1 00:00:14,347 --> 00:00:17,377 Hello, Manchester. I'm so happy to be here. 2 00:00:17,904 --> 00:00:20,474 (Responses) (Cheers) 3 00:00:21,081 --> 00:00:22,998 My name is Sophia Wallace. 4 00:00:23,038 --> 00:00:24,081 I'm an artist. 5 00:00:24,111 --> 00:00:26,817 And I'm here today to share with you a project 6 00:00:26,847 --> 00:00:29,218 that I hope will empower you personally, 7 00:00:29,251 --> 00:00:31,824 and by extension those that you love, 8 00:00:31,858 --> 00:00:34,553 especially if they have a clitoris. 9 00:00:34,573 --> 00:00:35,919 (Cheers) 10 00:00:38,617 --> 00:00:40,147 (Laughter) 11 00:00:41,729 --> 00:00:42,776 To make this work, 12 00:00:42,806 --> 00:00:46,314 I have to talk about independent female desire. 13 00:00:46,344 --> 00:00:48,958 I have to speak about a universal taboo - 14 00:00:48,988 --> 00:00:50,553 female genitals. 15 00:00:50,688 --> 00:00:52,327 This is not easy. 16 00:00:53,918 --> 00:00:55,995 It taints the speaker. 17 00:00:56,449 --> 00:00:58,687 I want to thank TEDxSalford 18 00:00:58,717 --> 00:01:01,610 for having me here and hosting this conversation. 19 00:01:07,413 --> 00:01:09,999 All bodies are entitled to experience the pleasure 20 00:01:10,029 --> 00:01:11,803 that they are capable of. 21 00:01:12,061 --> 00:01:15,017 This is a core pillar of cliteracy. 22 00:01:15,859 --> 00:01:17,598 In making this work, 23 00:01:18,054 --> 00:01:20,312 I had to say that the clitoris, 24 00:01:20,783 --> 00:01:23,577 first, as an organ, has a right to being, 25 00:01:23,942 --> 00:01:28,446 and that this right is not just about not being cut off. 26 00:01:28,466 --> 00:01:30,308 Sadly, to this day, 27 00:01:30,338 --> 00:01:32,008 over a 140 million women 28 00:01:32,048 --> 00:01:34,918 have had their external clitorises cut off. 29 00:01:35,257 --> 00:01:37,624 This doesn't make it into the news very often, 30 00:01:37,654 --> 00:01:40,385 and this doesn't come up in foreign policy discussion. 31 00:01:40,688 --> 00:01:41,784 So number one, 32 00:01:41,804 --> 00:01:46,184 the clitoris has a right to exist, free of harm, like any other organ. 33 00:01:46,340 --> 00:01:49,521 But secondly, I argue with cliteracy 34 00:01:50,210 --> 00:01:52,233 that the clitoris has a right to pleasure, 35 00:01:52,273 --> 00:01:55,194 and this is part of its primary right of being. 36 00:01:57,074 --> 00:02:00,415 How is it possible that we landed on the Moon 37 00:02:00,455 --> 00:02:02,800 and walked around 29 years 38 00:02:02,830 --> 00:02:05,957 before we discovered the anatomy of the clitoris? 39 00:02:08,375 --> 00:02:11,175 (Laughter) 40 00:02:11,430 --> 00:02:16,263 We actually cloned sheep, identified the Higgs boson particle, 41 00:02:16,283 --> 00:02:19,270 and only discovered the clitoris 29 years ago. 42 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,576 Unfortunately, this discovery has not been adopted, 43 00:02:22,616 --> 00:02:26,409 so most people don't know the actual anatomy of the clitoris. 44 00:02:27,801 --> 00:02:31,566 The clitoris is not a button. It is an iceberg. 45 00:02:34,298 --> 00:02:37,205 Like many in the room who are hearing this for the first time, 46 00:02:37,225 --> 00:02:38,426 I was shocked to find out 47 00:02:38,456 --> 00:02:42,330 that I didn't know the actual anatomy of half of the population, 48 00:02:42,369 --> 00:02:44,488 that I didn't know my own anatomy. 49 00:02:44,616 --> 00:02:47,972 In fact, the clitoris is not a button, it is like an iceberg. 50 00:02:48,002 --> 00:02:50,331 Most of the organ is internal. 51 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:54,950 This slide is an anatomical example 52 00:02:54,978 --> 00:02:58,271 of the penis and the clitoris side by side. 53 00:02:58,302 --> 00:03:00,164 Now, we've all been taught 54 00:03:00,192 --> 00:03:04,069 that male bodies and female bodies are opposites: 55 00:03:04,091 --> 00:03:08,099 the male body sort of sticks out, the female body is solely internal. 56 00:03:08,122 --> 00:03:09,147 Well, in fact, 57 00:03:09,169 --> 00:03:13,023 there're so many similarities between the penis and the clitoris. 58 00:03:13,039 --> 00:03:14,456 So, if you'll see, 59 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:16,938 both the glans and - 60 00:03:16,959 --> 00:03:19,479 The glans of the penis and the glans of the clitoris - 61 00:03:19,499 --> 00:03:21,129 both organs have a glans. 