Created for The Art of Care gallery by Planned Parenthood. This portrait honors a survivor who spent years believing the assaults committed onto her by loved ones were her fault. That belief followed her into future relationships, where people-pleasing, guilt, performance, and fear often replaced trust in her own body. The hypo-sexual response to assault is among the minimally addressed responses. Dramatically underperforming the social norm of sexual appetite, can make a young person lose trust in themselves. Dangerous, especially in regard to an introduction to identity and love. This survivor’s healing began the moment she chose the aimless bravery of listening to her body. Even through confusion. She stopped having sex to satisfy partners, she practiced assertiveness about boundaries even she found odd, and learned to move off the pure strength of a gut feeling. This is the release of self-judgement, the centering of the self, and the amends of self-deceit. This portrait is a reminder to every survivor: your assault didn’t break you, it’s just painful— it isn’t fair, but you have to love yourself enough to not hold the torch for the person that hurt you. The fact that you require patience doesn’t make you difficult to love. You never have to abandon yourself to keep someone else comfortable, and if you feel that way, well… you’re familiar with the consequences of staying. Your body is yours. The world where you aren’t enough, is the one created by perpetrators and extortionists. Out of everyone in the entire physical universe, the most important person there is to convince, is you. God already knows you, ask Him to show you. Believe the answer. Believe yourself—the feeling inside. Believe what your body tells you, even if you can’t understand. Listen relentlessly, until it all makes sense one day. And it really really will.
Click here to view the digital gallery, and click here to read more about this campaign.
Created for The Art of Care gallery by Planned Parenthood. This portrait honors a survivor who spent years believing the assaults committed onto her by loved ones were her fault. That belief followed her into future relationships, where people-pleasing, guilt, performance, and fear often replaced trust in her own body. The hypo-sexual response to assault is among the minimally addressed responses. Dramatically underperforming the social norm of sexual appetite, can make a young person lose trust in themselves. Dangerous, especially in regard to an introduction to identity and love. This survivor’s healing began the moment she chose the aimless bravery of listening to her body. Even through confusion. She stopped having sex to satisfy partners, she practiced assertiveness about boundaries even she found odd, and learned to move off the pure strength of a gut feeling. This is the release of self-judgement, the centering of the self, and the amends of self-deceit. This portrait is a reminder to every survivor: your assault didn’t break you, it’s just painful— it isn’t fair, but you have to love yourself enough to not hold the torch for the person that hurt you. The fact that you require patience doesn’t make you difficult to love. You never have to abandon yourself to keep someone else comfortable, and if you feel that way, well… you’re familiar with the consequences of staying. Your body is yours. The world where you aren’t enough, is the one created by perpetrators and extortionists. Out of everyone in the entire physical universe, the most important person there is to convince, is you. God already knows you, ask Him to show you. Believe the answer. Believe yourself—the feeling inside. Believe what your body tells you, even if you can’t understand. Listen relentlessly, until it all makes sense one day. And it really really will.
Click here to view the digital gallery, and click here to read more about this campaign.
