Call for the participants: "Kitchen Conversation. Woman’s edition." Deadline 28.02
As part of The International Women's Day Celebration organized by HetMoet, I invite you to participate in a new iteration of the Kitchen Conversations (2024)—an installation exploring the weight of words.
The first edition of Kitchen Conversations featured an installation of 21 kitchen knives engraved with recognizable phrases regularly heard by refugees and internally displaced people. Based on my experience and research, these phrases were taken from real-life situations, reflecting recurring patterns of verbal expressions directed at displaced people. The phrases appear in informal situations, phrases that hurt.
Image: Kitchen Conversations, 2024, the installation of 21 engraved kitchen knives
For The Women's Day edition, I shift the focus to stereotypical triggering phrases women hear—words that are based on sexist statements and narratives and stuck deep in our everyday lives. This time, each of the engraved phrases from the list will be activated by participants through different actions such as reading, quoting, storytelling, making jokes, and creating a collective moment of solidarity and resilience (and I hope, a little bit of fun too).
How You Can Participate:
Engage with the phrases: Vote on the ones that resonate most or contribute your own.
Lend your voice: Join me in activating the engraved knives during the event. I create a scenography and scenario which will be shared with participants privately. (the form is below)
When and where: 06.03 at 18:30 at TreeHouse
Donate a knife: Contribute a kitchen knife to become part of the installation.
Stereotypical Phrases Women Hear I collected from real life and the Internet:
🗡️1. "female role"
🗡️ 2. "Women ageing worse than men"
🗡️ 3. "You just need to find the right guy"
🗡️ 4. "Women are the weaker sex"
🗡️ 5. "Do you know female artists happy in marriage?"
🗡️ 6. "Your mom probably wants grandchildren already."
🗡️ 7. "Doesn’t your mom want a son-in-law?"
🗡️ 8. "Your biological clock is ticking."
🗡️ 9. "Oh, how will you manage alone?"
🗡️ 10. "Oh, probably you are having those days."
🗡️ 11. "It is a woman's job to do."
🗡️ 12. "You don’t look feminine."
🗡️ 13. "You should wear something more attractive."
🗡️ 14. "Don’t worry, you will find someone."
🗡️ 15. "Do you know any female artists happy in marriage?"
🗡️ 16. "Women must sustain the population."
🗡️ 17. "All women should not miss a chance to become mothers."
🗡️ 18. "You should smile more."
🗡️ 19. "That’s not very ladylike."
🗡️ 20. "Take care of your image."
🗡️ 21. "Watch your weight."
🗡️ 22. "Don’t laugh so loud."
🗡️ 23. "Don’t swear, you’re a girl."
🗡️ 24. "Calm down, you’re overreacting."
🗡️ 25. "Are you PMSing?"
🗡️ 26. "Girls just don’t think that fast. Especially in math."
🗡️ 27. "A woman’s logic is so irregular.»
🗡️ 28. "Women are the keepers of the home."
🗡️ 29. "Family well-being is a woman's cross to bear."
🗡️ 30. "Women’s commitments."
🗡️ 31. "Women are fragile, but they become strong when they become mothers."
🗡️ 32. "Male dominance is natural."
🗡️ 33. "She’s asking for it dressed like that."
🗡️ 34. "My ex-girlfriend is crazy."
🗡️ 35. "You should respect your husband."
🗡️ 36. "If she is a divorcée, it must be her fault."
🗡️ 37. "Women know better how to juggle house chores."
🗡️ 38. "Women are naturally nurturing caregivers."
🗡️ 39. "Women’s sports are just for entertainment and not to be taken as seriously as men’s sports."
🗡️ 40. "Women are manipulative by nature."
🗡️ 41. "Not like other girls."
🗡️ 42. "The female body is so mysterious."
🗡️ 43. "Only a demon can bleed every month and not die."
+Answers from participants:
🗡️ 44. ‘Women are the jewel of the team!’ when there are 99% women in the team
🗡️ 45. Women are muses
🗡️ 46. You must be on your period
🗡️ 47. No wonder you are single; you are so intense
🗡️ 48. That’s why woman shouldn’t be in charge- they are too emotional” - a man shouts at me
🗡️ 49. You don’t want sex? - You must be a prude. You want sex? - You are too easy.
🗡️ 50. You should play hard to get, men like it that way
🗡️ 51. A woman’s value is in her purity
🗡️ 52. Bitch - is a term invented by men to describe a woman who dares to be assertive, ambitious, or unwilling to cater to their expectations.
🗡️ 53. You are too emotional
🗡️ 54. Oh, of course you paint, you are a girl
🗡️ 55. You should be more fun, stop listening to sad music
🗡️ 56. Don't you want to have kids? but what then will you do?
🗡️ 57. When was the last time you had sex? You're overreacting!
🗡️ 58. Here's another story about my crazy mother-in-law
🗡️ 59. She was asking for it
🗡️ 60. Let me explain it to you (on a level even a child can understand)
🗡️ 61. Men are logic, women are intuitive
🗡️ 62. Men rule the world, women rule the home
🗡️ 63. Men quarrel, women have catfights
🗡️ 64. Women are so easily jealous of each other
🗡️ 65. She's too old
🗡️ 66. She's had too much botox
🗡️ 67. Beautiful Women make for excellent muses
🗡️ 68. That's typically female logic!
🗡️ 69. Did you ever consider wearing a skirt?
🗡️ 70. Isn't it rare for women to do your profession?
🗡️ 71. Let me explain this to you how it works...
🗡️ 72. Where is the supervisor, can I speak to him?
🗡️ 73. Menopausal women are difficult
🗡️ 74. You're not a mother, you wouldn't understand
🗡️ 75. You are exaggerating
🗡️ 76. Women can't make art. / You're selected because you're female.
🗡️ 77. You are too present
🗡️ 78. You are too intelligent for a woman
🗡️ 79. You are too rational for a woman
🗡️ 80. “she has a jaw/shoulders/… like man’s”
🗡️ 81. “woman has to have a long neck”
🗡️ 82. “let’s be honest, we, Ukrainian women, are all well shaved and well-groomed”
🗡️ 83. “man is a head, a woman is a neck”
🗡️ 84. “husband earns money — wife spends it”
If any of this speaks to you, I invite you to fill in the form below. Whether you wish to vote on phrases, add your own, participate in the activation, or donate a knife, your contribution will shape this work.
Image: Kitchen Conversations, 2024, the installation of 21 engraved kitchen knives
Please fill out the form below
*Please keep in mind that the project is not funded and, unfortunately, I am not able to provide any fee. The event is offline and will take place in Amsterdam. By participating, you agree to the photo and video documentation and its further use.