62 00:03:21,163 --> 00:03:24,269 There are 3000 nerves in the glans of the penis. 63 00:03:24,293 --> 00:03:26,979 There are 8000 nerves in the glans of the clitoris. 64 00:03:26,989 --> 00:03:29,505 Both organs have a corpus cavernosum. 65 00:03:29,523 --> 00:03:34,100 Both organs have crura, like two little legs or wings. 66 00:03:34,114 --> 00:03:36,466 Both organs have bulbs of erectile tissue. 67 00:03:36,496 --> 00:03:38,408 Both organs get erect. 68 00:03:38,786 --> 00:03:41,301 The penis is outside of the body mostly, 69 00:03:41,327 --> 00:03:43,446 and the clitoris is inside the body mostly. 70 00:03:43,465 --> 00:03:44,927 That's the biggest difference. 71 00:03:44,950 --> 00:03:46,426 In fact, they're very similar. 72 00:03:46,441 --> 00:03:49,342 Actually, fetuses have the same tissue, 73 00:03:49,359 --> 00:03:53,191 and in boys it develops as a penis, in girls it develops as a clitoris. 74 00:03:53,547 --> 00:03:57,444 Some people have small penises, some people have very large clitorises. 75 00:03:57,454 --> 00:04:00,114 If one has a clitoris and takes testosterone, 76 00:04:00,147 --> 00:04:01,841 their clitoris can expand. 77 00:04:01,863 --> 00:04:04,904 What I'm saying is that these organs are actually quite similar. 78 00:04:04,936 --> 00:04:08,403 And, while we are different, while we are unique as men and women, 79 00:04:08,420 --> 00:04:11,741 our differences are not a sign of opposition. 80 00:04:11,778 --> 00:04:15,999 In fact, we're related to each other, we're connected. 81 00:04:16,016 --> 00:04:18,432 And that's an exciting fact. 82 00:04:21,478 --> 00:04:24,005 With Cliteracy, I started with language. 83 00:04:24,027 --> 00:04:25,242 Language has been a place 84 00:04:25,266 --> 00:04:28,065 that so much of sort of the division of men and women 85 00:04:28,087 --> 00:04:31,796 and the subjugation of women has been entrenched with the language itself. 86 00:04:32,983 --> 00:04:36,595 'Vagina' - the single most misused word in the English language. 87 00:04:36,742 --> 00:04:38,517 This is one of the laws of Cliteracy. 88 00:04:38,557 --> 00:04:40,282 It's intentionally hyperbolic. 89 00:04:40,294 --> 00:04:43,379 But unfortunately, it's more true than I wish it was. 90 00:04:43,406 --> 00:04:47,103 'Vagina' is a Latin word. It means 'sword holder'. 91 00:04:47,915 --> 00:04:50,905 (Laughter) 92 00:04:54,143 --> 00:04:58,399 Vagina, medically, technically, only includes the opening. 93 00:04:59,125 --> 00:05:02,282 This term is used almost universally in doctor's offices. 94 00:05:02,306 --> 00:05:05,852 It's also used in feminism to sort of advocate. 95 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,885 But it's a term that ignores the clitoris, 96 00:05:08,908 --> 00:05:11,221 which is the female sexual organ. 97 00:05:11,422 --> 00:05:16,232 And secondly, it reduces the female body to being a receptacle, a sword holder. 98 00:05:16,643 --> 00:05:19,780 If you want to use a term that addresses all the female genitals, 99 00:05:19,806 --> 00:05:22,415 both the reproductive and the sexual parts of it, 100 00:05:22,434 --> 00:05:24,127 the word is 'vulva'. 101 00:05:24,484 --> 00:05:26,362 This is a word that almost no one uses, 102 00:05:26,382 --> 00:05:29,911 but this is the word if you want to talk about female genitals - vulva. 103 00:05:29,933 --> 00:05:34,504 If you want to talk about pleasure, 'clitoris' is the term. 104 00:05:34,538 --> 00:05:36,548 The clitoris is both internal and external. 105 00:05:36,578 --> 00:05:39,685 So, when the clitoris is engaged, 106 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:41,271 internal stimulation feels great. 107 00:05:41,354 --> 00:05:44,072 If the clitoris is not engaged, it can feel not great, 108 00:05:44,106 --> 00:05:45,247 or it can feel painful. 109 00:05:45,281 --> 00:05:47,616 It's all about what's happening with the clitoris. 110 00:05:47,652 --> 00:05:49,398 If it was about the vagina, 111 00:05:49,428 --> 00:05:52,540 there would be so many nerves that childbirth would be impossible. 112 00:05:52,570 --> 00:05:54,428 There're very few nerves in the vagina. 113 00:05:54,458 --> 00:05:57,425 All of the nerves inside are from the internal clitoris, 114 00:05:57,438 --> 00:06:01,085 which gets stimulated both from external and internal portions. 