The female body has long been a site of contention, where opposing ideologies in religion, politics, and cultural differences often play out...
The female body has long been a site of contention, where opposing ideologies in religion, politics, and cultural differences often play out. A body is not just a body; it has become a vessel by which systems of ideas are manifested. Can a woman vote or serve in the military? Can she wear pants, or must she be veiled? Does she have agency in deciding her own reproductive health choices? nnReflecting on the cultural and scientific discourses that shape notions of the female body, in an expression of female empowerment, I seek to challenge this status quo by engineering a system by which I, a woman, can control something inherently and symbolical male: spermatozoa (sperm). Through the use of a brain-computer interface, I control the movement of sperm along an XY axis with the agency of my thoughts. nnWhile at first glance the idea of controlling sperm might be absurd, it is my hope that it causes the viewer to reflect on the very real absurdities of control happening to the bodies of women. Genital mutilation, forced sterilization, sexual abuse, rape, and contraceptive regulation currently occur as forms of control projected onto female bodies. In creating a subversive counter-narrative to these practices of control, this work presents a hope for reimagining and shifting our notions of gender.nnhttps://www.media.mit.edu/projects/woman-of-STEAM-grabs-back/overview/nnhttp://ani-liu.com/pussygrabsbacknnYou can read write up on VICE/ Broadly here:nhttps://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/this-woman-just-figured-out-how-to-control-sperm-with-her-brain?utm_source=broadlytwitterus Less
