Self-Fashioning

There is a funny story behind this picture!

This past Sunday I went to The Studio Museum in Harlem to see their Spring Exhibits.  In particular, I was excited to see the Salon Style exhibit of art inspired by hair and nails.  

Lipstick Building, by Meschac Gaba

Self Portrait #4 by Nadine Robinson

However, the exhibit that spoke to me the most was In Profile: Portraits from the Permanent Collection.  The description of the work mentioned the idea of “self-fashioning” in 16^th century Europe, in which noblemen commissioned artists to create portraits that highlighted their social status.  The pieces in In Profile exemplified black artists' efforts to translate the concept of "self-fashioning" to black subjects reflecting the nobility in everyday life that is lived with dignity.

Coin XXIV by  Whitfield Lovell

Last week, before seeing the exhibit,  I had the idea of doing a post on teachers with great style.  Representation matters and it is frustrating to see teachers maligned in the media as molesters, cheaters, or ineffective blobs.

I asked one of my students to take my photo- and she immediately pulled out a chair, stood on it, got the right angle and took my picture!  Meanwhile the librarian was at the door wondering what the hell was going on! Education, I tell you!  I was "self-fashioning"!  I had to laugh at how quickly the people around me learn my angles! Even Chloe knows that you "have to hold the camera up and tilt it!" I'm like Mariah, you just can't shoot me any old way!

I have insecurities just like any other woman.  I have had to wear braids and weaves for the past year because stress caused my hair to break off.  In the same time-period, I gained 35 pounds (which is ten more pounds than I gained during my entire pregnancy).  It is important to for me to acknowledge my insecurities so that I don’t end up taking them out on other people, but it is equally important for me not to live in a space of disappointment or self-loathing.  And for this reason, I have no problem having my picture taken.  I have to love every one of my pounds and make sure that even the extra ones are properly outfitted.  And when I’m not feeling it, I have to fake it until I make it.  Period.

What I love about the concept of "self-fashioning" is the idea that self-esteem, and by extension, the world's perception of you isn't static. It is something that we can bend and shape as situations change and need arises. Because aren’t we all worthy of a portrait?