To(get)her

• Main Author: Pleyel, Jessica Carolyn
• Other Authors: Barbuzza, Isabel
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iowa 2016
• Subjects: publicabstract; Activism; Anti-Violence; Collaborative; Feminism; Performance; VAWA; Art Practice
• Online Access: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3166; https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6546&context=etd

This thesis examines the route I took to produce a live activist performance in which twenty-six self-identifying women collaborated to destroy wax assault rifles with domestic products. These guns act as a metaphor for the violence that happens to many women on a daily basis. One in four women will encounter domestic violence, and one in six women will be raped in their lifetimes in the United States. Not only are many of our bodies attacked mentally, physically and sexually, but also the government stakes claim on our bodies. With 138 representatives voting against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and many of those same representatives also voting against stricter gun regulations it is apparent that these politicians do not see it problematic that women's bodies are targets. When the women come together, their connections are empowering, fierce, sometimes gentle, and always meaningful. As women, we may be targeted, but when we are together, and our voices are loud -- and in unison, we are strong.