Marisa Williamson

Write up in the Dallas South News
By Nature Sargent

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Marisa’s exhibit, Broadcast, used multi-media and to me, suggested we live in a microwave society. Everything is quick, fast and hurried, major moments in our collective experience that have been condensed to a media moment. Marisa has microwaves on the wall and as you look through the window, you see a variety of images.

One iconic to this city, President Kennedy’s car, is rather surreal looking at Jackie’s pink, pillbox hat and knowing that in real time, long ago she was moments from an extreme act of violence, perhaps the most terrifying seconds of her existence and becoming the world’s most photographed widow.

Another image is from “Thriller”, Michael Jackson’s work that revolutionized the art of making music videos and inspired generations of musicians, directors, dancers and singers. As you move from one microwave moment to the next, a television set is broadcasting images of Marissa, her words and those of iconic black women. Sit, listen, and draw your own conclusions.

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A Message (Script for Video Project)

Gender is performance. It is the role you play, as a boy or as a girl. These roles have been around for some time, as have roles such as black American, white American, Indian, and Jew. You should know what gender and race meant to your mother and father, to your father’s father, and to your best friend’s great aunt. You should memorize your lines. You should understand your role and the history of it. But, because you live in America, because it is 2010, and because it is your right, you are free to improvise and change those lines once you know them. You are free to change what gender and race mean to you now and what they might mean to your kids and grandkids in the future.

If you are part of an ethnic or racial minority, or perhaps a sexual or religious minority, you are free but not as free as others. And this is important so listen carefully. There is ‘who you are’ to yourself. And then there is ‘who you are’ to other people. And as part of a minority, as a person of color, as a woman, as a child, you are more likely than some other people to have your lines dictated to you even while you are trying to change them. You should understand that your beliefs about ‘who you are’ are more true than other people’s beliefs about who you are. however, Other people’s beliefs will often seem more powerful than your own. That is hegemony. And hegemony must be fought.

Sometimes you will be very tired. As a woman you will be happy and excited about your womanhood and the elements of womanhood that you have chosen to live:

I am strong. I am beautiful. I am creative. I am aware. I get to look pretty. I get to wear dressed. I am powerful. I am compassionate. I can be a mother. I can be intimate. I make people feel loved. I have beautiful hair. beautiful breasts. and a beautiful body. I can cry. I can smile. I am smart. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am wanted. I am desired. I am kind. I am empathetic. I listen. I can succeed. I can love. I am independent. I am warm. I am wise.

As a man you will be happy and excited about manhood and the elements of manhood you have chosen to live:

I am strong. I am can protect myself. I can protect others. I am handsome. I am smart. I am successful. I can take care of people. I can take care of myself. I am stoic. I am rational. I am competitive. I am physical. I can lead. I can be sensitive. I can be myself. I am admired. I am needed. I am understood. I am responsible. I am a father. I am a brother. I am a son.

And then, all of a sudden, something or someone will talk over you as you are delivering your lines. Someone or something will talk over your internal dialogue. And you will be reminded of the un-chosen elements associated with your gender. And in that same bitter moment, it may be the case, that you are reminded of those un-chosen elements associated with being the minority that you are:

You are weak. You are stupid. You are untrustworthy, and you scare people. You should be skinny. You should be strong. You are too emotional. You are too easy. You are dirty. You are weird. You are a bitch. You are boring. You are not funny. You are cold. You are not welcome. You cannot cry. You cannot be sick. You cannot control yourself. You are submissive. You must lie. You seem so angry. You are not attractive. You are not pretty. You are too small. You are too big. You are not woman enough. You are not man enough. you are so ghetto. You are not black enough, light enough, American enough, good enough. You talk funny. You don’t act right. You are up to no good. Your love is wrong.

These are stereotypes. And like hegemony, stereotypes must be fought. The fight will make you very tired. You may want to give up. I understand if you do. But know that the fight will be harder for people down the line if you remove yourself from it. And this is why you are free but at the same time not as free as others.

The scripts for gender and race, and other such roles, were written by many people over the course of many years. The roles are based on the physical traits you exhibited at your birth. What is important to understand is that the physical traits you were born with do not effect ‘who you are’, until someone or something makes you aware of ‘who you are’ to other people:

Playing sports with boys. Every time i go to the car repair shop. When I am stared at by men on the street. When unloading wood from the back of a truck, I was the only female that wanted to help. Not the strongest but most willing to help! Gym class in ninth grade when, at an all male high school, a nasty old gym teacher chewed out the smallest guy in the class for not having his gym shorts. Giving birth three times. When I’m feeling pursued. When I felt excluded from female-only conversations. listening to the dehumanizing way men talk about women. When, in 2nd grade, I was told I couldn’t play with walking talkies, that they were for boys. When I hear women talk about other women. When, as a journalist, I was told that stories were “too dangerous” for me to cover. When I was the only girl on my baseball team. When I’m walking alone at night. When I’m with my sisters. When I was kicked out of a public place for having my pants pulled down around age 4 or 5, and was told that it would've been okay if I were a little girl, but I wasn't. when dad started listening to Rush Limbaugh. every time i buy tampons and the people at the pharmacy feel the need to double bag them.

Inevitably, we depend on other people to cue us in to our own beliefs about ourselves. This is beyond our control. What you must try to control is which voices you allow to shape your inner dialogue and which voices you do not.

People will be telling you how to feel and what to think about yourself. You must try to absorb only the words that will help you grow. And you must, in turn, give other people words that will help them grow. You have to respect and be able to wield words. They are your weapon and your healing tool. They allow you to stop dangerous ideas from taking root, and they allow you to plant beautiful ideas in fertile ground.

I’m telling you this because I want you to understand the need to fight against or at least be aware of the limitations we put on ourselves and on each other. I’m telling you this because I know you can make a difference.

I’m telling you this because I know you will do great things. I know you are going places, fast, soon, at this very moment. And, I want you to slow down. Be mindful as you go. Ask questions. Respect the beauty of others. Listen to and for the answers. Respect yourself. See people as they are and as they want to be seen. Tell them that you see them. Tell them that you care:

I see you as you see yourself. I see that you are beautiful. You’re beautiful because you’re strong. And You’re beautiful because you love. You’re beautiful because you are a woman. you are beautiful because you are a man. You are beautiful because you’re black, because you’re Asian, because you’re white. because you are a friend. you do what’s right when no one is watching. you love yourself. and You care. You’re beautiful because you’re not afraid to cry. And You’re not afraid to touch. You are gentle. You can protect. You do what makes you happy. You know how to make me smile. You are creative. You are talented. You ask me how I feel and You love unconditionally. You are healthy. You are wise. You give a lot of yourself. You listen. You try to understand. You help me do the same. You share. Your know your own strength. And You are learning. You are growing and you are kind. You are asking the right questions and You want to make things better. You are like me and unlike me. You are like and unlike anyone.