Don't Kinkshame Me
BY GABRIELLE KLEINBERG
I have always heavily focused on the female body as both a battleground and as a mode for empowerment. My pieces explore a multitude of ideas including consent, kink, body image, and sexuality; however, each piece has an underlying theme of being trapped in some way, whether it be emotionally and spiritually trapped by the patriarchy, or physically trapped in the instances of being handcuffed or choked. Initially, the handcuff and choking pieces were intended to show physical manifestations of how it feels to be subjugated by institutionalized sexism and how it feels to be emotionally trapped.
Soon I became interested in these actions as not just metaphors, but also physical actions that occur and heighten the experience during sex. I began to wonder how I used these actions in my paintings to represent internal struggle, but also how I use these actions during sex for my own pleasure. These connections force me to think about if engaging in these kinks is just using patriarchal forces to my benefit, or if my experience of being dominated during sex is just coming from a place of internalized sexism. |