Critical and Historical Studies Dissertation

“Today I wore my two-tone ballet flats. The girls at school always said that black and navy didn’t go together, but I always get compliments on these shoes. Besides, no one would see them once I stretched the clinical blue booties over them. I do wish that the booties came up a little higher though—I hate getting blood on my ankles.”

 

MEMORIES OF THE ABSENT AND ABJECT

What does it mean to navigate society in a body strangled by the male gaze? This MA/MSc Critical and Historical Studies Dissertation investigates how we may employ abject artwork as a form of rebellion against societal norms.

I tell tales of grief and rage give an autoethnographic review of how abject artwork can provide a source of comfort and reclamation of gaze. In this dissertation, self-written poetry, play scripts, and current events saturate theories on the male gaze with a poignant realness.

 

“This is a very powerful collection of writing. Nothing feels wasted.

It feels like everything has been chosen carefully, both the words used and styles employed; the right tool is always found. It skips brilliantly between different genres: self-reflection, cultural criticism, script/sketch. And there doesn’t feel anything remotely gimmicky about the mix; you make each one feel like the right way to get across the ideas you want to convey.

The auto-ethnographic sections are especially striking, managing to evoke questions of mortality, privilege and power abuse in scenes from everyday life. ”

— Critical and Historical Studies Tutor, Royal College of Art