Women And Their Bodies, “From Shame To Honor”

I mostly got a positive reaction to my Flying Vulva Potholders.

But there were enough comments from women who were upset or disgusted by them that I wanted to  write more about them and those feelings.

Linda sent me this video of Tami Lynn Kent’s Ted Talk about the shame women often feel about their bodies.  So I wanted to share it with all of you.

Kent talks about turning Shame to Honor.

It was when she talked about menstruation that I started to cry, a sure sign that what she was saying  was something I needed to hear and address.

Earlier in the week, Lisa wrote to me and said “I see your [Flying Vulva] potholders as a symbol of women rising up and leaving oppression behind.”

Women have been oppressed in so many ways over the centuries.   And shame is one of the  great oppressors.

I feel like the healing that women and men have to do concerning women and their bodies is beginning to happen all around us.   An important part of this healing is acknowledging what we feel and being able  to express and understand it.

I see my Flying Vulva’s, in what ever form they take,  as a part of that healing.  For me personally in creating them and not being afraid to put them out into the world (something I would have been afraid to do for most of my life.  But also as a healing message of women’s freedom, strength and power.

 

5 thoughts on “Women And Their Bodies, “From Shame To Honor”

  1. I have particular joy that you have taken the common
    potholder, a working tool of women used in their kitchen
    duties and turned such humble potholder into a symbol of
    feminine power.

  2. Wow, Maria, I am back from the Antarctic and look at the things I’ve missed! The woman who didn’t want her photo taken, who thought she had no voice and no right to attract attention to herself has stepped forward and out into the limelight – a leader in her own right!!! I absolutely love what you have done with the new design for your potholders, the new flag of female honor! In a way it was inevitable, this step from “show your soul'(hanging on the wall of my study for continued inspiration) to ‘let’s not hide our bodies behind a wall of shame’…a round of loud applause = sold out vulva potholders!!! I can’t wait to find out what’s next for you 🙂
    Thank you for posting Tami Lynn’s talk, her message hits a rather raw spot for me that needs attention rather than continue to live in hiding.
    Let’s grow these wings!

    1. Welcome back Sabina! I’ve thought of you and wondered how you were doing. I smiling big, and am getting warm chills reading your message. Oh what we can do!!

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