Final Critique at 319 Scholes

Our final crit took place at 319 Scholes with guest critiques Nancy Nowacek and Pejk Malinovski. The feedback that I got was encouraging. Both critics questioned my attachment to me being the actress in the project. Did it have to be me? And if it did, would I be committed to taking acting classes or even working with a director. As I had expected, my technology needs to improve. I used a 5D and a zoom recorder and the quality was not so great. The critics seemed very excitedd to follow my work. Pjek also suggested that maybe, after epode passed I could actually let people know they wet win on the joke. This could, in turn, become an educational performance, that lets people be ion it with me. I think part of the reason why he suggested this had to odo with the fact that he made me consider the ethics of the project. I thought about it and I believe that as long as I am aware of the fax that the project  might be unethical but I am doing it in order to explore the absurdity of nothing similar existing for men. 
My concept description, as was stated before, is to explore the catcalling phenomenon as a strictly woman experience. Is there such a thing as women catcalling men? And if there is, what does that mean? In a city like New York, where women feel empowered and have career opportunities and everything, why is it that we suddenly feel like the catcalling delineates our personal space. throughout the exploration of me at calling other men, I have come to the conclusion that the experience is very rarely reversed. 
For the future, I am exploring making a necklace go pro or even buying one of those pens or those glasses that have cameras on them. I will also try to take the performing identities class, epxlre the possibility yf building the live cam cart with a raspberry pie and walk around with roopa and go pros. 
I learned a lot of things in this project. Mainly, I learned to just let go and relax and start getting shit down before I have too much time to think about it. i learned that all project made need to have a context and a place for them within the history of the theme of the project. I will continue future iterations of the project and keep reporting progress on this blog. 

The final iteration of this stage of the process, shown at 319 Scholes. 

Isn’t this the best sweatshirt ever? You can buy it from Etsy. Just click on the picture to buy it for yourself. 

Isn’t this the best sweatshirt ever? You can buy it from Etsy. Just click on the picture to buy it for yourself. 

Questions to think about for future iterations

  • What would bring out male insecurities on the street?
  • If street harassment is, in fact, an agressive assertion of male dominance by dehumanizing and hypersexualizing someone, how could a woman ever replicate this? It would definitely need the power of the collective. 
  • Doing this in various parts of New York City and with different clothes. 

Screenshots of the emails exchanged with other women, for research. The e-mails were sent out February 17, 2013. 

                                 The Anti-Flirt Club of the 1920s In an effort to stop street harassment in the 1920s, a group of women in Washington DC started a club that had a series of rules. There were meant to be taken very seriously:  Don’t flirt: those who flirt in haste oft repent in leisure.  Don’t accept rides from flirting motorists- they don’t invite you in to save you a walk.  Don’t use your eyes for ogling- they were made for worthier purposes.  Don’t go out with men you don’t know- they may be married, and you may be in for a hair-pulling match.  Don’t wink- a flutter of one eye may cause a tear in the other.  Don’t smile at flirtatious strangers- save them for people you know.  Don’t annex all the men you can get- by flirting with many, you may lose out on the one.  Don’t fall for the slick, dandified cake eater- the unpolished gold of a real man is worth more than the gloss of a lounge lizard.  Don’t let elderly men with an eye to a flirtation pat you on the shoulder and take a fatherly interest in you. Those are usually the kind who want to forget they are fathers.  Don’t ignore the man you are of while you flirt with another. When you return to the first one you may find him gone. 

                                 The Anti-Flirt Club of the 1920s

In an effort to stop street harassment in the 1920s, a group of women in Washington DC started a club that had a series of rules. There were meant to be taken very seriously: 

  1. Don’t flirt: those who flirt in haste oft repent in leisure. 
  2. Don’t accept rides from flirting motorists- they don’t invite you in to save you a walk. 
  3. Don’t use your eyes for ogling- they were made for worthier purposes. 
  4. Don’t go out with men you don’t know- they may be married, and you may be in for a hair-pulling match. 
  5. Don’t wink- a flutter of one eye may cause a tear in the other. 
  6. Don’t smile at flirtatious strangers- save them for people you know. 
  7. Don’t annex all the men you can get- by flirting with many, you may lose out on the one. 
  8. Don’t fall for the slick, dandified cake eater- the unpolished gold of a real man is worth more than the gloss of a lounge lizard. 
  9. Don’t let elderly men with an eye to a flirtation pat you on the shoulder and take a fatherly interest in you. Those are usually the kind who want to forget they are fathers. 
  10. Don’t ignore the man you are of while you flirt with another. When you return to the first one you may find him gone. 
Right after we did our performance, Fernanda was catcalled. 

Right after we did our performance, Fernanda was catcalled. 

I tried catcalling alone and made some notes while doing that. As a woman, alone, I did not feel comfortable. So I asked my friend, Fernanda Chouza, to do it with me. 

During my research, I found this video. I found it hilarious that men were so clueless about what women want while walking on the street, but it informed me on how I should catcall.