#embodied activism

Embodied Activism: Engaging the Body to Cultivate Liberation, Justice, and Authentic Connection—A Practical Guide for Transformative Social Change

The stories we choose to tell ourselves about ourselves.

This keynote address was presented at the annual Kuʻi ka Lono Conference on April 20, 2018. The conference theme this year was “E hoʻā mana.” 

Hoʻā mana. What does it mean to ignite mana? Is it to inspire or to encourage? Is it to give someone authority, rights, or privileges? Is it to empower?

When I think of hoʻā mana, and I reflect on what it looks like (or feels like) to have a fire lit…

Old publishing images for a book on body language

For the first time in a long time, I was very nostalgic for real photos.  My aunt, Maria Epes sent me these decommissioned images from her publishing days in New York.  They are so unfettered and such a fresh take on the obvious: we reinforce our social position through our bodies as well as our minds and words.

One of my very smart graduate students, Alex Borgen wrote on the blog here yesterday asking about embodied activism. How do our bodies enforce or betray our intentions? How are we willing to negotiate or compromise?  Is it political? When is exploiting our bodies for position in society acceptable, or unacceptable? Have the gender debates on freedom to wear what we wish gone far enough?  What might change if we took a different stance on how we use our bodies to reinforce the status quo?

I have always used the gender role reversal trick to make a point, but today, I don't need to.  Look at how ridiculous the man looks in the second set of images.  What would the world look like if men deferred to women the way we defer with our bodies every day?  The head tilt, the hip slimming stance, the hair in the face, the preening--I've talked about that fairly extensively her on Gender Assignment.  I struggle with it every day, as there is no question to me, we are treated according to how we perform our gender.