MY BODY –
MY ONLY LIMIT?

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

Albert Einstein, physicist

When we are born, we are determined by our genetic code, gender, race, and mental predispositions. Is there room for change and shifting boundaries in such given features? If that space exists, where is it located?

Who is allowed to approach us and how can that individual approach us and enter our personal space? We all have several safe zones around us and let a person come closer or keep them further away depending on the situation and our relationship with them. The boundary of intimate space is the result of individual decisions and cultural context. Our body is our first boundary toward others.

She / he

Boys don´t cry, girls don´t get mad.

Jelena Vrsaljko, social worker; Tatjana Gjurković, psychologist

Observing it through the cultural scope of our tradition: pink is for girls and blue is for boys? Dresses are for women, pants for men? How does society react when we ignore stereotypes and break down those mental boundaries? Not so long ago, there was a clear division between public space belonging to a man and the private space of one’s home primarily belonging to a woman. That is how society emphasized gender identity, thus influencing both the upbringing and the relationship between a woman and a man.

Unfortunately, this boundary is still partially present in our society today. Some media continue to reinforce gender stereotypes by promoting principles contrary to gender equality, thus encouraging the formation or consolidation of existing discriminatory attitudes and patterns of behavior. Does every instance of breaking down boundaries as products of social norms constitute an anomaly?

Girls from Srdoči Public School, Rijeka, 1912/1913

Boys from Srdoči Public School, Rijeka, 1912/1913

Teaching children at the beginning of schooling in Kastav, as of 1770, included only boys. However, it is mentioned that the teacher Ernest Jelušić taught girls for free in Kastav in 1869 and 1870. In 1877 the Girls' Classroom was opened with 80 girls attending. In 1925 the Boys' Elementary School and the Girls' Elementary School were merged into one five-grade elementary school called the Elementary School in Kastav. The classes were mixed.

First-graders visiting the Museum, Rijeka, 1959

Salome

Salome (formerly Nenad Ćuća-Žentil), first Croatian woman that admitted to have undertaken gender reassignment “You see, when a little girl dreams and then her parents suppress those dreams and you become what they want. Well, I wasn't such a girl, I wanted to make my dreams come true. To live my life, to be happy, to be what was inside of me. I wanted to be MYSELF! (...) My memory of childhood and puberty is very negative. During those time almost the entire island of Rab had a very negative opinion about me. As a child, I heard so many mean words spoken behind my back. I was anything but human. (...) It's best to be in your own skin – but I had to transform mine to achieve my goal. Salome was born thanks to the brave Nenad who believed in her. If it weren't for Nenad, there wouldn't be Salome.” (Jutarnji list, author: Petra Plivelić, 3 October 2019, Photo: Mare Milin)

Razor blade, Bismarck razor works, Solinger, first half of the 20th century

Fan, second half of the 19th century

A lady and a gentleman, Ivan Standl, Zagreb, around 1865

Do human races exist at all?

We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race.

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

The concept of human race originated in the late 16th century when colonizers attempted to categorize people based on their physical appearance – skin color, hair texture, facial features, or eye shape. They wanted to specify those who do not look like “us” with the intention of making them less valuable. The notion of race has crept into human consciousness and has caused a number of extremely negative consequences such as slavery, wars, ethnic cleansing, and genocide throughout history.

However, the development of biogenetics lead to the conclusion that the concept of race is not biologically valid and the idea of races among humans was abandoned. Mankind, HOMO SAPIENS, is the only human species, rich and diverse. Can our humanity overcome prejudice, and can we simply become us?

The two of us, E. S. D., around 1906

Racial origin statement form, Independent State of Croatia, 28 December 1942

The independent State of Croatia – a fascist entity (1941-1945) – implemented strict racial laws according to which all residents had to declare their racial affiliation. White Catholics were privileged while others were discriminated against, banished, and exterminated in concentration camps.

Statment about racial affiliation, Zagreb 1942

Žak Valenta – Magdalena Lupi Alvir:

MY BODY

Production: Gradsko kazalište lutaka Rijeka

Creative team:

Director: Žak Valenta

Playwright: Magdalena Lupi Alvir

Composer: Marin Alvir

Scene and costumes: Luči Vidanović

Lighting designer: Sanjin Seršić

Performed by: Alex Đaković and Petra Šarac

The show “My Body” by the Rijeka City Puppet Theater is primarily envisaged as an educational and pedagogic project for children of all ages, from kindergarten to high school, but for adults as well.

The author’s intention is to use musical and dance elements that partly remind of a musical in a modern and innovative manner to encourage young and old viewers to get to know and become aware of their bodies, “that beautiful and perfect apparatus that nature has given us”. It also encourages them to explore and re-examine the differences between boys and girls, is it really dreadful if boys wear tights in winter and if girls have boyish haircuts – traumas that we all remember from childhood although we are all well aware that it has always been that way. In the first part we “assemble” the bodies of boys and girls, in the second part we dress them and impose social roles on them, and in the third we deconstruct everything and conclude the show with a happy ending, with song and dance.

MY BODY – MY ONLY LIMIT?