About this project
“For women in patriarchal culture, additional concerns arise as well. For we have been swallowed and we are the swallowers. We are the consumers and the consumed. We are the ones whose stomachs do not listen--having no ears--and we are the ones who seek to be heard from within the stomach that has no ears.” -Carol J. Adams “The Sexual Politics of Meat” (1990)
Meat is complicated. Feminist theorists have drawn powerful parallels between the imagery and reality of the consumption of meat and women’s bodies, sometimes coming out against pornography and meat altogether.
I love beef jerky. And the performance work I do is sexually explicit, using my body to stage new ways of thinking about women’s bodies and food. My initial response as a queer feminist sexually explicit performance artist is a violent fuck you to anyone who wants to control what I do with my body or what I put in it.
I want to dig deeper. So I’m doing what any self-respecting 1950s Lesbian housewife/burlesque performer/performance artist would do: I’m writing a full-length show and taking it on the road.
Eat Your Heart Out uses classic burlesque, live cooking show, short films and audience-participatory performance to create a new and evolving narrative about sex, power, & meat. The show is anchored by several short films and “burlettas” (short burlesque pieces set to music). The other live segments will shift and grow with each new audience and experience on the road.
I plan to take the show on tour in the month of May, and to continue conducting interviews and fieldtrips to dig deeper into the politics and lived realities of meat, meat-producers, meat-consumers, and those who choose to stay outside of the system.
In the current gastro-political climate, questioning what we consume is painfully hip. I am trying to articulate some questions of my own: Is there such a thing as a feminist ethic of meat? Who has the luxury of choosing whether and what kind of meat to consume? How are farmers, families, artists, butchers, chefs and others building viable and inspiring solutions?
I need your help to make this project possible.
Your support will help pay for: A Canon T2i camera, which will take gorgeous still images and allow me to shoot interviews and fieldtrips in beautiful film-like manual focus, in the style of the launch film above.
Gas to get Honeysuckle to Montana, Vermont, Texas, and the shows in between.
Honey & Raw Meat (I am looking for local honey and steak donations for each performance, but this money will help cover the cost of consumables for each show if needed)
Glitter (it’s gross, it gets on the pets of people you date, but it is sometimes essential in this line of work)
M.A.C. lipstick (Honeysuckle wears Lady Danger & Morange, and for her nights off, Chili)
Some of the immediate rewards for your support:
Valentine-front (4 x 6")
PORK! Postcard Print
Beef Jerky Poster (11 x 17")
FAQ
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108
Backers
$3,570
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on April 25, 2010.
Pledge $10 or more
NEW REWARD! Who do you love: Beef or Pork? Receive a postcard print of one of Honeysuckle's slaughterhouse photos that capture a moment in the transition from animal to meat. You'll get to specify your preference for the Pork! or Beef! print when the project funding period closes...use those dollars to make your voice heard!
Pledge $16 or more
NEW REWARD! Beef AND Pork - Can't decide? Are you a vegetarian who doesn't really have a preference but still wants images linking the meat we eat to the labor, spaces, tools, money, and people who make it all happen? Or are you just a meat fiend who likes those picture frames with two holes in the mat? This is your chance to get a Beef! and a Pork! print.
Pledge $20 or more
Receive a customized, signed, and kissed valentine from Honeysuckle. Valentine features a pin-up photo of Honeysuckle (drawn and quartered, ready to consume), a quotation from Carol Adams' book, and a piece of beef jerky! (special requests available for vegetarians)
Pledge $35 or more
Poster of your choice: "Sex, Power, How to be a Woman, & Beef Jerky" "Eat Your Heart Out" or (soon to be released) tour poster signed by honeysuckle and shipped straight to your door.
Pledge $100 or more
A Valentine, A poster pack containing all three posters, Associate Producer credit, and a personal love letter from Honeysuckle.
Pledge $180 or more
Underwrite the Seattle dress rehearsal and fundraiser! Your pledge will cover the cost of the venue (a beautiful 150-capacity theater) for tech, show, and mingling, and the cost of consumables for this show (think onions, beef jerky, and honey...not necessarily in that order). As your reward, Honeysuckle will make custom pasties to thank or promote you or the business of your choice!
Pledge $250 or more
A Valentine, A poster pack containing all three posters, Producer credit, a personal love letter from Honeysuckle, VIP seating if and when you and the show are in the same place at the same time, a skype date with Honeysuckle, and a secret surprise gift by mail.
Pledge $500 or more
Have Honeysuckle come perform "Eat Your Heart Out" at the venue of your choice: your local coop, meat shop, restaurant, college, sex toy shop, or theater--the possibilities are nearly limitless. (May require additional travel compensation if venue is international or more than 200 miles away from Honeysuckle's national tour route)
Pledge $2,500 or more
Have Honeysuckle choreograph a brand new burlesque piece for you and perform it live or via video recording (to be negotiated based on location). You select the music, the food, the inspiring quotation, or whatever other starting points you want the artist to work with!
Project By
Connected as Honeysuckle Hype
Ms. Honeysuckle Hype is just your average food-obsessed 1950s Lesbian housewife: she is never full. The rhinestoned big toe revealed by her peep toes reflects the spotlight and physically blinds audiences, blurring the lines between lust and hunger, addiction and desire, sexy and revolting. She will make you cream your panties and whipped cream your nonfat latte.
Believe the hype.