115 00:06:03,713 --> 00:06:05,922 With Cliteracy I felt that - 116 00:06:05,943 --> 00:06:07,706 Yes, language has been this way 117 00:06:07,736 --> 00:06:10,106 of restricting and confining the female body, 118 00:06:10,126 --> 00:06:12,014 but if language can do these thing, 119 00:06:12,035 --> 00:06:15,177 it can also liberate, it can also be expansive. 120 00:06:15,199 --> 00:06:17,559 It's also an opportunity to come together. 121 00:06:17,793 --> 00:06:22,638 And so I sought to use language as a way to shift the discourse 122 00:06:22,661 --> 00:06:25,719 and create new space and more alignment. 123 00:06:28,755 --> 00:06:31,698 With Cliteracy, I first began with the term, 124 00:06:31,715 --> 00:06:33,629 and then a definition of the term, 125 00:06:33,659 --> 00:06:35,204 and then an eye chart. 126 00:06:35,374 --> 00:06:36,800 The aesthetics of this project 127 00:06:36,835 --> 00:06:39,183 were also extremely important and intentional. 128 00:06:39,217 --> 00:06:41,781 I avoided any kind of pink and purple; 129 00:06:42,438 --> 00:06:44,161 I didn't use flowers; 130 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:46,990 I didn't use any fabric or yarn, 131 00:06:47,014 --> 00:06:49,226 anything soft and fluffy. 132 00:06:49,257 --> 00:06:53,275 I also didn't make any small works that you could hold in your hand 133 00:06:53,293 --> 00:06:55,333 or eat off of like plates. 134 00:06:55,371 --> 00:06:58,929 I also intentionally avoided any kind of sexual imagery, 135 00:06:58,949 --> 00:07:03,097 any kind of graphic, close-up, literal depictions. 136 00:07:03,115 --> 00:07:06,858 I think that everywhere we see the exposed female body, 137 00:07:06,877 --> 00:07:11,199 and yet we don't know the actual female sexual organ, the clitoris. 138 00:07:11,245 --> 00:07:13,354 So showing it is not the point, right? 139 00:07:13,376 --> 00:07:14,880 Understanding it is the point. 140 00:07:14,928 --> 00:07:17,773 Literacy of it, knowledge of it is the point. 141 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:20,390 [The hole is not the whole] 142 00:07:20,407 --> 00:07:22,977 (Laughter) 143 00:07:22,997 --> 00:07:25,010 The hole is not the whole. 144 00:07:25,037 --> 00:07:27,333 With Cliteracy I had a lot of fun with word-play. 145 00:07:27,373 --> 00:07:29,435 There was just so much material to work with 146 00:07:29,465 --> 00:07:31,422 and so much to talk about. 147 00:07:34,175 --> 00:07:37,096 I also am making the radical claim with Cliteracy 148 00:07:37,115 --> 00:07:39,021 that we can't truly be free 149 00:07:39,049 --> 00:07:40,589 if our bodies are assailed. 150 00:07:40,619 --> 00:07:45,063 We can't truly be fully enjoying our democracy 151 00:07:45,084 --> 00:07:46,813 when half of the population 152 00:07:46,833 --> 00:07:50,084 can't speak about their own body, is censored when they say the words 153 00:07:50,119 --> 00:07:51,646 because these words are taboo, 154 00:07:51,664 --> 00:07:54,504 or are regularly having sex without orgasms. 155 00:07:54,537 --> 00:07:56,355 And we don't talk about this. 156 00:07:56,517 --> 00:08:00,188 I'm making the radical claim that freedom in society 157 00:08:00,221 --> 00:08:02,716 can also be measured by the distribution of orgasms. 158 00:08:02,745 --> 00:08:04,651 This could be one indicator that we use 159 00:08:04,662 --> 00:08:09,872 when we look at education, access to health care, 160 00:08:11,235 --> 00:08:12,235 economics. 161 00:08:12,265 --> 00:08:15,470 We could also say: How are orgasms being distributed? 162 00:08:15,490 --> 00:08:18,153 That tells us something about a society. 163 00:08:20,625 --> 00:08:22,446 There is no lack. 164 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:23,658 Truly. 165 00:08:24,081 --> 00:08:27,399 Freud invented the paradigm of the phallus versus the lack. 166 00:08:27,416 --> 00:08:31,748 He said that men have the phallus, they have the penis, they have agency; 167 00:08:31,772 --> 00:08:36,029 women have a lack, they have a vagina, they have a void. 168 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:38,634 In fact, Freud was wrong, 169 00:08:38,883 --> 00:08:41,789 the vagina is not the female sexual organ, it is the clitoris. 170 00:08:41,809 --> 00:08:46,192 There is no lack, none of us have lack, none of us are lacking, we're all whole. 171 00:08:47,513 --> 00:08:53,134 And none of us need to be depicted in terms solely of a void. 172 00:08:54,657 --> 00:08:57,367 [Girls are taught it's normal for sex to hurt. Phallusy.] 