For my personal space assignment I stood outside of the University Center with a sign that said "What do you think of me?" I placed a box of questions with instructions and a box of markers on a stool and then stood nearby. I invited strangers to come up, draw a question randomly, and then write their answer anywhere on my visible skin. The purpose of this project was to address issues of stereotyping, physical appearances, and to literally break personal space boundaries. The questions each asked details about my life that people walking by couldn't possibly know the exact answer to, and therefore they had to rely on the way I looked, acted, and spoke within our brief encounter. By writing on my body we were instantly forced to become intimate.
Instructions:
Close your eyes and pick out a question from the box
Choose a colored marker
Write your answer to the question anywhere on my visible skin
Don't worry if you have no idea what the “right” answer is—just go with your gut instinct and be honest!
Here are the questions from the box, and some responses from the public:
How much do I weigh?
Guess: 120 lbs; Answer: 118 lbs
What year am I? (First year, second year, etc)
Guess: 4th year; Answer: 1st year
What is my ethnicity?
Guess: Somalian; Answer: Caucasian
Where did I grow up?
Guess: LA; Answer: Mountain View
What type of music do I like to listen to?
Guess: Country music; Answer: Pretty much anything BUT country music!
How attractive am I? (Ugly, average, pretty, etc)
Guess: Drop dead gorgeous (uhm, thank you stranger!); Answer: Average
What is my sexual orientation?
Guess: Straight; Answer: Straight (The image on the left answers a personality question)
Am I an optimistic or a pessimistic person?
Guess: Optimistic; Answer: Primarily optimistic, sometimes not so much
What do you think my personality is like? (Shy, friendly, obnoxious, etc)
Guess: Shy but secretly outgoing; Answer: Pretty much spot on
Why am I doing this?
Guesses: You're bored/You're creative; Answer: Art 7A makes me do crazy things
Free write! Write anything you want.
Very mature response...
What I looked like by the end
It took a while before people were willing to approach me, even though I wasn't exactly being threatening or imposing on their time. But once people saw others writing on my body I think they were intrigued. Some people took it more seriously, and stood for a minute looking at me, then the question, then back, trying to get the answer right. Others took it as an opportunity to be "funny". Only one person wrote on my face, and only one person wrote something irrelevant (AKA boobs), which was surprising. I thought I would be much more vulnerable, but I guess when you're in a public space with people around no one wants to be the jerk who scribbles profanities on a young girl. This project definitely made me more comfortable in my own skin, because I'm not used to having random people get so close to me physically and make blatant assumptions about me mentally.
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