Relationship to Censorship
Being censored is a recurring theme that connects different chapters in my life. From the age of seven, I was given ritalin to control my out of the ordinary behavior. I had incredible amounts of energy and it felt unnaturally painful to sit on a chair for 8 hours a day. I would challenge the school system and the current paradigm as I had different ideas on how and what should be taught. The unhealthy balance between work and play stirred me up. It didn’t matter who stood in front of me, if I knew I was right, I was going to speak my truth.
Being under influence of the medication, my body and spirit were numbed, it created much self-doubt and anxiety. What is wrong with me? Why am I not good enough the way I naturally am? Why can’t I run as fast when I take these pills? Although the pain has cut deep, the turmoil in my young years is what scared me into my strength. Either I would break free or the system would break me.
Later in life, due to my non-conformist philosophy I was banned from almost all social network sites. Instagram, Youtube, Vimeo, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. In 2016 my instagram account was abruptly removed. I had invested much energy in the building of my following and over the course of one year reached 700.000 followers. When I tried to retrieve my account, I was told my message of freedom did not fit their agenda. Since then, multiple fan accounts have been closed as well as my private Facebook account.
Body censorship harms humanity on many levels. If we continue to ban the body from social media, the perception that nudity equals sex will only grow stronger and will further alienate us from ourselves, each other and the earth. If our desire is to move into wholeness, it is fundamental to develop a deeper, more natural relationship to our bodies.
Because I do not wish to comply with the laws of censorship, the only social platform where I can freely share my art is Patreon. It’s a beautiful place of support where like-minded souls offer moral and financial encouragement. I am very grateful to welcome you over there.
"The banning of Marisa Papen’s Instagram account makes particularly clear that there are institutional constraints at play on Instagram. These reflect the specific “platform politics” of Instagram, which are shaped by the ideologies and commercial interests of Instagram."
✑ Authors: Sofia P. Caldeira PhD, Sander De Ridder PhD and Sofie Van Bauwel PhD
Source: DiGeSt. Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2018)
Published by: Leuven University Press
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