Gender Expansion w/ Che Che Luna (Patreon)

Dance as Gender Expansion... 

I signed up over a month ago, as a gift to my New Year's self. 

I have really enjoyed following Che Che, whom I found on Instagram. One of the most thought-and-feeling-provoking queer artists and proponents of pleasure that I have found. 

In a society that has become largely detached from very basic human desires (needs) like ritual, community, celebration... I feel drawn to those who create spaces for people to discover something new about themselves, and to be housed in a community that is safe and welcoming. 

At some point, Che Che gave us five minutes to write three haikus on three different topics, which you can hear me read in the video above.

Here are mine -

1) your gender:

you flow in and out

sparkling like the sun or sea

she longs to be free

2) message to your future self:

you deserve to be

unapologetically

who you wish to be

3) the body you currently inhabit:

curves like the mountains

lush wild cozy land i love

we’re on a journey

I went into this class this past Saturday evening thinking I knew my place when it comes to gender. I am cis-gendered, and consider myself to be femme, or feminine, in my gender expression. 

This experience made me realize how many ways I can still limit myself in my own gender expression. The internalized policing of not wanting to appear “too” feminine, for one. But also, the ways in which I shy away sometimes from some more typically masculine ways of being, looking, acting, moving.

No judgment. Just noticing.

And in the workshop, I started exploring new movements. Less flowy and flowery and curvy, more rigid and linear. Just to see how it felt, in my body.

I love seeing spaces that allow for people to explore nuanced inquiries through the body.

Often, it’s the felt experience that opens us to new layers of self-inquiry and self-discovery.

xo

A.M.