Subjection in Society By: Kassidy Stewart
**This passion project of mine has some sensitive and abrasive words**
“Subjection in Society” is inspired by the UnSlut documentary by Emily Lindin (unslutproject.com). In UnSlut, I viewed females being labeled and blamed for their experience of sexual assault. This documentary inspired me to showcase how society puts people in boxes based on stereotypes. I combined the skills I learned in Prof. Chris Jordan’s Studio Lighting course with content from Dr. Catherine Roach’s Sexuality and Society course. All the models are students at The University of Alabama who agreed to share their expression of self by participating in the project. The models picked their own phrases, ones that were meaningful to them. Some of these words are abrasive, but the goal is to capture a person at their true core and help them tell their story.
“Subjection in Society” is the passion project that fuels me every day and pushes me to do better. I want to bring awareness and give people a platform to be heard and seen. I want phrases such as "What were you wearing?" or "It’s your fault" to no longer be used to hurt people. I want the person who looks at my photographs to see they are not alone. I want my art to connect people on a deep vulnerable level as humans.
My project started with problems of slut-shaming and sexual bullying, but it is growing to be more, to include everyone and enable them to express their opinions and reclaim what has been taken from them. We need to address the hate speech and normalized social constructs that shame and oppress all people. We must recognize each other’s full humanity. We must come together because we are all in this together. The change starts with acknowledgment. The change starts with us.
