How to normalise and embrace women’s bodies?
Muse is a project about bodies and women.
Growing up as a woman in a Male-centered society can be a struggle. Girls are often isolated when it comes to body exploration and sexual education.
WHAT Muse is a kit containing educational objects and cards that aim to address those 'taboo' topics to support young girls to gradually become informed and empowered women. The cards start just before puberty and accompany the users through their journey
WHY Topics such as body and sexuality are surrounded by shame. They are not often addressed within the family, not completely at school, and at a young age, girls are not talking about it. The embarrassment of the parents often leads to avoiding the topics. However it has been proved that not talking about it increases the risk of early unwanted pregnancy and diseases. It is important that girls are aware of their bodies and able to put words to actions in order to protect them.
The kit contains several elements such as :
- a mirror that can hold cards thanks to a magnet inside
- a question box that support family to built a caring environment to open those conversations
- a 1.1 Reproductive System Puzzle
- 4 chapters of educational cards
HOW The layered box contained 4 chapters of cards :
- My New Body : tackles topics such as first periods, puberty and intends to give an understanding of the beautiful variety of bodies existing in the world.
- My Happy Body : is about desire, pleasure and consent. It also talks about genders and the importance of feeling home in our body. It was really important to me to put 'My Happy Body' before 'My Healthy Body', knowing that most of the time, if the family is giving a 'sexual education' to their daughters, they only reached out the 'risk aspect' of it and are not addressing aspects like pleasure.
- My Healthy Body : focuses on the different contraceptive methods, talks about sexual diseases and aims to instore new rituals of self check-in.
- My Changing Body : is meant to follow women through the rest of the life of their evolving bodies and involves topics such as 'pregnancy or not pregnancy?', postpartum, menopause, and so on.
How can we have ownership of our bodies? For example, going to the gynaecologist is often experienced as a moment of shame while we allow a stranger to look at our intimate parts. How can we start embracing this part of our bodies?
The first object of the kit is a mirror, as an universal object aiming to normalise bodies and open up conversations. This mirror would follow women and help them navigate through different layers of life. I believe that the action of a parent giving their young daughters a box containing a mirror, and encouraging them to look at themselves would have a huge impact.
I am convinced that we have to encourage girls to face their bodies, to stop the silence and the shame surrounding it, in order to shape a new generation that feels differently, thinks differently and has a different relationship to their bodies and their sexuality. The mirror aims to initiate new rituals and teach women a new way of looking at their bodies.
The kit box contains an opening that allows the child to drop a question. The parent(s) will then have some time to analyse it and answer properly later if they feel not ready or inconfortable about answering immediately. This 'Question Box' aims to engage caring conversions between parents and children, knowing that sexual education is still a taboo in families.
