



Tired of her yet? Us, too. Really.
In this video, Aliza Shvarts talks about feminism, expression and freedom of speech. At one point, she mentions the “right of your own selfhood. We’re all people. We all have interior spaces in our mind.” She also mentions how having the right to “say what you want to say” is useless if one does not know what one wants to say.
Hey, that sounds kind of familiar…
Perhaps because we just wrote about it a few fucking minutes ago. We’ll admit, we did not dislike Aliza before. We thought she was self-absorbed and irresponsible, sure, but that describes most college students. If not most people. But after hearing her talk about things she’d like to talk about talking about… We dislike her. Intensely. “Feminism.” “Self-expression.” These are just buzzwords to her, obviously, completely devoid of meaning and without a framework on which to hold them up.
Aliza, you can get off that soapbox now. Not because you aren’t bright. Not because you don’t seem to properly acknowledge the repercussions your actions have on others, politically and personally. But because you’re abusing the power that you have, as a student at one of the world’s most lauded universities with access to resources and attention. It’s true that a lot of people have to fight to be heard. In America and all over the world. But you don’t have to fight that hard. And have probably never had to. That soapbox? Is your birthright. And you have chosen to take a shit on it.

Its a hoax, or as only a pretentious art hag would say “a creative fiction”:
Statement by Helaine S. Klasky — Yale University, Spokesperson
New Haven, Conn. — April 17, 2008
Ms. Shvarts is engaged in performance art. Her art project includes visual representations, a press release and other narrative materials. She stated to three senior Yale University officials today, including two deans, that she did not impregnate herself and that she did not induce any miscarriages. The entire project is an art piece, a creative fiction designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman’s body.
She is an artist and has the right to express herself through performance art.
Had these acts been real, they would have violated basic ethical standards and raised serious mental and physical health concerns.
Posted by Boricua Biatch | April 17, 2008
@ BB: Interesting. However, I’m not sure this changes my opinion of her senior project at all. My beef has never been with her decision to harm her own body but, rather, with the harm her piece might have had on others’ without them having a say.
I’m curious about what other people have to say about it, though. Did this change the way you felt about her project?
Posted by ...dijo Alex | April 17, 2008