173 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,889 In many ways, all of us have had a psychological clitoridectomy 174 00:09:01,917 --> 00:09:04,539 because the clitoris is never taught. 175 00:09:05,358 --> 00:09:10,608 In sex education it is taught that boys are both sexual and reproductive, 176 00:09:10,639 --> 00:09:14,396 boys have erections, boys have wet dreams, 177 00:09:14,725 --> 00:09:16,153 boys ejaculate, 178 00:09:16,163 --> 00:09:18,794 and then the semen fertilizes the egg. 179 00:09:19,414 --> 00:09:23,294 Girls, we're taught, have reproductive organs, 180 00:09:23,322 --> 00:09:27,026 they menstruate, menstruation is painful. 181 00:09:27,136 --> 00:09:30,533 Girls should not get pregnant if they don't mean to. 182 00:09:30,561 --> 00:09:33,056 Girls should not get sexually transmitted diseases. 183 00:09:33,081 --> 00:09:34,700 We never learn about the clitoris. 184 00:09:34,710 --> 00:09:36,714 We never learn that girls have desire, 185 00:09:36,748 --> 00:09:38,389 that this is natural, 186 00:09:38,855 --> 00:09:42,244 that girls have sexual dreams, that girls have fantasies. 187 00:09:43,235 --> 00:09:49,247 So already, as a culture, I would say we all have clitoridectomies. 188 00:09:51,614 --> 00:09:54,749 'Clitoris, say my name, say my name.' 189 00:09:54,875 --> 00:09:56,993 I really enjoyed using word-play 190 00:09:57,044 --> 00:10:01,394 and putting the clitoris into popular culture and song lyrics. 191 00:10:01,635 --> 00:10:06,992 So much of popular culture, music - the female genitals are kind of riffed on 192 00:10:07,022 --> 00:10:09,462 but almost always in a negative way. 193 00:10:09,650 --> 00:10:11,849 If you want to humiliate a man, 194 00:10:12,096 --> 00:10:14,882 call him a word for female genitals, right? 195 00:10:15,035 --> 00:10:18,150 But this is also an opportunity, you can just pop in the clit, 196 00:10:18,190 --> 00:10:20,859 and suddenly the whole song changes; it's very powerful. 197 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:22,610 So, this is a Destiny's Child song, 198 00:10:22,642 --> 00:10:25,091 there're many more in the Laws of Cliteracy 199 00:10:25,111 --> 00:10:28,144 like 'Ain't no half-stepping to the clit,' 200 00:10:28,659 --> 00:10:31,004 'Sleeping on the clit? That shit cray', 201 00:10:31,019 --> 00:10:32,412 which it is. 202 00:10:34,751 --> 00:10:38,288 Here's an example from looking below at the 100 Laws of Cliteracy. 203 00:10:38,308 --> 00:10:43,397 So this work spans 13 feet long by 10 feet tall. 204 00:10:43,603 --> 00:10:45,344 It dwarfs anyone's body. 205 00:10:45,556 --> 00:10:48,943 When I first showed this work, I had no idea what the response would be. 206 00:10:48,974 --> 00:10:51,225 Of course, I was hoping it would be positive, 207 00:10:51,242 --> 00:10:52,355 but I didn't know. 208 00:10:52,375 --> 00:10:57,874 And I have to say, I was overwhelmed with the way audiences responded. 209 00:10:57,895 --> 00:11:00,201 They really wanted to have this conversation. 210 00:11:00,229 --> 00:11:02,702 They would stay with the work for 15 minutes. 211 00:11:02,727 --> 00:11:04,827 I would come back, they would still be there, 212 00:11:04,847 --> 00:11:06,469 they would have friends with them. 213 00:11:06,494 --> 00:11:09,298 And I felt like this work was needed. 214 00:11:09,615 --> 00:11:12,257 I was invited to speak about it a lot, 215 00:11:12,289 --> 00:11:14,848 and I was also contacted privately. 216 00:11:14,874 --> 00:11:16,526 People shared secrets with me, 217 00:11:16,557 --> 00:11:20,399 people told me for the first time they didn't feel ashamed about their body, 218 00:11:20,424 --> 00:11:23,448 or they went home with this knowledge 219 00:11:23,474 --> 00:11:26,379 and are having a great time with their girlfriend, 220 00:11:26,389 --> 00:11:28,149 and wanted to thank me for that. 221 00:11:28,179 --> 00:11:29,896 So this was extremely gratifying. 222 00:11:29,916 --> 00:11:33,645 I think for me, what made me feel like I was onto something 223 00:11:33,663 --> 00:11:37,356 was that such a diverse group of people supported this project: 224 00:11:37,825 --> 00:11:43,163 men and women, young and old, religious and secular, queer and straight. 225 00:11:44,373 --> 00:11:47,795 So many people came together to support this project. 