Visible again after breast surgery: Photo show gives identities back to women

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2015 (3306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Kristina Hunter was preparing to undergo breast-cancer surgery after her diagnosis at 42, she noticed something disturbing.

The images she saw of women’s post-surgery bodies were clinical and impersonal — but worse, they were hidden away. In a folder. In a binder. In a drawer. “It was as though they were under lock and key,” Hunter, now 44, recalls. “That was maybe the most disturbing thing about it.”

And so, together with local artist ML Kenneth, Hunter decided to create a project that celebrates the new bodies of women who have survived or are living with breast cancer instead of shaming them. Opening tonight at Fleet Galleries in the Exchange District and running until April 15, Woman: Redefined features black-and-white portraits of 33 women ranging in age from 31 to 83. They have gone through all kinds of breast surgeries, and they are all beautiful. “Their bodies are like sculpture to me,” Kenneth says.

The photos are powerful. Each woman’s torso is bared for the camera; they are anonymous yet eminently relatable. “That could be me” is the feeling a viewer is left with, which was precisely the point. “We wanted people to feel like they were less alone,” Kenneth says.

Of course, breasts come with a lot of baggage — cultural and personal ideas of identity, beauty, femininity and sexuality are all bound up in breasts. Woman: Redefined rejects the cultural idea a woman should have breasts. These women are still women. They are still whole. They are, as Kenneth puts it, reconciling their new normal.

Our culture sexualizes breasts — and breast cancer, for that matter; ‘Save the Boobies,’ anyone? — yet, depending on the context, many people still blush about boobs. Public breastfeeding remains a hot topic and, not so long ago, breast cancer was talked about in hushed tones.

Still, despite the strides that have been made when it comes to talking about breast cancer, Hunter argues we’re still not looking at it. We need to see the scars.

“We need to be OK with it. The women going through it, their families — those are the folks that need to see it and be OK with it. That’s what struck me the most. I knew I had to look at the scars; my husband had to look at the scars and it would become normal. And it became normal very quickly.”

Hunter’s own scars are now a source of pride — but she knows many women don’t feel the same way. She was heartbroken to hear stories about women not wanting to look in the mirror or show their bodies to their partners after their surgery.

“By seeing it like this, it helps the women see they have that beauty, strength and dignity,” Hunter says.

Exhibits such as Woman: Redefined help normalize these images, which can go a long way in helping women feel less isolated and, hopefully, less afraid. To that end, Hunter and Kenneth are planning on adapting Woman: Redefined into a photo book so these striking photos may find their way into the waiting rooms of breast health centres all over North America. They’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign that will run for the next 30 days to raise funds for production (check it out at wfp.to/womenrefined).

While it’s important these images are seen, it’s just as important these women feel seen. Really seen. Breast cancer can render women invisible, robbing them of their power and their identity. Projects such as this help them reclaim themselves. As one participant wrote to Hunter, “The photo shoot was the first time someone looked at me like a person and not a specimen on the exam-room table.”

These women are brave. Many of them have told Kenneth and Hunter they bared their chests for the camera for other women. “I have to say…” Kenneth starts, before her voice breaks in tears. “I’m going to start bawling, but these women are so incredible.”

“Their journeys are what’s here and what’s important,” Hunter says. “If we don’t do anything else, just what we’ve achieved here with these women and their inner journeys, we’ve done good in the world.”

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca