Moon

Poppy (Kabir) tattooed a little moon on my ribs, which serves to remind me of one of my favourite parts of the iBAMH course: the dissertation. My thesis related to the psychiatric conceptions of madwomen in operas of the 19th and 20th centuries, with one such opera being Richard Strauss' Salome. Salome's libretto contains many allusions to the link between femininity and lunacy, with Herod going so far as to proclaim that the moon 'looks like a mad woman'. Apart from the tattoo being quite nice to look at, I also wanted to immortalise my fascination and devotion to these tragic madwomen who I had the chance to come across in my studies. As someone who wants to eventually become a psychiatrist, this tattoo will be a reminder to always question the traditional and hegemonic views of madness.