"I apologize for being born a woman"
A performance by Kami Mierzvvinsk
In this edition of MEDIA, we present J E S T E M (I AM), a video performance from 2018 by Kami Mierzvvinsk, accompanied by the manifesto "I apologize for being born a woman". In their own words:
I live in Poland. In a country strongly defined by religious fundamentalism linked to politics, where a small dictatorship is noticeable. I was born in a woman’s body, as if this was to be my punishment and reward. I spent years opposing a system that only allowed two sexes. For years I was ridiculed for my feelings and my search for my own gender identity. I didn’t have the tools to do so in schools that would have made it easier for me to live in harmony with myself. I live in Poland, where the LGBTQ+ community is discriminated against. The government and the church fuel the hate machine against anyone who deviates from the example of the „correct Polish family”. We are humiliated, intimidated and not treated equally. Women are banned from having abortions and are even urged to have children through subsidies (loyalty programmes) in order to reduce women to objects. Even if her gender identity is not compatible with this.
What if Jesus, a historical figure, was a woman? What if he/she/they was a hermaphrodite? What would the Polish government, the Polish order, the Polish church say about this?
Please click here to gain full access to the video. (PW: jestem)
I’m sorry for being a woman.
I’m sorry that each of us is representative of the same gender.
I’m sorry we’re stupid,
I’m sorry that we seduce everyone,
I’m sorry that we have constant mood swings.
I’m sorry that we put everyone in corners.
Sorry we don’t think logically.
I’m sorry we’re distracted.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry the soup was too salty.
I’m sorry I didn’t mop the floor.
I’m sorry I don’t want to have kids.
I’m sorry for overpopulation.
I’m sorry for incomprehension.
I’m sorry I’m not a man.
I’m sorry.
Sorry for #polishgirls.
Sorry for brothels.
Sorry for the naivety.
Sorry for the little things we pay attention to.
Sorry for following the triviality of beauties.
I’m sorry that looking pretty excludes having a personality.
Sorry that our only ambition is to find husbands.
I’m sorry that we distract men from their life goals.
I’m sorry for my husband’s unwashed socks.
I’m sorry that I’m a woman.
I’m sorry we are weaker.
I’m sorry we’re stronger.
I’m sorry we’re smarter.
I’m sorry we give life.
I’m sorry we’re hysterical.
Sorry we don’t know how to drive.
I’m sorry we don’t have an orientation in the area.
I’m sorry we want male dominance.
I’m sorry we want to dominate.
I’m sorry we develops faster.
Sorry that an intelligent woman is always less intelligent than a man.
I’m sorry that we cook and clean.
I’m sorry that we are.
I’m sorry that we are women.
The video performance has been featured in the following events:
Exhibitions:
2022 – My problem is a woman’s problem: voices of the younger generation, Centrala Spaces, Birmingham, UK
2021 – Ewa Partum. Galeria Adres. Place, Situation, Occasion, Offer presenting the achievements of Adres Gallery / My problem is a woman’s problem, WY Gallery and New Culture and Education Association, Fabryka Sztuki, Łódź, PL
2021 – Tolerance(s), ArtiFactory, Eos Gallery, Athens, Greece
Festivals:
2019 – Homography / Homography Festival, ArtSpace México, Mexico City, Mexico
2019 – Homography / Homography Festival, Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico
2019 – Homography / Homography Festival, Saint Géry Place, Brussels, Belgium