226 00:11:48,044 --> 00:11:53,464 And I was contacted by people from as far as New Zealand, Egypt, Brazil, 227 00:11:53,491 --> 00:11:56,206 saying: 'How can we help you with this project? 228 00:11:56,220 --> 00:12:00,020 Can you translate this project into Arabic or into Portuguese, 229 00:12:00,050 --> 00:12:02,379 like, we need this here in our country.' 230 00:12:03,752 --> 00:12:08,505 I wanted Cliteracy to go everywhere, but I didn't know how to do that yet, 231 00:12:08,530 --> 00:12:10,235 and I'm still figuring that out. 232 00:12:10,252 --> 00:12:11,587 But I know that it's needed. 233 00:12:11,607 --> 00:12:14,839 And I know that it can't just stay within the walls of the art world. 234 00:12:16,269 --> 00:12:19,982 I don't consider myself a street artist, but I began making work on the street 235 00:12:19,997 --> 00:12:22,543 for the same reason that I think a lot of artist do - 236 00:12:22,563 --> 00:12:24,862 I wanted to communicate more broadly. 237 00:12:28,515 --> 00:12:32,779 This is an example from a documentary of just me putting up some pieces. 238 00:12:32,804 --> 00:12:35,541 These are prints that I made on a news print, 239 00:12:35,551 --> 00:12:39,127 then I'm putting them up with wheat paste just like old posters were put up. 240 00:12:39,287 --> 00:12:41,280 I'm just doing this in Brooklyn. 241 00:12:41,682 --> 00:12:44,384 Some people like to do street art at the night time, 242 00:12:44,399 --> 00:12:47,156 I do it in the day because I feel like it's a little safer, 243 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,728 the anonymity of the crowd in New York. 244 00:12:49,883 --> 00:12:51,257 So far so good. 245 00:12:52,324 --> 00:12:54,606 And one of the cool things about doing street art 246 00:12:54,646 --> 00:12:56,604 is that people will comment on your work. 247 00:12:56,614 --> 00:12:58,857 Sometimes they cross it out or destroy it, 248 00:12:58,877 --> 00:13:01,808 but other times they put their art on top of it. 249 00:13:01,838 --> 00:13:03,849 And in this case that happened. 250 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,588 Again, like when I showed the work in the gallery, 251 00:13:06,608 --> 00:13:08,545 on the street there was a big response, 252 00:13:08,568 --> 00:13:09,851 people would photograph it, 253 00:13:09,881 --> 00:13:11,931 they would post it on Twitter and Instagram. 254 00:13:11,944 --> 00:13:14,083 And it felt like I was talking about something 255 00:13:14,093 --> 00:13:15,570 that needed to be talked about, 256 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,560 that the project was needed and people were grateful to find it 257 00:13:18,689 --> 00:13:20,845 and to keep pushing it out there more. 258 00:13:23,741 --> 00:13:29,332 Doing the street work emboldened me to take on even crazier ideas 259 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,822 that I never thought I would find myself doing. 260 00:13:32,297 --> 00:13:38,322 And I actually, together with an artist named Clit Eastwood, or Ken Thomas, 261 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:41,770 held the world's first-ever clit rodeo last summer. 262 00:13:42,397 --> 00:13:45,317 We created a rideable golden clit. 263 00:13:45,347 --> 00:13:47,340 (Laughter) 264 00:13:47,370 --> 00:13:50,196 And we held the first clit rodeo. 265 00:13:50,471 --> 00:13:53,469 And, you know, there were two rules to the rodeo. 266 00:13:53,509 --> 00:13:55,958 Basically, one: respect the clit. 267 00:13:56,088 --> 00:13:57,188 Respect it. 268 00:13:57,219 --> 00:13:58,134 Two: have fun. 269 00:13:58,153 --> 00:13:59,714 Those were the rules. 270 00:13:59,946 --> 00:14:04,721 We had so many riders who wanted to ride, more than we could host for our event. 271 00:14:04,833 --> 00:14:08,106 But the riders were judged on three categories: 272 00:14:08,135 --> 00:14:11,392 dexterity, style and generosity. 273 00:14:11,652 --> 00:14:13,893 And they were really good riders, I have to say. 274 00:14:13,923 --> 00:14:16,150 I was worried that it might get a little boring 275 00:14:16,180 --> 00:14:19,127 because as you saw on the previous slide, it was just a spring. 276 00:14:19,147 --> 00:14:21,480 But people were reading erotica to the clit, 277 00:14:21,522 --> 00:14:25,363 someone did a striptease for the clit, someone surfed the clit, 278 00:14:25,392 --> 00:14:28,487 someone offered a cigarette to the clit, and then, like - 279 00:14:28,509 --> 00:14:31,889 There was a couple where the woman was nine-months-pregnant; 280 00:14:31,919 --> 00:14:32,928 she was riding, 281 00:14:32,938 --> 00:14:37,136 and her husband was in the background as her backup dancer, dancing around ... 