My February pages are to blame...
well mostly...
I wondered what it would be like to love myself completely..
and so I began to do some inner work..
and decided to start with
words..
there are several groups online raising consciousness about
body image and as I was listening to a kick starter video, I heard the young narrator
refer to her breast as her boob..
it was a wonderful video and a worthwhile cause...
but I couldn't get past that word,
boob.
most of us have used it, nonchalantly, mindlessly...
but in doing my work, I remembered again how important words are..
and that is my grandmother Millie's doing..
you see, she was a reader, she insisted that we use the correct anatomical terms for our bodies.
when I came home from junior high one day and referred to my breast as a boob,
she explained to me that a "boob was an idiot",
and there was nothing idiotic about my breasts.
words have such power..
they can cut and stab, and they can heal and praise..
how did we get to a place where the common term for a necessary and beautiful part of the female body
is commonly described in such sophomoric terms..?
we live in that brave new world, we read about years ago,
our Orwellian future is here...
I don't have all the answers but I know that when it comes to body image
our words can heal us..
and that we can reclaim our power through
our words
ingredients: gesso, paper ephemera, antique prints, pencil, pen, acrylic paint, staples, rub on letters, transparencies, walnut ink.
we delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
Maya Angelou
ciao, ciao..
29 comments:
This post is especially relevant to me. When I went for an MRI in Dec., the technician told me to put my boobs in the holes on the table! I was horrified. Since I have been going through breast cancer treatment, my entire perspective on my body has changed and I feel so much compassion for others and how much the body can suffer and then heal.I am becoming much less self conscious about my body than I ever have been, and yes love it, not for what it looks like but for serving me well for so long.
Thanks for this post.
Well said! This hit a sore spot. I've never used that word and never will. xo
OH Marie, I knew you were dealing with a health issue from you pages, but did not know that it was breast cancer. I thought about breast cancer as I wrote this article, and that it seems more than just a coincidence that the common use of this term and the incidence of breast cancer has risen... sending you blessings... x
Colette, so glad to hear that and I am going to let it go completely as well.. xo
beautiful, cat... all of this...
xoxo
gorgeous!
hey lynne... thanks and miss you dear one... xoxo
Hi Susi, thank you!
Really good points about words and meanings. Yes, why should we denigrate our body parts, they are beautiful, we should celebrate them. Lovely pages. xox
Thanks Corrine! xox
One of my faves and I have many.
xo
Oh, your pages are wonderful.
A great post to make one stop and think. I don't remember, but I could picture my paternal grandmother talking to me that same way. I think that the word "boob" is really a dumb word.
Beautiful words and thoughts.
Beautiful page, I love how you wrote around the breats , and the whole meaning behind creating it.
Dear Caterina, I don`t think I have ever used the word boob- also not in Danish, it sounds kind of vulgar to me, and we should ,as you point out,-honour our whole body by calling the parts for their real names !!
Thank you for alwayes making me think when visiting you.
Hugs,Dorthe
Truly beautiful art and post!
Dear Margie, thank you so much! xoxo
Hey Terri, I agree! a very dumb word!
Thank you Zom!
Hi Dorthe dear, yes so glad you do not have this word or the slang meaning. Thank you for the very kind compliment.. xoxo
Thank you Mirjana!
graceful, elegant, powerful. one of many misused words that makes me wince. so thoughtful and artful of you to share your beautiful piece and words!!
xoxo
Thank you Patti, dear, I appreciate that, so happy you liked it. xoxo
While in grad school, I taught psychology to college freshman. One of the things that made me mad, especially when I taught the chapters on sex and sexuality, was how easy it was for these kids to use foul language instead of the biological terms. Both male and female extremities seem to suffer the same ugly words these teens learned in junior high.
Thank you for devoting an entire post to this problem. I remember the head administrator told all us grad students that if we were uncomfortable teaching these chapters on sex and sexuality, one of the profs would come in and give the lecture. I laughed to myself and thought as long as one used proper terminology and corrected any student who didn't, there should be no problem. Thanks again for taking me back to that classroom and teaching others that breasts were truly a proper word to use.
As an aside, I love the previous post and am off to see the two artists who you spotlighted.
Your pages are gorgeous, Cat!
I don't like the word boob - in German 'Titten'. I would never use this term, it sounds vulgar ~ it's gutter language.
Dear E,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. It was great to hear about your experiences as a teacher, and to know that you felt the same way. I am so glad it all struck a chord. I have as you know recently decided to give more depth and detail about why and how I create my work. It was a bit scary at first, but now I feel as though I should have been doing it all along! x
Hi Gaby, yes you are right! vulgar and it means stupid in English... so I think we are unconsciously denigrating a part of our body... so sad... thanks for your kind comment and for stopping by!! xo
really beautiful and relevant post (but of course all of yours are!)...words are indeed powerful
thank you for lifting us up ~♥~
oxo
Oh Patty!! Thank you, very kind words indeed, dear art sister! xoxo
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