I have been called a tomboy in the past because of the way I do certain things. To some people, I walk like a boy, dress like a boy, and cut my hair like a boy. While there are people who deliberately choose to be tomboys, it has never crossed my mind to behave like a boy. But then, in our society, once you deviate from the typical definition of femininity, the boxed roles, and expectations, you are seen as a tomboy. Interestingly, many things I do are just things I want to do. Some of them come to me naturally like the way I walk, for example. I walk…
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YOUR BODY, YOUR RULES: TOWARDS A RECLAMATION OF FEMALE BODILY INTEGRITY – DEBORAH ADEOJO
Some months ago, I completed a 5-day vlog series (for my Whatsapp status audience) underscoring women’s journey to reclaiming bodily integrity; a conversation that is becoming increasingly crucial in feminine and feminist circles. Two days before I started, I had commented on my experience reading The Vagina Monologue and how that narrative disrupts the normative thought processes and attitudes that underpin conversations about the woman’s body. Shortly after my comment, a friend had sent me a message on how only after decades of being sexually abused (a term I think grossly underrepresents the grievousness of the breach of bodily autonomy and integrity women are subjected to and the multiple burdens imposed on them as survivors) has she found…
