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Year of Graduation
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MFA: Dance
Directing Professor
Jeffery Bullock
Abstract
This thesis explores moments of intimate revolt against and inside of patriarchal-dictated femininity through the lens of the grotesque feminine as seen in feminist new wave cinema and performance. The author interweaves the theoretical scaffolding of queer phenomenology, the Sumerian myth “Descent of Inanna,” and films such as The Substance and The Witch to navigate through her own experiences of an eating disorder and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Discussions of Donna Haraway’s cyborg feminism and Mary Russo’s feminine grotesque—both practices of dis- and re-articulating the body in service of alternative modes of being—support research into critical moments of the self fracturing and rebuilding. It is in the moments of rupture and transgression that glimmers of alternative possibilities of existence emerge. Reflecting on the emotional and physiological toll of an eating disorder and PMDD as a bifurcation of self, the author turns to an overarching metaphor of the Sumerian myth of the Underworld in which to stage her own intimate revolt, where blood serves as a flowing pathway through the dark wretchedness and into a new mode of being. This thesis presents three parts: Journey Into the Underworld—a sociohistorical examination of internal and external forces that cause the author and women at large to fracture; The Dark Night of Abjection—an analysis of film and performance art representative of the monstrous and grotesque feminine; and Emergence—a theoretical prediction of new modes of being possible for the author and others who have been ruptured by systems external and internal.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Bri, "Intimate Revolt: A Phenomenological Approach to Self-Excavation as Resurrection" (2026). Dance (MFA) Theses, Hollins University. 54.
https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/dancetheses/54
Performance Access Statement
If you wish to see the creative piece or performance that accompanied this thesis, please complete the Request Form, and you should receive a response from the Dance Department within two weeks.