André St. Clair and Tavet Gillson of AndréTavet

André St. Clair and Tavet Gillson of AndréTavet, i usedta live in the world, 2016

In this work we interpreted Dr. Shange’s poem, i usedta live in the world, which is about the universality of women’s experience of being pinned under the weight of masculinity. The threat of sexual or physical violence by men is real for transgender and cisgender women who dare to live freely under the male gaze. Though they are born free, girls quickly learn that a woman’s beauty can be a liability. To compensate for this cold, cynical reality, self-imposed and socially sanctioned protective measures limit a woman’s mobility and ownership of self and space. The feminine body, an object of a penetrating and policing male gaze, is then ironically rendered hyper-visible. i usedta live in the world depicts a woman grappling with this reality.

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The column, On the “A” w/Souleo, covers the intersection of the arts, culture entertainment and philanthropy in Harlem and beyond and is written by Souleo, founder and president of arts administration company, Souleo Enterprises.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-souleo-wright/on-the-a-wsouleo-visual-a_1_b_12324974.html