abstract

For my Honors thesis at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, I produced an interdisciplinary autoethnographic poetry performance with an accompanying artist statement. The show premiered on November 11th, 2021 at 7 pm EST on Youtube. Afterward, there was a live question and answer hosted on Facebook Live. The artist's statement incorporates autoethnographic methodology and feminist literature to give insight into the cultural choices and academic decisions that created this piece. Performing these autoethnographic poems proved important to the bodily processing of events that inspired these pieces. It was concluded after reading feminist research that the poems featured in this performance are heavily influenced by the male gaze. Artistic licenses such as collage art backgrounds and a pink marketing theme were utilized to add an additional medium to the performance. This thesis lends a hybrid experience of poetry and art and performance to those who have ever struggled with dating and intimacy under the constraints of the patriarchy.