"The latest collection by the poet Hollie McNish is dedicated to anyone who has been blamed, shamed, pressured, tortured, dehumanised, de-mothered over a man-made concept about your own body. Virgin is a series of poems and prose stories aimed at busting myths and challenging stereotypes about sex and the body. McNish tackles the persistently weird and outdated notions of innocence and purity around young women: Do not tell me which touches have mattered the most / This is your obsession not mine."
"In Send Nudes she notes how any shame about those who have sent a snapshot of your body stripped autumn bare lies with the person who broke trust by sharing or mocking it, and not with the sender. McNish narrates and, as you'd expect from a poet and spoken word artist, she brings her entire self to her performance, as though she is in the room. Her reading is expertly paced, withering in places and full of tenderness and humour."
The collection is dedicated to anyone blamed, shamed, pressured, tortured, dehumanised or de-mothered over a man-made concept about their own body. It consists of poems and prose stories that bust myths and challenge stereotypes about sex and the body. The work confronts outdated notions of innocence and purity imposed on young women and asserts ownership over which touches mattered. A piece titled Send Nudes places shame on those who betray trust by sharing or mocking intimate images rather than on the sender. Readings are delivered with intimate pacing, alternating withering critique, tenderness and humour, and the work traces virginity expectations to property-based legal histories.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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