Siobhan Hebron
Excerpt from the original text:
Women’s experiences are not historicized or recorded, remembered or valued. Tragically, this narrative is alive and well in the treatment of female patients. Medically, women are constantly subjected to mansplaining by doctors. We are reportedly less likely to be believed, need to be in more severe pain before being taken seriously, and face longer wait times for treatment.
Intrinsically linked to the above is the idea that sickness and “feminine” vulnerability are weaknesses to remain unspoken. I’m drawing from both Sad Girl Theory and Sick Woman Theory, which address and embrace the idea that sickness, vulnerability and sadness should no longer be hidden as liabilities. Directly in opposition to our patriarchal society’s inability to value anything other than health and happiness, they posit that the sick and or sad woman is a critical being to be valued.
With the sharing of stories, women’s invisibility will be addressed and our lives made visible. The performance will be a presentation of a female-driven narrative, disinterested in a singular, masculine, ego-driven promotion that instead celebrates a community of voices and stories.
In response to an open call, I received over fifty stories from women detailing their experiences of mistreatment from health professionals. Through the most cursory research, it is obvious that there could potentially be millions of these stories.
I always envisioned a larger platform for these stories, something ongoing, possibly akin to the Everyday Sexism Project. They need to be seen. They need to be intrusive. They need to be taken responsibility for, and so their ideal final resting place would not be a place of rest, but of revolution and revelation. Through a live submission platform, stories would continue to be submitted in real time and ultimately take up physical space, existing as billboards.