Before posting the artwork to social media, I had friends listen to the audio in order to see what was the immediate reaction of people without having to wait for responses on social media. Many people started questioning how the story was created. Was it an adoption of a nonfiction piece? If not, where was the inspiration rooted from? When I asked why they questioned the idea of the story, they highlighted the fact that this artwork embraces a controversial topic. To create something surrounding a topic such as sexuality one has to be sensitive to this identity, especially if we do not represent ourselves with it. I acknowledge that this aspect made the project much more complicated, but at the same time intricate because I had to weigh the power of the words I was using in addition to the power of the message all together that I was portraying. As a heterosexual women of color, I possess a certain power in society that probably those pertaining to the LGBTQ community do not have, and vise-versa.
I purposely chose to address a sensitive topic, like sexuaity, because I feel strongly about advocating for conversations surrounding topics society has silenced. Art is becoming a segway for me to push forward those conversations. Consequently, to leave this type of artwork in my private files is to not do justice to its purpose. It is necessary to put this out to the general public.
Right before posting this sound art, I felt very anxious because I was aware of the risks that talking about these topics includes. I did not know if I was giving the wrong message, if my words were clear enough or too ambiguous that it could be interpreted as offensive, or even if because of not sharing that identity I had no right to talk about it. I almost decided to post it anonymously in a different forum that had less of an audience. However, I decided to post it finally on Facebook with a caption emphasizing that it was a project. In addition, I realized that I was not putting specifically my views about the topic in the assignment. Ultimately, my assignment was a mesh of the stories and experiences I have heard from people close to me that are form the LGBTQ community, combined with the “macho” culture that surges from my Dominican culture, specifically in baseball. I chose baseball because in my culture there is a big pride in this sport and I wanted to voice out what some people have told me they have experienced and felt, but contextualizing it in a setting I have yet to hear stories from.
Finally, I posted it on Facebook. I did not get that much of a response; however, probably as more and more people hear it, the responses may increase. I remain anxious because I do not know if this artwork can be seen as offensive; nonetheless, I am interested in seeing if this would actually do some type of justice to that community. I still await for the responses of the public- responses that go beyond “likes” and transforms into “comments” and hopefully, if I am lucky enough, into conversations.
