The Myth of the strong woman (2018)

Fig 1. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Installation image of video work. Television, floodlight, draped silver cloth.

Fig 1. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Installation image of video work. Television, floodlight, draped silver cloth.

I am a symptom

A symptom of the agencies of which I am constructed within.

I have contracted this body

I have contracted this body of strength

I have contracted this body of strength free of weakness

I have contracted a lack of predefined weaknesses

With this body

The automaton 

(PAUSE)

I am stoic, in control, weaponized, I operate with calm and clarity.

I am not distracted by emotional weakness

They do not operate within my definitions

I am a strong woman

My body is controlled, my breasts employed as weapons.

I emphasize my waist like a point

(PAUSE) 

So it is clear

My function

My objectivity

My role

I am the object

Sexual

Consumable

Commodified

Strong

Without anything as damning as naivety, fear, insecurity, softness 

(PAUSE)

I am without a crack, invincible, untouchable, and yet serve to be touched

I control a room with the weapon strapped between my thighs

A weapon gifted to me, licensed to me by the state, at least in my ability to operate it

A weapon which is

Sexual

Consumable

Commodified

No need for upset

I am a strong woman

Prescribed strength without weakness.

Fig 2. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 2. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 3. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 3. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 4. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 4. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 5. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 5. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 6. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 6. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 7. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

Fig 7. "The Myth of the Strong Woman". Video still.

The Myth of the Strong Woman is a highly aestheticized video performance piece, based on Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang and the role of the female cyborg in science fiction cinema, which identifies the image of the cyborg as a dominant prototype of female strength. The cyborg is the image of sexual power, based on the physicality of the body, with the absence of emotional vulnerability. This piece takes problem with this form of liberation as exclusionary, and limited. What may have been intended as a tool to challenge a system, that of sexual liberation and female 'strength', under the guise of the patriarchy was instead transformed into a commodified prototype to be consumed by the patriarchy and then resold back to the general population. The text above is spoken overtop of the video in a faltered voice along with a mechanical droning, the voice speaking to both the cyborg and the audience.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Ufsvs4b1Y