Kaat van Spaendonck

My friend didn’t know if there was one single an- swer that she fully agreed with. I asked to what question exactly. To whether it’s the responsibility of the individual to resist these expectations we have been raised to internalise, she answered.

This project dives into how awareness of looking and being looked at impacts my close friends, women in their early 20s, in their daily lives. Growing up, we learn we should be nice and pretty and probably not too loud. Growing even older, we learn that these first expectations are wrong and unfair and that we should resist these ideas. Talking about these doubts and feelings on the couch and while undress ing, I offer glimpses of these conversations and the other’s presence.

A closeness that is not quite accessible. After all, who is welcome to join this conversation?