Body shaming, self-identity and self-perception are some of the topics which up-and-coming actress Brishanna Badley believes should be given more focus in local theatre.

These themes featured prominently in Badley’s one woman show, ‘A Letter To My Body’, which she debuted as part of her final year project at the Edna Manley School for the Visual and Performing Arts in early September.

‘A Letter to My Body’ tells the story of a young girl, Tumpi, coming to terms with her body through a series of flashbacks from her childhood in which she was body shamed.

According to Badley, while the concept of ‘body shaming’ is not well understood it is one which can cause actual mental distress to those who experience it.

“In conceptualizing this piece, I thought drama would be a palatable way to raise awareness about the subject matter; which is part of my thesis research about the psychological impact of body shaming and how it can lead to mental conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)” said Badley.

“In a society that is obsessed with everything, public perceptions can make or break a person’s idea of self-worth. “Fat is bad,” “dark is ugly,” “thin is sick” – these are all forms of “body shaming or bullying,” Badley stated.

Badley noted that while body shaming, particularly in the local context is often unintentional and, is almost a part of the culture, it can still be harmful.

“This is what I found in my research, our culture does not highlight body shaming as bullying per se. Because our culture is open for us to say, ‘ Fatty,’ ‘Big,’ you know how we just call people. And really and truly they don’t mean anything by it – but it is unintentional bullying – it has no intent to hurt the person but it does,” Badley said.

“A person may be a bit sensitive and they may take it another way, grow with that and then they start seeing themselves a certain way and it can cause them to have a mental condition,” Badley added.

Explaining that while Jamaicans tend to favour comedy and ‘lighter subject matters’, particularly as it acts as a form of escapism to combat all that is happening in society, Badley noted that introducing audiences to other forms of drama and more complex subject matters may provide the sort of healing the nation needs.

“I used the Brechtian technique as it refers to an archetype rather than a character so we judge the character and their situation, rather than just empathizing with them. Thumpi is an archetype I think we can all relate to and in this way I could explore the topic in a wholesome way, “ Badley explained.

“Tackling this subject matter is one that already has people talking, evident from the amount of people that have reached out to me. I think we need to have more outlets that facilitate these types of conversations about ‘identity’ and ‘self-perception’ as we create a citizenry that is more positive and understanding,” she said.