Media: Conditions Apply
Throughout these past few years that I have been working on the project, I’ve reached out to various media outlets in Finland to garner some type of attention from them. So far, only one of those attempts has led to something substantial, and that was in early 2023 when the newspaper of my own county interviewed me. When I reached out to the arts journalist of the paper, I made it a point to let her know that what I was looking for was not a sob story on my abuse and trauma, but a contextual glance at my artistry, what I have turned my childhood trauma into. The journalist was interested in both me as a person and my art; she had checked out my Instagram page and blog articles and was on board with my wish of focusing on the art side of things, promising me to include the few selected scans of my illustrations. I was super excited, this was going to be the starting point of everything!
“Well, Look at Me Now!”
When it comes to abuse stories, people typically want to hear the victim to make it out alive and, if possible by any means, to come out on top of the situation, conquering their tormentors. It is a very human thing to expect and look for, because we all do tend to want the best for the person who has been hurt so many times. At its basis, this sentiment is one of compassion and empathy: you want to see the underdog win, to make up for all the terror they’ve been through in the past.
But what happens when an outcome like that is not possible for the victim? What happens to their story?
Your Skin, Our Guidelines
It didn’t take long for me to start having problems with the social media platforms I was posting my art on. During the first few months of working on the project, I was struggling immensely with posting and KEEPING my illustrations up on Instagram, because of one specific thing.
Community Guidelines.