Listening to Her: Weaving Women’s Voices into My Movement
Although this workshop was part of a previous project, its impact has carried through and become deeply relevant to my current work. In that earlier workshop, I invited women to anonymously write about their personal experiences with body image. What I received were raw, emotional truths — reflections on body dysmorphia, early sexualisation, and the quiet negotiations many of us make between self-expression and protection.
Reading these notes again during the development of Her Body, Her Image reminded me why I began this movement in the first place. These stories aren’t just past data — they are living proof that body image struggles are widespread, ongoing, and deeply personal. Though the workshop was separate, it has directly shaped how I approach my current campaign: with care, honesty, and the intention to create space for other voices, not just my own.
I’ve decided to carry these stories forward by weaving them into a new video piece — combining their handwritten notes with a voiceover and visuals that reflect both their vulnerability and their power. This act of bringing their past words into my present work symbolises continuity, solidarity, and the enduring need to challenge the narrow narratives placed on women’s bodies.
Incorporating this archive of real women’s thoughts strengthens the heart of my project — it transforms it from a personal reflection to a collective movement.
A Message That Reminds Me Why I’m Doing This
After posting a TikTok showcasing the work I’ve been doing for my campaign, I received this message from a 16-year-old girl. Reading it genuinely stopped me in my tracks. She told me how my content made her feel more confident and that she usually wouldn’t message creators, but felt she had to reach out. It really hit me — this is exactly who I’m trying to reach.
This Is Why I Do It
This one message alone reassures me that what I’m doing has a purpose and can actually make a difference. Knowing that a young girl, someone right in my target audience, felt seen, supported, and uplifted from my work is such a powerful reminder of why I started this project in the first place.
Her message shows me that the conversations I’m trying to have around body image, representation, and how women are portrayed in fashion aren’t just important — they’re necessary. And they’re working. It’s proof that reclaiming the gaze and showing real bodies in an honest, artistic way can genuinely shift someone’s self-perception. It also shows how important platforms like TikTok can be in spreading these messages and reaching young people where they are.
Going forward, I want to build more of this into my project. I’m thinking of using messages like hers, with permission, in a video or voiceover piece — layered with visuals from the campaign — to show real reactions from real women. I’d also love to create a space in my final installation where others can write or record their own experiences and reflections. I want this work to feel like a conversation, not just a statement — and this message has made me realise just how important that dialogue really is.
The Power of Shared Voices
This video is one of the most personal and powerful pieces I’ve created so far. The words I speak aren’t mine — they belong to other women. They were written during a workshop I held as part of a previous project, where I asked people to write down their honest experiences with body image. I’ve carried those words with me ever since, and they’ve stayed in the heart of everything I’ve been doing.
I wanted to create something that gave those experiences space to breathe — not in a polished or overly stylised way, but raw and real. Speaking them aloud, in my own voice, felt emotional but important. It was my way of honouring those stories while also showing how deeply I relate to them myself. The decision to use my voice was intentional — I wanted to humanise these experiences and allow the viewer to feel like they were being spoken to directly, not just observing from a distance.
This piece connects directly to my wider project because it takes personal, hidden feelings and makes them visible and heard. I’m really interested in how fashion has contributed to how women feel about their bodies — and how it has often silenced, sexualised, or shamed us. This video reclaims that. It’s not about creating a perfect aesthetic — it’s about giving truth a platform.
I think what makes it so powerful is that it’s not just my story. It’s a collective one. These are voices that could belong to anyone. That’s what makes it so universal — and so necessary. There’s something really beautiful in turning pain into protest and letting those hidden thoughts become part of a shared dialogue.
Moving forward, I’d love to keep building on this — collecting more stories, maybe even creating a layered soundscape of multiple women’s voices, different ages, different backgrounds, speaking over each other and with each other. I also want to explore pairing the audio with the actual handwritten notes, to keep that tactile, human element alive.