our species. Whether I choose to create or not. But very few times it is seen that way. In older civilizations this blood was considered holy. In some it still is. But a majority of people, societies. and communities shun this natural process. Some are more comfortable with the pornification of women. The sexualisation of women. The violence and degradation of women than this. They cannot be bothered to express their disgust about all that. But will be angered and bothered by this. We menstruate and they see it as dirty. Attention seeking. Sick. A burden. As if this process is less natural than breathing. As if it is not a bridge between this universe and the last. As if this process is not love. labour. life. selfless and strikingly beautiful.”
Full article here
2
The debate about the stigma of breastfeeding has been a long ongoing one across the Internet in which actress (and wife of ½ of Twitter’s owner) Alyssa Milano is a name that you’ve probably seen [or heard of] spearheading this full on campaign to remove the stigma from the experience and normalize it as, it is a normal function of a child-bearing woman but is it necessary that the world be privy (or subjected) to seeing a woman bare skin breast exposed as she feeds her child though?
No matter how artistic, sexy or working woman-modern the photos, still, is it necessary?
Again, tap in to my podcast to hear what I have to say.
Here is the full article
3
Humanizing “fat” physiques.
A Brazilian self proclaimed “fat woman” herself named Mariana Godoy though it’d be good to be, and celebrate who she was while too, display it by way of way she does: Photography.
In an effort to encourage love of fat bodies, via a series called “Empoderarte Me” (translation: “Empowering Me”), the photographer features several confident, “fat women” in lingerie with some of the women temporarily branded with shame-slogans in protest of fat shaming.
“The fat woman is so sexy and beautiful,” Godoy told The Huffington Post. “I want people to see that the word ‘fat’ is not an insult but a compliment. Being fat and loving your body is amazing.”
“Being fat is a fight” Godoy insists-something she said she’s dealt with her entire life. She added: “I chose lingerie because photographs of fat woman in lingerie are rare, so this was a form of protest and self-acceptance. There is a lot of prejudice against the word fat there… people judge and condemn fat people,” Godoy told Cosmopolitan.com. “This is a fight I really want to win.”
So is this winning, necessary or no?
(I will weigh in)
Full article
4
Although the actual act or photo of the business below [of female masturbation] hasn’t made it to Instagram as yet, the business above, and talk about it has made its way to some blog articles and You tube series.’
Now although I don’t see actual acts of masturbation’s business below (photographed or on video) making its way to social media accounts like Instagram anytime soon, how much is too much information?
Granted, the act itself is taboo and very private, but at times we do have these talks with our closest friends about: how often, techniques, etc.
So where it comes to a subject like this being discussed only (thus far), what gives subjects 1-3 a pass?
Tune in to my podcast TODAY where this too will be discussed.
My take on this issue. Listen to the actual podcast
