The Sick/Disabled Body as Fetish Object: A Pornographic Screening, Sharing & Discussion

October 12, 2023, 6:30-8:30 PM

Panel Conversation, Screening
William Grant Still Arts Center

2520 S West View St
Los Angeles, CA 90016

For this event, artist Panteha Abareshi will lead the audience through an exploration of the disabled body as it appears within fetish and pornographic materials, sharing discoveries they have made in their extensive research into Crip representation within the erotic. These viewings will be interspersed with artist-led discussion. Videos and images shown will range from things found in the strangest, most private annals of the internet, to artistic works by disabled artists. 

Please note that there will be no censoring of video and image, so audience members should be prepared to consume NSFW content. 

This program may not be suitable for all ages.

Participant Bios

Panteha Abareshi’s artistic practice is rooted in their existence as a chronically ill/disabled body contending with multiple medical illnesses, at the foundation of which is sickle cell zero beta thalassemia — a genetic blood disorder that causes debilitating pain and bodily deterioration, both of which increase with age. Their work explores the complexities of living within a body that is highly monitored, constantly examined, and made to feel like a specimen, critically interrogating the sick/disabled body’s place within medical institutions. Through performance work, they push their body to, and often beyond, the limits of its ability. In their video work and sculptural installations, Abareshi confronts the able-bodied gaze, and questions notions of consent within the dynamics of power, control and objectification between viewer and disabled body as subject. Currently, Abareshi is focusing on the disabled body as fetish object, and conducting research into disabled sexuality, and its representations within pornography and fetish materials.

This program is organized by Panteha Abareshi as part of the 2023 Circa: Queer Histories Festival, presented by One Institute. William Grant Still Arts Center is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

  • Founded in 1977, William Grant Still Arts Center is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs offering summer camp, creative workshops, music and art classes for adults and youth, an exhibition space, concerts, and places for community meetings and the neighborhood to come together.