(A)sexual Tension
Olivia N.
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(CW: sexual implications) Originally a longer piece, "(a)sexual tension" expresses the desire for intimacy beyond the norm of romance and sex, the frustrations of having a female body and the sexualization of Asian women. I've been a hopeless romantic since the day I mistook feelings of friendship for a crush in elementary. I went into high school expecting the whole High School Musical experience: musical numbers, flash mob dances, and a fruitful love life. It hasn't lived up to the media's portrayal, and I quickly realized that I simply did not feel a lot of the attraction that media preaches. I started to see that my body carries connotation: the body they see is different from the one I know. I began writing this piece during my sophomore year, originally projecting my frustrations of feeling seen for as a body first rather than my words. After months of working on it, though, it's slowly evolved to capture multiple parts of my identity. The piece itself is plastered with sexual undertones to build tension and frustration. I wanted to illustrate the struggles of being asian, asexual, and female through the feeling that your voice is never loud enough.
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A form of expression and communication, as well as a way to process emotions and thoughts. Everyone wants to be understood, and creativity is how we do that.
