Hong Kong's first "real genital plaster cast exhibition" sparks heated discussions to break taboos and empower women

Interviews: Gyansen, Claudia

Written by: Jansen

Text editor: Qingcha

30 genital molds of different sizes and shapes, placed among the dense green plants, are scattered in a two-storey exhibition hall with a minimalist design on Shan Hing Street, Central. Behind these 30 white casts, there are 30 unreported female confessions. When visitors scan the QR code with their mobile phones to read these stories, the mimosa will slowly roll up its thin leaves when they get close. One of the cast's owners described her genitals as follows: "Every girl's lower body is famous and unique."

This scene appeared in Dear Labia, Hong Kong's first "real-life pussy plaster cast exhibition". Co-curated by local fermented tea brand TABOOCHA (Large Cup of Tea) and sex store SALLY COCO, this art event on the theme of "Pussy and Female Sexual Pleasure" will run for two weeks starting from November 25th and includes a series of workshops And exhibitions: "Dear Labia" interactive art exhibition, genital plaster casting workshop, DIY genital mirror box workshop, and body exploration seminar.

The curatorial team hopes to break down the single aesthetic prejudice and inspire Hong Kong women to reconnect with their sexual organs and empower them through these 30 real-life pussy casts and the stories behind them.

As soon as the event came to light, it immediately aroused heated discussions. Supporters believe that it can help women re-understand the body and help fill the loopholes in Hong Kong's sex education, while opponents criticize the exhibition as boring, saying it challenges the bottom line of social ethics.

Origin of the exhibition: A female middle school student and a cup of tea

As early as four years ago, Vera had the idea of holding a pussy exhibition. At the time, she preached sex education in a middle school. After class, a little girl confided her distress: She wanted to save money for labia surgery because her boyfriend didn't like the shape of her pussy. Vera felt heartache for her, so she showed the girl some foreign real pussy models, hoping that she would understand that pussy has always been ever-changing and different from person to person. Unexpectedly, the girl asked back: "What about Hong Kong people? What are the genitals of Hong Kong people?"

Four years later, Vera has hit it off with Paticia and Lisa, the two founders of TABOOCHA. The two have always believed that women should try more to explore and appreciate themselves, and not be afraid to talk about their genitals and think about their relationship with themselves. For this reason, they launched a cup of Xinhuamei-flavored tea-because the two felt that the sweetness and saltiness of the plum was very sweet. Miscellaneous flavors can symbolize female genitalia, and the bottle packaging is accompanied by genital illustrations created by local artists. The exhibition was supposed to be a launch party for the new flavor of fermented tea, but the drinks cabinet is now the smallest component of the showroom—and they say they have a bigger mission.

The three recruited Ma Yingyan, a master of Arts in Arts from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as an art curator, hoping to remove the stigma by exhibiting a model of the female genitals in Hong Kong. "A girl touching her genitals, or a person touching her own genitals, is something that may not be talked about in the mainstream world. It is a shameful thing to bury it," Vera told G-Spot reporters.

This small group of women was full of worries when recruiting volunteers for the genital casting workshop, thinking that they would encounter many difficulties. Unexpectedly, two or three days after the workshop opened for registration, the registration places were full, which surprised and moved them.

Thirty-segment genital dissection: every girl's lower body is a famous instrument

30 real people's genitals are cast, all named after the owner. One of the names is: What's your name, little girl?

Making women start to be curious about their genitals, ask questions, and then explore, is the main purpose of the casting workshop. "There are people who have never seen their genitals," said Vera, who cast a cast for the participants. "We just wanted to encourage everyone that this body part is not an abnormal part. Of course you shouldn't walk out of the street naked. La. I want to empower everyone to reconnect with this body part."

Naming is just one step in developing an intimacy with your pussy. In addition, the host of each cast was also asked to answer six questions from the workshop, including intimate feelings about genitals and sexuality. One of the questions was: How would you describe the smell of your vagina? The participants' answers included "Earl Grey", "Apple Crisp", "Herbal Pads", "Sensual as a perfume aftertaste", "Like sniffing the sun on the beach in early winter", "Suddenly smelling when passing by." The freshly baked croissants smelled at the bakery shop, and the butter smelled soft and fluffy.”

