London Rollergirls player Cami Gabriel is the derby girl behind that now immortalized first Facebook comment. “In roller derby, social media is very important,” she says. “As we are a ‘for the skater, by the skater’ grass roots initiative, we require word of mouth to publicize our games and make sure we fill those sports halls.” She accepts that subjecting yourself to social media is a double-edged sword. While useful and empowering for derby girls, their Instagram pages can become a hub for misogynists that leave body-shaming comments. “I read a rather interesting complaint regarding the fact that all the bottoms belonged to “thin white girls.” Considering I entered derby because I felt like my weight was holding me back from doing other sports, that was rather ironic. If I get a really amazing bruise I will continue to post it online. It is part and parcel of this sport, and not something I will feel ashamed about. I certainly wear my bruises with pride.”
Seeing bruises as beautiful and something to be proud of, Hyvonen points to the significance of how they are commonly seen. Historically, women have been especially concerned with being seen as a commodity. Her investigations into this issue can be found as early as her 2010 series, .ber Cute inspired by her childhood coloring books. That series contemplated the concept of cuteness as a feminist act. Girls grow up surrounded by cuteness but have to give it up as adults if they don’t want to lose their credibility. She could find no explanation why cuteness would correlate with a girl’s intelligence or the importance of a painting.
Embracing her girlishness, in 2012 Hyvonen took a note from her childhood drawings of cute animals with her Tinkerbell series. The series portrays Paris Hilton’s famous pet Chihuahua with big puppy-eyes in an array of glittery wall mounts. “I hung them on the wall of my studio like memories from a victorious hunting trips,” she recalls. In the Tinkerbell series she comments on how we tend to approach living creatures as accessories or trophies in modern society. This does not exclude women in modern society, especially female celebrities like Paris Hilton, who are scrutinized for their personal lives. The media has an obsession with the men they are dating as if they were their accessories.
It is part and parcel of this sport, and not something I will feel ashamed about. I certainly wear my bruises with pride.”
Obviously, Hyvonen is objectifying women in Roller Derby Kisses, but no more so than they do. “Being proud of your rink rash is considered sexy, and the glamor of a derby kiss is part of the objectification made by these women themselves,” she says. Something clicked when Hyvonen first saw how her team members would gather and show each other their bruises after well-played games, like badges of honor. “I felt the feminist, communal spirit was something exceptional and definitely worth researching.
At the same time, I got fascinated by the way the derby subculture creates its own objectifications on the internet. Posting photos online and commenting on them is an essential part of the unapologetic representation of beauty.”
In the world of #FreetheNipple and #LoveYourLines, social media is bringing roller derby to a new audience, and Hyvonen wants to help people see beauty in all sorts of unexpected places. The internet provides her with an essential, spontaneous, unrestricted source of inspiration and motivation. “The way the images the derby girls take of themselves circulate, and make it possible for even more people to identify in an alternative expression of beauty,” she says. “I do naturally wish that my images would awaken different thoughts and interpretations. I hope that people could, after the possible first shock, find beauty in them. And maybe through that, expand their own ways of understanding the beauty of things.*
This article first appeared in Hi-Fructose issue 38. You can get a print copy of the full issue here.
