March 8th
March 8th
Who do you imagine thinking about this? 8M 2023
Intervention conducted on March 8, 2023, as part of International Women’s Day, to raise awareness about how aesthetic demands are loaded with gender inequality, leading to a high prevalence of eating disorders among women and gender non-conforming individuals.
The community was called upon to gather in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to engage in artivism (art + activism) by placing posters in public spaces with phrases such as: «I ate too much over the weekend, I’ll starve myself on Monday,» «I won’t go to the party, nothing fits me well,» «With the lights on, I can’t even have sex.» These phrases were accompanied by the question: Who do we imagine saying/thinking these things?
What is the cost?
8M 2022 is a participatory intervention aimed at questioning how culture still values femininities based on their appearance. Talking about beauty standards is talking about gender inequality. The same gray hair that is seen as «attractive» on male bodies is perceived as a sign of «neglect» in women. Male armpits with hair are considered «natural,» but female armpits are expected to be shaved. Female nipples are censored while male nipples are allowed to be shown. The normative body dissatisfaction of women is not an individual issue but a systemic social phenomenon.
Eight out of ten Argentine women experience dissatisfaction with their body image. During the march, we invited participants to answer the following questions: What is the economic cost of trying to meet beauty standards? What is the time cost of trying to meet beauty standards? What is the mental burden of trying to meet beauty standards? The responses were displayed on mannequins.
#8M Colective Action – Sticker (2021)
To the media that write entire articles about our physical appearance. To the singers who make hits talking about our bodies. To the advertisements that continue to objectify us. To the clubs that use us as commodities.
We say: WE ARE MORE THAN A BODY
Write about our professions, our tastes, our interests.
Talk about what we think, say, and do.»
On International Women’s Day, we join together to raise our voices with a collective action.
In Buenos Aires, we gathered on Monday 8th in front of the Faculty of Medicine to put up posters and stickers on the streets, and we invite everyone to contribute from their own place by downloading the posters and stickers to print and put up in their locality! We received photos from different parts of the country with this message being displayed.
Photos by: @gecka.contenidos
#8M mural – Cómoda y libre con mi cuerpo (2020)
Founder: @candeyatche Art: @amanda.trosman
Video: @infinidadaudiovisual
Music: @noventas @g.alapalacios.