After the casting is completed, careful observation, research and appreciation is the most important part of the workshop. Vera was impressed by the look in the eyes of the participants when they first saw their genitals cast down. "I don't know how they feel, but I can tell from the look in their eyes. It's looking at a pussy with the other eye, not just in nursing mode," she said, "because I It's hard for a girl to see (my own pussy), but IKEA is placed in front of you, you can see the pores, the lines and creases, the size of the labia, as if they are connected close together. Yu, Zhong You seems to feel so pretty."

Workshop participants gave their genitals a variety of interesting names, including "My dear", "sweetheart", "Born to be a perfect art", "Complicated and curious" Child" and "Birth of Venus". It can be seen from these names that this important body part is no longer an invisible existence for them.

Netizens criticize the curator: the most important thing is to stimulate public thinking

After the exhibition was exposed through the media, it caused heated discussions on the Internet. Many netizens criticized the event as "boring," "grandfather," "invading women's privacy," and even insulted the curatorial team as a "cult scholar".

Lisa welcomed this: "It means that some people are watching, some people are paying attention, and some people find it exciting." She believes that after the critics express their opinions, after seeing other new things in a few months, there may be new ideas. Recognize, and then realize that what you say today may not be correct. She said that someone needs to keep creating these new things to inspire the public to generate these new cognitions.

Vera believes that the reason why people criticize something is because of their ignorance and fear of it. There is a message on the Internet saying: If the genitals need to be exhibited, is it also necessary for "feces eyes"? "I really want to do a shit-eye model exhibition to get rid of the stigma of shit." Vera responded on her Facebook page .

Visitors flock to male supporters: if there is a penis cast, they will participate

Despite the continuous negative comments on the Internet, the exhibition also received a lot of support. Among them, Vera was impressed by the older visitors: an uncle said that he would bring his children to visit after the visit, and a 70-year-old mother-in-law who lived nearby said she was very moved after watching the exhibition: "Wait a minute. So patiently, Hong Kong finally has such an exhibition.”

On the day the reporter from Point G visited, and just two days after the launch, Vera said that the number of visitors had exceeded 100, and among them there were many males, accounting for about 20%. Terence Man, who was brought to visit by his girlfriend, said that if there is a penis inversion exhibition in Hong Kong one day, he will take the initiative to participate. "It's actually a part of the artwork. It's not a dirty thing. For example, this artwork uses a metaphor (symbol) to present female parts, which is a kind of beauty." Terrence also said that Hong Kong needs to reflect on its backwardness in sex education. , "If you can start to instill knowledge of this kind of art from the level of children, it will actually be a kind of progress. Many people in Hong Kong, Asia, and Eastern societies are more conservative, and it is difficult to talk about these issues and sex education, but it is not enough. I think the department needs to make some progress.”

Hong Kong's sex education stalls, curator looks to 'plant small seeds'

Since 1981, the Hong Kong Family Planning Association has conducted a study on adolescents and sexuality in Hong Kong every five years . The latest report in 2016 shows that among the 12 key knowledge topics on pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS infection , Secondary 3 to Secondary 6 students who answered 8 questions correctly on average scored 8 points, which was lower than the average score of 9 points in 2011. In 2011, the scores of Secondary 1 to Secondary 2 students were not ideal, with an average score of only 6 points. In 2016, it dropped to 5 points.

At present, the Hong Kong Education Bureau still uses the "Guidelines on Sex Education in Schools" formulated in 1997, which are only recommendations and do not make sex education a compulsory course. Make students fail to get correct sexual knowledge in regular courses.

Vera described that the level of sex education in Hong Kong is relatively uneven, "It seems that some people are walking very fast, but there is a group of people who need to be led. But I'm not sure if they will listen and receive this information." The exhibition can play a role in educating the public. The curatorial team also placed a gashapon machine called "Honest Cookies" in the corner of the exhibition hall on the first floor. The notes in the fortune cookies are all kinds of unpopular knowledge about sex. Lisa introduced the idea because she felt that the shape of a fortune cookie was similar to that of a pussy. And one of the cold knowledge that impressed her is that women who have sex with the same sex are more likely to achieve orgasm than with the opposite sex. As for the science behind it, viewers need to explore and learn by themselves after returning home.

Vera felt that this genital exhibition could be "planted as a small seed" to inspire people to continue to explore sexuality and their own bodies. She said that she would compile the photos of these genital models into a book and put them online. When someone doubts their sexual organs like the female middle school student four years ago, she will finally have "more accurate" information to provide.

Further reading: Vagina Unlock(ing) - Sex Toys and Hong Kong Feminism｜CUHK Gender/Gender Concern Group

Original link G-spot TV