In response to http://vicoactus.tumblr.com/post/42934010947/cliteracy

Dear Kennedy,

Thank you for your critique.

I appreciate your thoughts and respectfully disagree with some of your conclusions about CLITERACY.  

The clitoris and vulva are the subjects of CLITERACY.  It would be nearly impossible to demonstrate that the clitoris has not been assailed in myriad ways. This continues in the present day. Within this context, the project is ambitious in and of itself. Evidence of this fact is that CLITERACY has already been censored multiple times. I did not attempt to cover all the ground of my politics with regards to gender, race, sexuality and class with CLITERACY. The clitoris and the vulva were my focus. Is it, as you claim, cissexist and transmisogynist to create a project that focuses on the clitoris and the vulva? I find that argument troubling.

Some women have vulvas and clits and some don’t. CLITERACY is not demarcating who can claim which genitals. Rather, the project encourages viewers to talk about the clit, give props to the clit, identify in any way with the clit, call their genitals clits (including cis men) and so on. Personally, I also support people identifying with the phallus when that identification is not about destruction of the idea of the ‘feminine’, but that is not the focus of CLITERACY. It is hard to dispute that the phallus has gotten the vast majority of admiration historically. It is time to show the clit some love.

CLITERACY is not a representational project, nor does it aim to offer answers that are definitive or final. The last law of CLITERACY is, “There are more laws”. This law makes clear that the work is not closed and further invites viewers to write laws that centralize their experience in language that feels right for their bodies. CLITERACY is starting a conversation, I welcome you to intervene by making work that addresses what CLITERACY leaves out. 

The available vocabulary for bodies, sexuality and gender is frustratingly limited, narrow, outdated and flawed. CLITERACY aims to denaturalize some of the problematic language in regards to the clitoris and vulva. What are the words for genitals that you would like to see used for trans and cis bodies? As far as I can tell, there is no consensus. The current lexicon could use some improvement. What is the ‘correct’ language for bodies? Creating language is the responsibility of all of us and future generations. I don’t claim to have all the answers. I’m one person offering my small contributions– work by work– in a much larger discourse.

I look forward to your suggested laws and to seeing new works by artists that address our bodies in language and images that expand beyond the old problematic frames.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my project.

very best,

Sophia

I’m speaking on a panel at Photo Plus Expo tomorrow. The talk is at 1:30pm at the Javitz Center in New York City.

The panel addresses how online publishing affects photography as an industry. I will be speaking about the ways in which the online space presents vital potential for discourses and subjects who are historically and and currently censored in print. I’ll also be sharing tactical tips for getting your work published online. 

Details:

Fri, Oct 28, 2011 - 1:30 PM to 3:30 PMThe New World of Online Magazines + Curator Websites

Speakers:
Julie Grahame, Founder, aCurator.com
Manjari Sharma
Michael Itkoff
Stella Kramer, Moderator
Sophia Wallace

Tumultuous photography industry changes over the past five years, both in publishing and advertising, have reduced many avenues for emerging and even mid-career photographers to gain entry into the business. But as some doors close, others open, specifically with new online, curated Web sites and online photography magazines. These generally open-submission platforms are creating new avenues for photographers to show their work, and to place their images in front of photo editors, art buyers, gallerists, museum curators and others with an interest in photography. Free from the constraints of advertising demands, these online destinations offer photographers a way for their work to be seen as they like, and the chance to be seen by people all over the world. In this seminar you’ll hear from some of the biggest names in this new photography world, including Michael Itkoff, editor and chief of Daylight magazine and others from the world of photography and design. Moderator Stella Kramer, a Pulitzer prize-winning photo editor brings these new stars of the online world together to tell you the essentials of how they choose the photography they feature, what the submission guidelines are, and what increases your chances of being selected. They will also discuss other online sites, and the future of photography through the increasing prominence of these online magazines and curated forums.