London Rollergirls player Cami Gabriel is now the Derby girl behind the first Facebook comment. “In Roller Derby, social media is very important,” she said. “Since we are skateboarders’ grassroots initiatives, we need word of mouth to promote our games and make sure we fill those gyms.” She accepted that putting herself under social media was a double-edged sword. Despite being useful and empowering for Derby girls, their Instagram pages could be a hub for misogynistic people who leave disguised comments. “I read a pretty funny complaint that all the bottoms belong to “skinny little girls.” Considering that I went into the derby, I felt my weight was getting me back on other sports, if I would continue posting part of the sport online.
Hyvonen believes that bruises are beautiful and worthy of pride, which shows how they usually see them. Historically, women have always cared about being seen as commodities. Her investigation of the issue was found as early as her 2010 series. The series sees the concept of cuteness as a feminist act. The girl grows up and is surrounded by cute people, but if they don’t want to lose credibility, they have to give up as an adult. She couldn’t find an explanation why cuteness was related to the wisdom of a girl or the importance of painting.
Embracing her teenage girl, in 2012, Hyvonen wrote a note from her cute animal paintings of childhood with her series of small animals. The series depicts Paris Hilton’s famous pet Pet Chihuahua, which houses a series of glittering wall-mounted cavalry. “I hang them on the walls of the studio, like memories from a victory hunting journey,” she recalls. In the Tinkerbell series, she comments on how we tend to approach creatures as accessories or trophys in modern society. This does not exclude women in modern society, especially female celebrities like Paris Hilton, whose personal lives are under scrutiny. The media is obsessed with the men they date as if they were their accessories.
It’s part of the sport and I’m not going to be ashamed of. Of course I am proud of the bruises. ”
Apparently, Hyvonen’s objectification of women in Roller Derby’s kiss, but nothing is more important than them. “Pride in her skating rash, considered sexy, and the charm of the derby kiss is part of the objectification of these women themselves,” she said. When Hyvonen first saw how her team members gathered and after playing a good game like how the badge of honor gathered and showed each other their bruises. “I think feminism, the common spirit, is extraordinary and definitely worth studying.
Meanwhile, I am fascinated by the way Derby culture creates its own objects on the internet. Posting photos online and commenting on them is an important part of aesthetic expression. ”
In the world of #freethenipple and #loveyourlines, social media brings roller derby to new audiences, Hyvonen hopes to help people see beauty in all kinds of unexpected places. The Internet provides her with an indispensable, spontaneous, unrestricted source of inspiration and motivation. “The images taken by Derby girls are circulating, allowing more people to identify alternative representations of beauty,” she said. “I naturally hope that my images can awaken different ideas and explanations. I hope that people can find their own beauty after a possible first shock. Perhaps through this, they can expand their own way of understanding the beauty of things.
This article first appears in Hi-Fructose Issue 38. You can get a full printed copy of the question here.
