“The term “female read” is a direct translation from the German “weiblich gelesen”. It means someone is being perceived from their outside world as female or feminine – although they might be trans, non-binary, inter or agender. In contrast to the English “female representing”, we introduce this term as an uncovering of the power that is held by the person that is “reading” me. Being “read” as a gender that you are not inhibiting can cause multiple forms of trauma.” 

Slow movements. Peeling away layers right down to the skin. And beneath that? The stripping away of stories. Of undressing. In front of others. And in front of oneself.

The body read as female – like a seismograph of historically accumulated sexualisation and the fixation on binary gender identities. The body read as female, queer, non-binary is as if trapped in a never-ending striptease. Again and again: exposing oneself anew. Running against walls of binaries – only to be thrown back onto these markers once more. Being seen. Being read. Being fixed upon. How can the body nevertheless remain unyielding and belong to itself?

Three people and the lens of a camera observe their own bodies through the gaze of others and of themselves.