KISMIF Conference 2022

Federica Manfredi was representing the Excel Project at the KISMIF Conference 2022 ( 13-16 July) with the paper: Plastic Barbies and bodies made of plastic.

Check out the event’s website: https://www.kismifconference.com

And the programme: https://www.kismifconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/KISMIF-Programme-2022.pdf

Paper’s abstract:

Plastic is a controversial material at the center of the Anthropocene and raising debates about the relation between human beings and the environment. Plastic is also inserted in our bodily routine: from medical prothesis and eye glasses to synthetic textile composing our car’s seats or cloths, training tools and cosmetic practices.

The present paper aims to propose a reflection on how plastic intervenes in projects addressed to the body to enhance the social performance in contemporary Western societies, as indicated by the preliminary results of the research project Excel-The Pursuit of Excellence (www.excelproject.eu). From the exploration of bio-enhancing practices, Excel investigates non-therapeutic and long terms interventions inserted in the everyday life and connected with pressures of beauty and competitivity unfolding modern discriminations based on gender, age, sexual orientation, the color of the skin or the shape of the eyes.

Presenting The Hacked Barbie - a workshop series of Excel - the presentation discuses the plasticity of human bodies, approached as continuously under constructions, mirror of selves and connected to projects of individuality aiming to follow, negotiate or subvert hegemonic models of social bodily excellence. During six editions of the practice-based workshop, participants have been invited to reproduce their own body on the doll, symbol of gendered perfection: the experience of manipulation of the metaphorical plastic flesh, and the creation of symbolic accessorizes, supported the development of the awareness about social pressures, expectations, but also fragilities and strengths by research-partners, in a vibrant research-action and dissemination experience.