An invagination is a fold, a concavity, a feminist reimagining of space, not necessarily correlated with the anatomical vagina. In this performance I made my case: Why invaginate?? 1) Feels good. 2) Try something new? 3) Your cells will love it! 4) Intussuscept the patriarchy. The piece was an interdisciplinary solo with improvised dance, puppets, and clowning. It included monologues performed by my belly button and scars who asked big questions about consent, trauma, and existential loneliness, to comedic effect.

“I might be vestigial, but I still deserve respect.” –Belly Button

“I was put together by Dr. Kelly and Dr. Mehta. They used two different suture techniques, which is why I look so different from the right to the left. My middle is just kind of a splotch.” –Knee Scar

“Someone recently said about me, ‘I couldn’t tell if that was a scar or a funny wrinkle.’ And actually, that really offended me because I’m not just a funny wrinkle.” –Neck Scar

“What is me? Am I brain? Am I a scar? Am I Nicole?” –Brain Scar

The concept for this performance arose out of my somatic Body-Mind Centering® research on the embryology of the genitalia from a nonbinary perspective. The performance addressed one particular aspect of the somatic material, the practice of allowing space/situations/people to invite us in, rather than injecting ourselves into spaces. This practice has social and political implications around embodying consent culture and as an antidote to the ways many of us have internalized capitalism and colonialism. In the most challenging section I asked all the cisgender men to line up and say abusive things to my knee scar that other men had actually said to me. There was something fascinating about seeing the line of men, like cattle awaiting slaughter, and the look of recognition on their faces once they understood what they were there to do. Some people told me after the show that it was really messed up to put them in that position, but many of the men said it was revelatory and powerful to hear themselves say those painful words out loud.