Have you ever felt mistreated and had to constantly seek out validation due to your physical looks? Maybe your stretch marks are bugging you, or maybe your huge thighs, or maybe your breasts are small, or maybe your belly isn’t in the best shape?
Body anxieties hit everyone at some point in their lives, and we all go through that insecure period with ourselves and how we look.
I understand how difficult it is to overcome body insecurity in light of our ridiculous country’s beauty standards. But it’s 2022! This year, I believe we need to accept our looks and love ourselves more.
People who are dark, fat, and queer are rarely acknowledged in Malaysia. “Queerness,” according to Cosmopolitan, is an umbrella term that encompasses both an orientation and a community for those who identify as LGBTQIA+.
#DepthOfV’s “I Am Every Woman” is a community-driven photo project that celebrates Tamil and Dravidian women and femme-presenting people of the past through women of today to promote love in everyone, regardless of who they are or their sexuality.
Dravidians are an ethnolinguistic group of Indian and Eelam descent, who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada.
Oppressive systems and systemic racism inhibits Tamil and Dravidian people from having access to many art and media spaces.
This is a fat, queer and trans affirming space.
On the rare occasions Tamils are granted access, they often find themselves alone. Out of about 100 persons who submitted, Vaneesha of #DepthOfV was the only visible Tamil photographer shortlisted for this exhibition. (Wow!)
Vaneesha.K (she/her) is a producer, multimedia journalist, and photographer whose work focuses on creating space for marginalised groups such as hers. This beautiful woman inside and out helps highlight their voices and portrays their life experiences through audio-visual and concept art.
The young lady also encourages her audience to consider the various socio-political and cultural concerns that these communities face, while simultaneously celebrating their hopes and joy in the midst of these challenges. It is also her aim to use these platforms to strive for transformative justice. One of these projects is the “I’m Every Woman” project.
“I’m Every Woman” strives to create room for a diverse variety of Tamil women, including but not limited to dark, fat, and queer women, faces deemed undesirable by the media and society, while praising their unfettered joy and beauty in spite of it.
This photo series is a tribute to the women of yesterday, celebrated through the everyday women of today, who reap the fruits of seeds sowed in the past, while planting more for the women of tomorrow.
Visit and find out more and celebrate our collective labour of love and resistance of this project that will be displayed at Exposure+’s national-level photo exhibition where it is open for public viewing.
Details are as follows:
Location: GMBB KL,
Jalan Robertson, Bukit Bintang
Date: 26 Feb – 13 March 2022
You know what’s exciting, there will be no entrance fee!
Everyone is invited to come and support this meaningful advocative project made possible through the coming-together of all the women involved for the love and pride of their community.
Everyone from the mentioned communities are welcome.
During the photo walk on 26th February, you will stand a chance to meet Vaneesha and the beautiful women involved in “I’m Every Women” along with Catherhea and the people of “This Fat Body Is Mine” in this exhibition.
Feel free to join this community and prepare to be showered with love!
We should be proud of our flaws and imperfections as it makes us unique and one of a kind that can’t be found anywhere.
