Shapeshifting is to be boundless in a world that places endless expectations on female identity and bodies. It's to live unapologetically freeΒ β free of the restraints of gender norms and free to carve our own paths.
Our latest project, Big. Strong. Woman.Β β narrated and creative directed by Ashley Graham and featuring Cami Arboles β tackles the impediments women face on the daily. In honor of International Women's Day, the film aims to celebrate the magnitude, complexity, and multifaceted nature of female strength.Β Β
When it comes to shapeshifting, CamiΒ knows a thing or two about living in a state ofΒ metamorphosis. As a movement artist and pole dancer (she taught SZA how to pole dance for her Good DaysΒ music video), her body takes myriad forms as it twists and contorts artfully around her pole.
Beyond her movement practice,Β she takes a figurative approach to shapeshiftingΒ β embracingΒ life's ever-changing currents whilst firmly remainingΒ its architect.
From Yale Graduate to Pole Dancer and Founder of a movement collective β youβre the literal definition of what it means to be a shapeshifter, a term you reference a lot in your work. What does shapeshifting mean to you?
To be a shapeshifter is to live in a constant state of flow, and to be open to the constant change that we experience as human beings. We must not be too attached to one idea of ourselves or what we should be, because we are forever evolving!
(Image byΒ Carolyne Loree)
A mantra I love to live by is βflow, donβt force.β What is meant for me will always be there; I will never miss out on anything that is meant to be for me.
Can embracing shapeshifting empower us to be the architects of our own lives and to defy social expectations?
Absolutely! Life is in a constant state of redesign and revision. We are unstable, shapeshifting entities. We are also constantly being reimagined and influenced by our interactions with others and our existence in different kinds of spaces.
(Image byΒ Carolyne Loree)
It is really our job to navigate this slippery and beautiful existence with integrity and authenticity. Easier said than done! Shapeshifting as a mode of living helps me to do that.
Shapeshifting suggests fluidity, whereas social media tends to encourage us to package our lives into neat, little squares. How do you resist this kind of categorization and embrace the messiness of life?
In my opinion, one of the most draining aspects of social media is that it favors the complete commodification of the self and the takeover as the βpersonal brand.β
Instagram asks of every user, βHow can you make yourself easily digestible and branded into neat squares? How can you commodify your existence and optimize it for likes, shares, engagement, and maximum screen time?β
Humans love to think categorically, meaning we love to label everything neatly and tidily, even if certain entities resist categorization (sex and gender are a great example of entities that are not binary).
(Image byΒ Carolyne Loree)
I am of course complicit in this inorganic social process packing of life into βneat little squares,β Iβm not gonna pretend like I am not! That being said, I believe there are ways to defy this kind of categorization and embrace the messiness of life that feel authentic and true to me.
For example, I like to use my Instagram captions as journal entries, and most people definitely do not do that. I will often write paragraphs for my captions and not think twice, or even proofread, before posting them, almost like a form of my stream of consciousness.
For me, writing is very therapeutic, as is pole dancing. Why not marry the two? So thatβs one way I like to do that. I also try to share parts of my existence that have nothing to do with pole dancing, such as my writing, or my affirmations, or just general musings on life.
Youβre a big fan of affirmations, and clearly, theyβve helped you manifest some big things. How can affirmations help us give shape to our lives, instead of the other way around?
I always tell myself that whatever I believe about myself ultimately becomes my reality. So in a way, I do have some control over my reality. Affirmations help me to build a positive mindset towards myself.
(Image byΒ Carolyne Loree)
There are definitely days I feel deeply insecure or disappointed in myself, and practicing my affirmations or stating things that I am grateful for feels like work, hard work β but thatβs OK! I have the power to switch the narrative in my head about myself. I am the art and the artist; the story and the writer of the story.
We love seeing you shapeshift in our film Big. Strong. Woman. How does it feel to be featured in a project that challenges the expectations placed on female identity and bodies?
Super excited to be featured in this project, and in any art that celebrates women being whatever they want to be, however they want to be it!
Learn more about Big. Strong. Woman. atΒ Knix.com.