282 00:14:37,252 --> 00:14:40,425 So, it was way better than I ever expected. 283 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,161 I just was thrilled because the clit was the star of the show. 284 00:14:45,185 --> 00:14:46,354 Finally! 285 00:14:49,262 --> 00:14:52,001 I've always wanted Cliteracy to be in the public space, 286 00:14:52,025 --> 00:14:55,872 to be at large scale, to be seen over time, 287 00:14:55,905 --> 00:14:58,297 not to have to be hidden away or be a secret. 288 00:14:58,335 --> 00:15:00,934 And I had the opportunity last fall. 289 00:15:00,955 --> 00:15:06,234 Together with Center and Santa Fe we put up a 35 feet billboard of Cliteracy, 290 00:15:06,273 --> 00:15:07,858 or 11 metre billboard. 291 00:15:07,998 --> 00:15:09,063 The text says: 292 00:15:09,093 --> 00:15:11,907 'Democracy without cliteracy - phallusy'. 293 00:15:12,223 --> 00:15:14,134 And I was thrilled to do this, 294 00:15:14,422 --> 00:15:16,630 especially because where it was on this highway 295 00:15:16,660 --> 00:15:19,643 is travelled by such a broad range of people, 296 00:15:19,668 --> 00:15:25,913 from long-haul truck drivers to art collectors and everyone in between. 297 00:15:26,229 --> 00:15:28,694 The billboard company was a little bit less psyched 298 00:15:28,714 --> 00:15:31,195 about how much feedback they got about the billboard, 299 00:15:31,225 --> 00:15:32,613 but I thought this was great. 300 00:15:32,643 --> 00:15:34,927 A lot of people were like: 'What are you selling? 301 00:15:34,967 --> 00:15:36,273 I don't understand.' 302 00:15:37,573 --> 00:15:41,479 I actually got a call that I'll never forget from a mom, saying: 303 00:15:41,708 --> 00:15:44,129 'I have to drive this route with my son every day, 304 00:15:44,165 --> 00:15:46,405 and I don't know what to tell him.' 305 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,414 But I was thrilled because she's going to talk to him about cliteracy, 306 00:15:51,434 --> 00:15:53,815 and this is something that he needs to know about. 307 00:15:55,995 --> 00:15:58,072 Cliteracy needs more than text though, 308 00:15:58,092 --> 00:16:00,906 and I always knew that I wanted to explore the form as well. 309 00:16:00,936 --> 00:16:03,974 None of us know this form, right? I didn't know this form. 310 00:16:04,136 --> 00:16:05,383 So I set about making 311 00:16:05,383 --> 00:16:09,175 the world's first anatomically correct sculpture of the clitoris. 312 00:16:09,209 --> 00:16:11,877 And this was something that was actually quite hard to do 313 00:16:11,897 --> 00:16:14,973 because there are so few accurate representations of the anatomy. 314 00:16:14,993 --> 00:16:19,930 And when you find these very few drawings or scans, 315 00:16:19,961 --> 00:16:22,996 they contradict each other, they don't make sense. 316 00:16:23,194 --> 00:16:27,978 So, it was actually not that easy to do, but I set about making this form. 317 00:16:30,877 --> 00:16:36,373 With the form I wanted to not only explore the anatomy and get it accurate, 318 00:16:36,406 --> 00:16:41,268 but I also wanted to show the gesture of beauty of this organ 319 00:16:41,309 --> 00:16:43,287 and the gracefulness of it. 320 00:16:47,359 --> 00:16:51,684 Here is the first sculpture that I know of of the anatomically correct clitoris. 321 00:16:51,712 --> 00:16:55,175 It's six feet tall and five feet wide. 322 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,373 And I wanted to create an iconic form 323 00:17:00,215 --> 00:17:03,968 of this unseen organ half of us have, 324 00:17:03,996 --> 00:17:07,429 all of us were born through the body of someone that has a clitoris. 325 00:17:07,459 --> 00:17:11,199 Everyone in this room was born through the body of someone that has a clitoris. 326 00:17:11,229 --> 00:17:13,427 So all of us have been touched by the clitoris. 327 00:17:13,447 --> 00:17:15,755 This is universal and yet we don't know about it. 328 00:17:15,775 --> 00:17:18,359 So I wanted to create an iconic form that's memorable, 329 00:17:18,390 --> 00:17:20,850 that puts this into our consciousness. 