Messages from the Menopausal Multiverse: The Lore of the Aged
This Zine is dedicated to:
T o those whose multi-dimensionality or expansiveness has ever been denied, discounted or erased This Is for you...
There was once a woman One old, one young, one at the in between A mystic, a mythic, a wise, and kind one One One One was
tortured, one twisted deceitful, and of death lost in love so twisted, she left forever scarred
She is you, she is me Some stories are Some stories are Some stories are Some stories are Some stories are of nightmares
told to calm told to ease told to warn told to scare sweet, others
Who gets to tell these stories Who gets to curate the fates of victim or perpetrator What if there was more there?
Arielle Smith
Lore of the Aged Across cultures and over centuries, folkloric tales have told us to fear the maturing or older woman for she is often portrayed as magical, mystical, monstrous, or deadly. There is lore that speaks of her power, knowledge, and magic and she is often the face of evil, mystery, or represents imminent danger. These women become even more evil when they are enforcing their boundaries. This lore, passed down through the ages, paints her as a one-dimensional archetype, but what of her humanity, her relationships, her role In her community, and her own healing? How do these stories color the way we see older women and women-identified people in our culture as they age? Who tells your story Is Important. How we get to reclaim our voice and story is critical to our healing. What if the lore of the aged women was reimagined In her own voice? What would we come to know about her journey—her personhood? What If?
Omisade Burney-Scott
The Magical
Karaba the Sorceress, Senegal Model: Alexis Pauline Gumbs Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
The Magical
Karaba the Sorceress, Senegal Model: Alexis Pauline Gumbs/Temperance/Air Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
This is what they want you to think about me...
The Mystical
Bibi/Marwe and the Underworld, Kenya Model: Angel Dozier Art by Gemynii Photograghy by Jade Wilson
The Mystical
Bibi/Marwe and the Underworld, Kenya Model: Angel Dozier/High Priestess/Water Art by Gemynii Photograghy by Jade Wilson
This is what they want you to think about me...
The Monstrous
Baba Yaga, Slavic Model Lynne Walter Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
The Monstrous
Baba Yaga, Slavic Model Lynne Walter/The Hermit/Earth Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
This is what they want you to think about me...
Deadly
La Llorona/Cihuacóatl, Mesoamerican Model: Areli Barrera de Grodski Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
Deadly
La Llorona/Cihuacóatl, Mesoamerican Model: Areli Barrera de Grodski/Death/Fire Water Art by Gemynii Photography by Jade Wilson
This is what they want you to think about me...
Meet The Arist: Gemynii
Meet the Photographer: Jade Wilson
Gemynii is a Durham based multidisciplinary artist who creates aura reflective paintings that center faces and figures of people of color with a focus on black femmes. Her work is heavily influenced the need of representation of bodies of color within a white supremacist capitalist society and is done so through the eyes and experience of a fat black queer femme. Her own work aims to colorfully demonstrate the significance of narrating our own stories and asserting the ways that we want to be represented.
Durham artist, Jade Wilson , has worked as a professional image maker for the past eight years, spending the first half of that time as a corporate photographer and the other half defying artistic convention and upending the status quo. Their work explores what lies in the shadows behind beauty and sorrow–both personal and communal. Their raw and frequently somber style is illuminated by their Black trans identity.
Lore of the Aged Contributors:
Thank You:
Arielle Smith Gemynii Jade Wilson Alexis Pauline Gumbs Angel Dozier Lynne Walter Areli Barrera de Grodski Che Nembhard
Trude Bennett Taj Cullen Scott Che Nembhard Mariah M. Leigh Reed Tarryn Henry Wutang McDougal Michelle Lanier Cypress Fund Prismatic Artivist Residency
Learn More about the Black Gilr's Guide to Surviving Menopause at www.blackgirlsguidetosurvivingmenopause.com
Messages from the Menopausal Multiverse: The Lore of the Aged Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause
