Later, she looks through them and sees what is happening around her. Morris-Cafiero finds that people are often looking at her body, or commenting on it with their gaze or body language, at times even appearing to mock her.
"I then examine the images to see if any of the passersby had a critical or questioning element in their face or body language."
"I consider my photographs a social experiment and I reverse the gaze back on to the stranger and place the viewer in the position of being a witness to a moment in time. The project is a performative form of street photography," she writes.
Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. and abroad.
She also published her book, The Watchers, which shows her photo collection and includes comments made to her about her body from passerby.
You can see that even people in positions of authority, like this police officer, feel comfortable mocking her just for being out in public.
Though she's not looking at the people around her, Morris-Cafiero's photographs capture a split second in time that really crystalizes how people relate to one another on the street and the judgment she receives from strangers.
In galleries, with the words beside them, the photos are even more pointed. She also includes the positive words she receives from people who have experienced discrimination for their size or any other aspect to their body that is consistently bothered by the dominant culture.
Though we all theoretically know that people, women in particular, are discriminated against for their size, seeing it captured in photographs is gut-wrenching:
The project has gone viral as people identify with Morris-Cafiero's experience, which means a lot of people relate to being stared at and commented on by folks who should mind their own business. Does that include you? You can check out more of her incredible work here.
Eye strain from staring at devices is a widespread issue. Most people work, play, and maintain relationships through screens, which averages out to 6 hours and 35 minutes per day (and that’s in addition to work or school)! That translates to 46 hours and 5 minutes per week, or 2,402 hours and 55 minutes per year.2
With numbers like these, attention to eye health is more important now than ever; our dependence on technology certainly isn’t going anywhere. And just like innovation brought us technology, innovation also holds the key to combating the effects it has on our bodies. Here are some key suggestions from eye care professionals to help reduce common symptoms of digital eye strain. Spoiler alert: none of them involve wearing glasses!
Follow the 20-20-20 rule.
You can find some relief by taking a 20-20-20 break: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It’s easy to remember because we all want 20/20 vision, and it’s a good excuse to look out the window.
Adjust your workspace screen to be slightly below eye level and about an arm’s length away.
This simple tweak to your work area can really improve your posture, as well as the amount of strain on your eyes. A win-win!
Adjust the brightness of your device.
Brightness levels also play into how hard our eyes have to work. Our screen brightness should match our surroundings, especially during the evening hours.
Say hello to Biofinity Energys® contact lenses!
These contact lenses are specifically made to address eye dryness and tiredness caused by digital devices. Digital Zone Optics® lens design and Aquaform® Technology are two innovations that when combined help with the tiredness and dryness that can be caused by digital eye fatigue.
Additionally, Biofinity Energys® monthly replacement contact lenses are designed to help our eyes better adapt for a more comfortable wearing experience3. This part is tricky because contacts can be hard to adjust to, and trust me—no one wants what feels like gritty sandpaper in there. Comfort is key!
If you’re sick of wearing glasses all the time and feel ready to do something new, visit biofinityenergys.com to learn more and to get your free trial certificate.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6020759/
- Asurion-sponsored survey by Market Research Firm Solidea Solutions conducted August 18-20, 2019 of 1,998 U.S. smartphone users, compared to an Asurion-sponsored survey conducted by market research company OnePoll between Sept. 11 – 19, 2017 of 2000 U.S. adults with a smartphone.
- Biofinityenergys.com
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Failure is a great teacher.
Reddit user u/G_man252 asked people to share their own life lessons “learned the hard way,” and the answers, though varied, all touched on something useful that everyone can probably relate to. Especially those of us who have had the blessing of living long enough to gain a lot of hard-won knowledge.
Below are 17 of the best lessons that all of us either have learned, are trying to learn or will learn soon enough. Reading them isn’t necessarily the same as experiencing them, but there is still some comfort in knowing they are all part of what it means to be human.
Read. Be enlightened. Or at the very least, be soothed and entertained.
1.
"Not everyone who loves you is good for you." – @Gulbahar-00
Sometimes boundaries are a form of self love.
Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash2.
"Back up your data." – @SomeoneHad2FuknSayit
3.
"You can't fix other people. Only yourself." – @Bob_N_Frapples
4.
"It’s okay to put yourself first. Don’t expend all your energy on others and leave nothing for yourself. Understand how to give and take in moderation and that it’s a two way street." – @Neffili
5.
"Your fear of failure is worse than the failure itself. Take the chance. Now." – @aerofish_
Take the plunge.
Photo by Muzammil Soorma on Unsplash6.
"Nothing ever stays the same no matter how hard you want it to be … don’t take it for granted." – @CodyGhostBlood
7.
"Not everyone will like you for doing the right thing." – @Kaitriarch
8.
"Never take your health for granted. Appreciate every little thing you have that makes you happy." – @galestrikesback
9.
"Being vulnerable is the hardest thing you can do, but not being vulnerable will make your life much, much harder." – @thiccdiccboi
Open your heart.
Photo by cyrus gomez on Unsplash10.
“Budget and be financially responsible." – @QuailandDoves
11.
"If your gut is screaming at you that something is wrong, listen to it." – @REDDITprime1212
12.
"Time does not heal all wounds. Most days get better but you'll always have days where you feel it all over again as if it just happened and you can't do anything about it except for ride it out." – @Smokey_S
13.
"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." – @Karnezar
14.
"Mental illness is very real and will get in the way of your life." – @NoUsername817226
15.
"It's okay to be wrong sometimes. Humility really goes a long way in maintaining relationships and being happy." – @Freezeucriminalscum
Seek the help that is out there. You deserve it.
Photo by Fernando @cferdophotography on Unsplash16.
"You will inevitably, directly or indirectly hurt people in life." – @Sinusoidal0360
17.
"Don’t wait until the right time. For most things there is no right time. Perfectionism stalls you." – @lovelyfallday
But surely there's a scientific reason as to why some people are always cold, right?
It can't just be random chance that has doomed you to a life of perpetual shivers. I reached out to an expert to learn more.
Dr. Christopher Minson is a professor in the department of human physiology at the University of Oregon. One of his primary research interests is thermoregulation, that's how the brain and body interact and adapt as we heat and cool. Plainly put, he is the perfect guy to answer a few questions from #TeamCold.
(This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
Upworthy (UP): So what is actually happening in the body when a person gets chilly?
Dr. Chris Minson (CM): In the simplest of terms, feeling either cold or warm means that the temperature “set point" of the body is being challenged by thermal inputs throughout the body, including in the brain, the blood, the spinal cord, our organs, our muscles, and our skin. Part of our brain collects all of those thermal inputs and essentially compares them to what body temperature it wants to hold. So if your skin temperature is lowered, even though the rest of your body is still at a comfortable set-point, you will feel cold — in some cases, cold enough to make behavioral changes like putting on a sweater.
UP: Is there a reason this seems to largely impact women?
CM: The people who feel “always cold" will typically have lower muscle mass relative to body surface area (typically, women and older people). Their actual body core temperature may not really be below normal, but they feel cold because their body is telling them to conserve heat.
There have also been limited reports that women have a higher density of blood vessels at the skin surface, which would make them more sensitive to cold. However, there hasn't been enough good data collected on this theory to confirm or disprove it.
This also explains a frequent frustrations about women and men in relationships...
CM: A common complaint by women and men in relationships is that women's feet are often very cold, especially in bed. That goes along with the lower body mass to surface area relationship in women. As their body works to conserve heat, it vasoconstricts blood vessels in the extremities (hands and feet) to keep the core warm. This reduced blood flow results in cold hands and feet in women more than men.
So there you have it: Your brain is simply an overworked project manager trying to keep you alive. But there are a few things you can do about it.
UP: If you are a person who is always cold, is there anything you can do to "retrain" your body, so to speak?
CM: One of the best things someone can do is to increase their fat-free mass (muscle). This will increase overall metabolic rate (although it's not easy to do.)
Another thing a person could do is undergo cold-stresses, such as allowing themselves to be exposed to very cold temperatures for short periods of time. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's been suggested that this could decrease the sensation of feeling cold. An example is putting the shower on 'cold' for a short period of time in the shower. Not easy to do, and you would want to build up to a full minute each day, but in some people it can help them to decrease the feeling of being cold.
UP: There are a lot of jokes at the expense of people who are always cold, but at what point does it go from "I'm always cold, and it's a quirky thing about me" to "I'm always cold and I should probably see my doctor"?
CM: There is the possibility that someone's perpetual coldness could be caused by abnormally low thyroid hormone levels, and that can be verified with a blood test. That is by far the rarer condition, but taking hormone supplements if medically needed can help. If a person is quite lethargic, has low motivation, and is always cold, it might be worth having thyroid hormones evaluated.
So if you are a lap-blanket wearing member of #TeamCold, don't fret.
You are strong. You are capable. And unless you have pain or some of the symptoms Minson mentioned, there is likely nothing wrong with you. Our bodies just require different things of us, and yours requires that you have to deal with an overly-air conditioned-society. My sincerest apologies. On behalf of #TeamHot, your next cocoa is on me.