330 00:17:22,605 --> 00:17:26,250 And I hope that finally this form would be treated with honour and respect 331 00:17:26,278 --> 00:17:28,127 and not be treated as obscene. 332 00:17:28,151 --> 00:17:29,631 I think it's a beautiful form, 333 00:17:29,661 --> 00:17:31,758 and I didn't know it, 334 00:17:31,778 --> 00:17:34,638 but once I saw it, it started to feel familiar in this way. 335 00:17:34,667 --> 00:17:38,470 And I started to see it around in the natural world, in plants. 336 00:17:38,496 --> 00:17:41,800 I also saw it in engravings, on architectural sites. 337 00:17:41,837 --> 00:17:44,665 I saw it in weavings of oriental tapestries. 338 00:17:44,695 --> 00:17:46,272 I started to see it around. 339 00:17:46,292 --> 00:17:48,321 And that was very exciting. 340 00:17:48,425 --> 00:17:51,550 And the form is interesting not strictly as a sculpture, 341 00:17:51,580 --> 00:17:54,376 but in patterns. 342 00:17:54,617 --> 00:17:56,095 There's something very exciting 343 00:17:56,115 --> 00:18:00,063 about looking into the power of the small, the power of multiplicity. 344 00:18:00,087 --> 00:18:03,777 Instead of creating just this singular superior object, 345 00:18:03,813 --> 00:18:06,153 what about putting all these tiny beautiful forms 346 00:18:06,193 --> 00:18:09,055 that together form a baby-clit army. 347 00:18:09,078 --> 00:18:10,626 The one on the right, 348 00:18:10,656 --> 00:18:11,655 (Laughter) 349 00:18:11,675 --> 00:18:13,298 I call it 'Fleur-de-clits', 350 00:18:13,318 --> 00:18:16,876 and the one on the left was later used in the intervention 351 00:18:16,906 --> 00:18:18,477 at the Whitney Museum. 352 00:18:19,376 --> 00:18:22,581 So here's a sort of subversive clit army coming together 353 00:18:22,601 --> 00:18:25,524 to make the 'Fleur-de-clit', which is this beautiful pattern. 354 00:18:25,552 --> 00:18:27,945 But unfortunately, if some people knew what it was, 355 00:18:27,975 --> 00:18:29,363 it wouldn't be allowed to be. 356 00:18:29,383 --> 00:18:32,011 And that's sort of the rub of it. 357 00:18:32,671 --> 00:18:36,690 Here is an example of more clit forms and patterns that I created. 358 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,773 This is a clit damask pattern 359 00:18:38,787 --> 00:18:42,934 with clit forms burnished onto wood. 360 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,275 On the left is a new sculpture. 361 00:18:45,807 --> 00:18:49,123 So, this is the first sketch of an invisible clit sculpture. 362 00:18:49,148 --> 00:18:50,804 It's the same digital form 363 00:18:50,823 --> 00:18:53,632 that I used to make the gold sculpture I just showed to you. 364 00:18:53,653 --> 00:18:55,585 But this exists in the negative space. 365 00:18:55,615 --> 00:18:58,586 So I used the laser to actually cut out the form 366 00:18:58,622 --> 00:19:00,277 from clear plexiglass. 367 00:19:00,297 --> 00:19:04,512 And so this invisible sculpture addresses the fact 368 00:19:04,540 --> 00:19:09,004 that this is omnipresent, and yet it's negated, it's invisible, 369 00:19:09,034 --> 00:19:11,118 it's not allowed to be spoken of. 370 00:19:12,559 --> 00:19:15,383 I also continued with this idea of negation 371 00:19:15,406 --> 00:19:17,653 and using the laser to burn away 372 00:19:17,676 --> 00:19:19,968 with laser-cut works on paper. 373 00:19:22,424 --> 00:19:25,270 And I developed a brand new technology. 374 00:19:25,306 --> 00:19:27,251 You might not have heard about it, 375 00:19:27,282 --> 00:19:28,601 but it's very cutting edge. 376 00:19:28,631 --> 00:19:30,169 I'll try to explain. 377 00:19:30,321 --> 00:19:33,729 It's called 'clitglass', and the way that it works - 378 00:19:33,749 --> 00:19:35,103 anyone can wear it; 379 00:19:35,128 --> 00:19:39,267 anyone who wants neutral vision can wear a clitglass. 380 00:19:39,287 --> 00:19:41,652 So you put on the clitglass, 381 00:19:41,985 --> 00:19:44,823 and you look through the perspective of the clit. 382 00:19:44,955 --> 00:19:48,888 And the clit refracts any kind of phallocentricacy 383 00:19:48,918 --> 00:19:50,218 that's coming back at you. 384 00:19:50,251 --> 00:19:54,364 And so you obtain neutral vision, or what I like to call 'normal' vision. 385 00:19:54,387 --> 00:19:55,397 (Laughter) 386 00:19:55,435 --> 00:19:59,792 Now, you can use clitglass at the Whitney Museum, 387 00:19:59,807 --> 00:20:02,280 or you can use it at work, in front of the TV, 388 00:20:02,305 --> 00:20:04,197 even at a family reunion. 