FEAR INSTALLATION

Fear

An unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

Installation

The action of installing someone or something, or the state of being installed.

Fear is not an emotion that you’re born with, rather it an emotion that develops as we grow, for many women this is often the case. Through primary socialisation in the home boys and girls internalise appropriate behaviour patterns based on their gender. This form of socialisation/installation occurs when traditional roles are put in place e.g. girls are taught to submissive and act as caretakers to others through the world of play where often girls are given dolls to look after and boys are given guns to eliminate senses of danger from a young age.

As development continues girls are expected to be in the homes with their mothers, away from the troubles of the outside world, learning to cook and clean whereas boys will be out learning about nature and exploring the realities of the physical world.

In third world countries these fears are often exacerbated where the correlations between poverty and vulnerability are particularly high. Cultural beliefs can lead to many elders of communities taking control and policing the bodies of young women as seen in places like Somalia and the Middle East where in some case forceful actions take occur to install fear among young women on how to manoeuvre among their society. The panorama tells this story of the constantly present male figure watching over women from young ages and keeping them in the home to learn and internalise stereotypical gender roles for the future.

Back view of the Fear installation phase.