INSIDE THE RINGIN OUR CULTURE, A WOMAN IS IN A PERPETUAL STRUGGLE.

SHALINI SARDANAMFA DESIGN THESIS 2014

CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

INSIDE THE RING

This is an interactive and participatory experience about how women struggle for empowerment

across the world against a backdrop of varied and ineluctable cultural norms. It is inspired by the

lives of three unlikely female boxers women fighting more than gender stereotypes.

Women around the world face oppression. For some it is a fight for survival. For others it is a

fight to claim their identity. Boxing, the most quintessential image of masculinity is also the

perfect metaphor for our culture where a woman finds herself perpetually struggling between

proving herself as a contender while complying with an imposed performance of womanhood.

Inside the Ring interrogates the question:

Are women around the world more segregated by social, economic and cultural dierences or

are they more unified through their struggles created by a culturally imposed ideology of

femininity?

At its moments of greatest intensity it (boxing) seems to contain so complete and so powerful an

image of life lifes beauty, vulnerability, despair, incalculable and often self-destructive courage

that boxing is life, and hardly a mere game.

- Joyce Carol Oates, On Boxing

Inspiration for this project came from a documentary, Burqa Boxers created by a filmmaker,

friend and fellow immigrant from India, Alka Raghuram. The film explores the struggles, hopes,

dreams and resilience of a group of slum-dwelling Muslim women in Kolkata, India, who have

found boxing to be a vehicle for personal emancipation despite relentless and systematic cul-

tural and social domination. Through my research I found this to be a growing phenomenon in

many parts of the world particularly where women face systematic oppression.

Through my project I hope to shift the perspective of the western world towards these women

in developing countries. Instead of labeling them as a homogenous group of powerless, com-

plicit victims with no hope out of poverty and social oppression, I want to reveal their resilient

human spirit, despite their circumstances. This shift in perspective is essential to creating a

deeper, more meaningful connection between us and them.

I also hope to instigate a dialogue for women in the west to reflect beyond their progressive and

liberated lifestyles about how culturally conditioned ideologies of femininity create oppression

in their own lives.

Thank you.

B u r q a B o x e r s a film by ALKA RAGHURAM

AFGHANISTAN

UGANDA

PROBE #1 :RESILIENCEWhat does resilience mean to you?

INSPIRATION

Inspired by Project One Million Bones impact and purpose of combining education and art

making for its participants, I attempted to translate empathy into a hands-on activity. Each par-

ticipant would wrap their hands in a boxers wrap to feel a personal fight inspired by these

women. They would then personalize the wrap in their own words.

INTENT

The process of engaging in making a piece of art helps the maker connect with the cause in a

more meaningful and personal way. It also helps in not feeling paralyzed and overwhelmed with

the information. The wraps would carry stories of each participant thereby connecting them to

the stories of these women. Art has the ability to inspire people to action, to imagine and to

dream that a dierent reality is possible.

My goal was to engage the American audience in a way that could help them relate to the

struggles of women from Burqa Boxers beyond the barriers of religious, social, cultural and

economic context.

When you make something with your hands,

it changes the way you feel,

which changes the way you think,

which further changes the way you act.

- Carl Wilkens

PROBE #2 :JUNOONAlternate Reality Game

Content co-creation allows audiences beliefs and contexts, aspirations and behaviors, biases and

prejudices to emerge in a spontaneous and genuine way. Transmedia activists use these insights to

build content and context around systemic issues to raise awareness and influence action.

INSPIRATION

Games for Change is an organization that has been making games geared towards social change. It

catalyzes social impact through digital games, leveraging entertainment and engagement for social

good.

INTENT

Inspired by the Games for Change approach, I created an alternate reality game that provides a

glimpse into the world of Burqa Boxers: a chance to walk in her shoes, take part in her struggles,

share her dreams, feel her strength and experience her resilience. It would require the participants

to ask the right questions, do research, post-daily updates, and strategize and spend money

towards the assigned task. My intent was that it would enable participants to immerse themselves

in the culture, and understand the social and cultural challenges faced by these women as well as

the people who want to help them, thereby creating a deeper personal understanding of the

situation.

MISSION

To setup a new boxing club for girls in the neighborhood

FRAMEWORK

Collaboration with other players. It merges real and online worlds.

PROCESS

Four scenarios that lead participants to collabora-tively solve puzzles and accomplish activities.

JUNOON : alternate reality game

A tool that provides a glimpse into the world of Burqa Boxers. A chance to walk in her shoes, take part in her struggles, share her dreams, feel her strength and experience her resilience.

Scenario 3: Burqa Boxer and her trainer

GOAL: To keep her training at the boxing club

1. What is the trainers biggest challenge?2. What is her relationship to these women?3. How can the trainer create opportunities to change their lives?

Scenario 1: Burqa Boxers dreamworld

GOAL: To understand one Burqa Boxer character

1. What is her biggest dream?2. What is her deepest fear?3. What is her biggest obstacle?4. Give her a super power that builds her resilience.5. Submit a pencil sketch of her.

Scenario 2: Burqa Boxer and her family

GOAL: To convince her father to enroll her in your boxing club

1. What are his obstacles or fears?2. What is holding him back? 3. What is his deepest fear for her daughter?4. How can you help him overcome it?

What do you think I look like?Send me a sketch or photo of how you imagine me to be.

Do I remind you of someone?(draw on paper provided)

The experience has three levels of depth and engagement.

The FIRST level is a short video narrative capturing the essence of the characters struggle and

transformation.

The SECOND level is a written narrative by the character that expands on the previous engage-

ment but is limited to a slice of their life almost like a diary entry. This gives the audience a little

more context about the character and her story.

The THIRD level reveals the characters inspiration either from the documentary, Burqa Boxers,

or the other research material. It may include interviews with the filmmaker, the real life person

who inspired the character or the article/book that was researched.

PROTOTYPE #1: INSIDE THE RINGImmersive interactive experience

PROTOTYPE #2

I came across interesting footage, documentaries, news articles and video clips, about women in

other parts of the world who had taken up boxing for the same reasons as Burqa Boxers. It seemed

to be a developing phenomenon especially in places where oppression was apparent. I felt com-

pelled to include this in my prototype.

I created characters inspired by four dierent cultures India, Afghanistan, Uganda and the United

States to show the oppression and the empowerment that these women experience. The reason to

include the United States was to show that even though there were no apparent signs of oppres-

sion, the liberated modern woman was oppressed by the idea of womanhood that culture

imposes.

The idea of engagement at three levels continued except that I focused on the type of oppression

in each culture. At the FIRST level, the audience would get a glimpse into the characters struggle.

At the SECOND level, this struggle would dive deeper into her environment and at the THIRD level,

the audience would get a statistical reference of the problem. Engagement with all three levels

would give the audience a clear idea about the issue at hand.

MID SEMESTER THESIS REVIEWS(OPEN TO PUBLIC)

THESIS POPUP EVENTTaking thesis concept into real world

Location: Yerba Buena Center for the ArtsDate: March 20th, 2014Event: ConVerge: Artist Talks

I wanted to focus on the interaction of the audience. The participatory component of my project,

created by and for the community was intended to spark a self-reflective dialogue for the women

in America (the United States?) about how culturally imposed ideologies of femininity oppress them

beyond the obvious, and a chance to reflect on their progressive lifestyles and choices that cam-

ouflage this invisible oppression.

Process

I wanted to engage the audience in this conversation through the action of wrapping their hands in

a boxers wrap, which is symbolic of a fight/struggle.

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