389 00:20:04,227 --> 00:20:05,648 (Laughter) 390 00:20:05,674 --> 00:20:09,542 This is an example of looking through this cutting edge technology. 391 00:20:11,581 --> 00:20:13,497 So those forms that I showed earlier, 392 00:20:13,519 --> 00:20:17,114 I also played a game at my intervention at the Whitney Museum, 393 00:20:17,148 --> 00:20:20,056 called 'put a clit on it', or - 394 00:20:20,415 --> 00:20:22,022 'clit-dazzle the Whitney'. 395 00:20:22,052 --> 00:20:26,190 So basically I handed out these unknown clit forms, and I said: 396 00:20:26,220 --> 00:20:28,621 'Put the clit wherever you think it needs to go - 397 00:20:28,647 --> 00:20:30,569 put it as a subject in art history, 398 00:20:30,601 --> 00:20:33,387 put into the designs, put it on the American flag. 399 00:20:33,417 --> 00:20:35,582 Whole country has a problem with illcliteracy. 400 00:20:35,602 --> 00:20:36,609 Help America out. 401 00:20:36,639 --> 00:20:38,591 Just take the clit where it needs to go.' 402 00:20:38,626 --> 00:20:43,271 So you can see on the lower left, that's a Clitchtenstein. 403 00:20:44,333 --> 00:20:47,114 On the lower right, Clitsper Johns. 404 00:20:49,303 --> 00:20:52,356 This is the family at the Whitney Museum during the intervention, 405 00:20:52,396 --> 00:20:55,750 and the boy on the left who looks to be about 11 years old, 406 00:20:55,777 --> 00:20:57,209 at one point asks his mom - 407 00:20:57,226 --> 00:21:00,936 they'd been wearing the clitglasses for about 15 minutes, having a great time. 408 00:21:00,936 --> 00:21:02,608 He was like, 'Mom, what's a clit?' 409 00:21:02,628 --> 00:21:04,364 (Laughter) 410 00:21:04,394 --> 00:21:08,006 And she said: 'Oh, it's a really sensitive part of the woman's body.' 411 00:21:08,031 --> 00:21:10,094 And he was like, 'Okay, cool.' 412 00:21:10,505 --> 00:21:12,396 And I was thrilled because 413 00:21:12,425 --> 00:21:15,050 one: he felt comfortable asking the question; 414 00:21:15,073 --> 00:21:17,849 two: his mom was supportive and answered the question. 415 00:21:17,869 --> 00:21:21,029 And it was totally normal - nothing obscene, nothing secret, 416 00:21:21,059 --> 00:21:25,079 no one had to be dragged out of the room, no one had to be ashamed. 417 00:21:25,464 --> 00:21:28,766 And that's what I'm hoping that Cliteracy can continue to do. 418 00:21:30,287 --> 00:21:34,072 Overwhelmingly, the response to Cliteracy has been positive. 419 00:21:34,095 --> 00:21:37,981 So many people have supported the project and wanted to help with it. 420 00:21:38,002 --> 00:21:41,859 And there've been a few institutions who have courageously started showing it. 421 00:21:42,034 --> 00:21:44,636 But there's so much more that needs to be done. 422 00:21:47,486 --> 00:21:51,854 My dream is to radically change the way that we think about bodies 423 00:21:51,868 --> 00:21:54,312 so that everyone's body is respected. 424 00:21:54,599 --> 00:21:58,901 I want to do this by creating large scale permanent public sculptures 425 00:21:58,924 --> 00:22:01,779 that exist for thousands of years. 426 00:22:01,804 --> 00:22:04,274 I want to work with metals and stone 427 00:22:04,307 --> 00:22:07,317 so that these forms don't disappear in future generations, 428 00:22:07,341 --> 00:22:10,868 and we don't have to have this conversation again and again. 429 00:22:12,978 --> 00:22:17,041 Democracy without cliteracy is a phallusy. 430 00:22:19,564 --> 00:22:22,610 I want cliteracy to be taught in schools 431 00:22:22,630 --> 00:22:27,548 so that no child has an unnameable part of their body. 432 00:22:27,995 --> 00:22:31,697 The clit should be a starring role in any bedroom that it's in. 433 00:22:32,161 --> 00:22:34,841 And it shouldn't be censored in the Parliament. 434 00:22:36,918 --> 00:22:40,037 So, in closing, I want to ask you 435 00:22:40,284 --> 00:22:41,792 to see the clit. 436 00:22:42,366 --> 00:22:43,891 See it everywhere. 437 00:22:44,304 --> 00:22:45,885 Don't stop seeing it. 438 00:22:46,102 --> 00:22:47,702 And if you need help, 439 00:22:48,873 --> 00:22:51,555 you can borrow this pair of glasses from me. 440 00:22:52,614 --> 00:22:55,309 And don't just stop with seeing it. 441 00:22:55,348 --> 00:22:58,144 Say it. Say its name. 442 00:23:00,744 --> 00:23:03,514 (Applause) (Cheers) 443 00:23:03,544 --> 00:23:04,620 Thank you. 444 00:23:04,650 --> 00:23:07,410 (Applause)