Using the Body to Protest
How the use of one’s own body gives control and power to the subaltern.
On November 19, 2016, one hundred and thirty protesters stripped naked in Cleveland with mirrors for an art project entitled “Everything She Says Means Everything.” The women who protested claimed to use their bodies as a way to represent the human planet in regards to climate change while others used their bodies to express the fear of women becoming a marginalized group under Trump’s presidency. Overall, all of the protesters acted upon a defiant response towards Trump’s attitude toward imperfect bodies, or in other words, the body type that does not fit the patriarchal standard. By protesting in the nude, women showed Trump what real America looks like – beautiful imperfections in all shapes and sizes.
The subaltern are those who do not have access to climbing up the ladder of the social hierarchy because they are rendered without agency by social status. By this, the subaltern turn to using their bodies as protest as a way to speak and be heard. The body then turns into a microphone to voice the needs, urgency, and demands for the subaltern. A common notion of protests that make use of the body are only of those where protestors march in the nude. However, protesting naked is not the only method of using one’s body to deny compliance and assert control.
Once Donald Trump was elected into presidency, many forms of art began to bring awareness to the reality that his regime entails. Eighteen year old Aria Watson, a first-year student at Clatsop Community College in Oregon decided to direct attention towards Trump’s various sexist remarks that discriminate women through photography project called #SignedByTrump. Several of the comments that Trump has unhesitantly proclaimed such as “Grab em’ by the pussy” and “Must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees” were painted on the naked bodies of five women, including Aria herself. Through the art of photography, Aria shares that it was her way of calling out Trump’s sexism and misogynistic persona in hopes of combatting the possible development of social norms that allow degrading comments and attitudes towards women to be accepted not only for the time being of Trump’s presidency, but also for the years to follow.
Along with the use of photography, Aria also explored the subaltern by using the human body as a way to speak. In this particular case, the subaltern are women who are utilizing photography and are using their own bodies as a microphone to pair Trump’s misogynistic statements with a powerful visual of his words written on the specific group that his comments have targeted and negatively affected. This form of protest that is used by the subaltern demonstrates how the use of one’s own body can have an impactful and meaningful message to spread awareness and steer attention to the reality of misogyny through the visuals of art. The women who contributed to this project were asking for their bodies back by taking control over their own bodies on behalf of all the women Trump has verbally and mentally abused by his comments.
I believe that these photographs are extremely relevant to the United State’s presidential situation in which it beautifully and literally depicts the comments and remarks that are made about women by writing them on their bodies themselves. Although the use of one’s own body is not necessarily the only way to protest or bring awareness, I think that it was a necessary match to what Trump has said to the gendered group he has spoken down upon.
Another form of protest against Trump has been the use of tattoos. Feminist everywhere are tattooing Mitch McConnell’s words, “Nevertheless, she persisted” on their bodies to protest trump and patriarchal sexism. This saying comes from the fury that was produced when Senator Elizabeth Warren was told she was in violation of Congressional rules and was told to sit down after she questioned the reputation of Senator Jeff Sessions who was accused of abusing his power to intimidate black people from voting in 1986. McConnell then stated that, “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” This occurrence then enraged feminist who saw this incident as an act of sexism. Although McConnell said his words to insult Warren, all he did was shine light on her (and all women’s) strengths. Feminists then began to create shirts, bracelets, posters, and other paraphernalia that revolved around the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted” as a way to show support for Warren. Some of these women believed that this was a greater way to get their message of opposition against patriarchal sexism and their defiance against McConnell, Session, and Donald Trump across to the public. Through the use of tattoos, women have also demonstrated how they were able to unapologetically reclaim their bodies by being in control of them and what was going to be tattooed on them for the rest of their lives. By permanently inscribing this form of visual protest on a part of their body, it is a constant reminder that although some of women’s traits can be see as weaknesses they are instead their strengths.
By using one’s body as a public statement for protest, protesters are allowed to assert the agency they do have that is not restricted by being the subaltern. Whether it be being fully nude, the use of photography, or getting a tattoo, the use of the body holds a meaningful gesture and message that expresses the control over one’s body away from compliance of the patriarchy to the defiance for one’s own self. Through the use of these methods and strategies, it is a direct test to those who believe objectifying the body, specifically women, is a norm or acceptable. By using the body, it goes against the feeling of being stripped of one’s ownership and gives power and control back to those who have been exploited through the use of their own body.
