© Floor Joanne

13 MAART 2025

Growing up in a small village with coincidentally only boys in my class, my gender was a strange thing to come to terms with. I think I never really did. As their only allowed subject, I was being crushed on, laughed at and sexualized. All the while I did not know what clothes to wear and how to behave in my slightly taller, awkward body. 

I was confused most of my childhood and pulled strange antics to compensate, hoping that the people around me would share my confusion. For example, instead of giving my classmates candy on my birthday, I’d give them licorice root to chew on. They’d do so hesitantly and as the years went on, they gradually became more determined. 

I added an image of fire, because I see my parents’ hearth as the core of my existence. Fires inspire us to engage in storytelling, which I think is crucial te create a common ground.