The Performativity of disgust
A Video Project by Alex Ware and Sophie Lai
We were inspired by a variety of texts about shame/disgust and the ways in which society has created stigma surrounding “dirty bodies”. We were interested in finding an alternate way to imagine beauty.
Disgust
Disgust possesses a strong sense of ambivalence, wherein we strive to repel from it, yet it requires our attention. Disgust is not a natural bodily reaction, like gagging, but is instead a feeling of repulsion from an outside force that you must come in contact with in order to then build a border to separate yourself from. As humans, we think of disgust as an invasion in oneself, it becomes sickening to you, “Disgust is a social process for a social witness” (“The Performativity of Disgust” by Sara Ahmed).
Shame
Shame was constructed from society's ability to make individuals feel disgusting through an overwhelming invasion of dirtiness that makes us impure and undesirable. Shame’s effect on human emotions has been manipulated in ways that work beyond shaming bodies and expands into the systematic framework of beauty standards. Shame has caused individuals over time to perceive both their own bodies and others as distasteful and inferior through principles of dirtiness, purity, anatomical makeup, and color of skin.
