marko: let your body talk
sitre is always looking for new perspectives on intimacy. So when we spotted Bodytalks on Instagram, we were immediately intrigued. The profile is full of beautiful, diverse, honest and completely nude photos of (and stories about) all kinds of bodies. When we connect with the founder, Marko Pogacar, we start chatting straight away. It’s hard not to be sucked into Marko’s universe; he’s so reflective, thoughtful, passionate and ambitious. He has a mission and he’s working so hard to get there.
We meet him face-to-face on a beautiful spring day - we almost forget to take pictures just because the chat keeps going. He has so many interesting and insightful things to say about everything to do with sexuality, the body, nudity, gender and so much more. When we finally stop the chat so we can make sure we get some pictures before the sun sets, Marko asks if he should keep his clothes on - which we say is completely up to him. He firmly says that he feels like he needs to practice what he preaches and he truly believes all bodies have the right to be seen. Marko, thank you for being such a strong voice in this battle to create a more real and honest space for intimacy.
We hope you’ll enjoy this chat as much as we did and that it’ll start a lot of thoughts. It did for us. Go follow Marko here and Bodytalks here .
Hi Marko, can you start by giving our readers a bit of insight into who you are?
My name is Marko, I am 26 years old and live in Copenhagen. I work as a psychotherapist and specialise in gender, body, and sexuality. For the last five years, I’ve been involved in LGBT+ activism and worked for organisations that protect human sexual rights. The most important part of my work is to create a trustworthy space for exploring gender, body, and sexuality and to offer tools to navigate the dilemmas that are connected to those topics.
You are involved in several incredibly important projects. One of them is Bodytalks. Can you tell us a bit about this project?
Bodytalks is a provocative art project which explores and pushes society’s limits for gender, body, and sexuality. The project puts the naked body into focus and the ambition is to offer society more broad spectred representations of the human body. Bodytalks’ philosophy is based on an understanding of the body as a tool for expressing and creating one’s self. By exposing the population to different bodies in norm-breaking ways, the project challenges taboo associated with the body and sexuality - and loosens fixed gender and body ideals. Bodytalks wants to inspire and encourage the population to let go of specific body norms by highlighting the many opportunities to create oneself. The basic philosophical starting point of the project rejects the body as an object that must be constantly assessed, judged, and spoken upon. Rather, the body should be considered as a materialised self that tells a story of a lived life. It should be considered as a materialised self that has the power to speak for itself and create its own narrative. Overall, the art is a tribute to diversity, openness, and the right to perform gender, body, and sexuality on one’s own terms - and not society's.
sitre is here to make space for every person, gender, sexuality, a story to feel sexy. Bodytalks is in many ways sharing this mission. How do you think the images that portray sexiness affect us?
Society’s representations of sexiness have a huge impact on the individual’s opportunities in terms of feeling sexy. The representations have a defining power that shapes the individual’s understanding of what can be considered sexy. How the individual can perform sexiness depends on the content of the representations. The problem is that the representations are still very narrow which means only few people, who have specific body types and expressions, can perform sexiness in a way that’s accepted by our society and culture.
I see an important mission in using Bodytalks’ platform to expose the public to a broader spectrum of body representations. My main goal is to create diversity and expand society’s understanding of gender, body, and sexuality - and sexiness as well for that matter.
Do you see sexiness as something mental, physical, or both?
I see sexiness as a phenomenon that is dependent on both the human psyche and physic. Our psyche plays a role in the way we understand sexiness and what we associate the term with. I see our physics as a tool, a body, that we can use to create sexiness. Physical appearance and bodily aesthetics play a big role when it comes to our possibilities to perform sexiness - but the way we carry and understand, our physical appearance is crucial to create sexiness.
Do you think we have the power to define our sexiness as individuals?
I’d say that the power of defining the individual’s sexiness is on a spectrum and divided between the individual and society. Our idea of sexiness will inevitably be dependent on society’s interpretations of the term. In regards to the question of whether we have the power to define our sexiness, it becomes relevant to talk about what affects our self-image as individuals. I think that the understanding of one’s self is created through society and the people in it.
Society defines specific understandings that shape how sexiness can be performed and understood. We as individuals can try to break down the dominating understandings of sexiness but we have to know the rules of the game to win this ‘battle of the definitions’ - and to some degree, we have to play the game in order to change it. We as individuals can believe in a certain reality but if this reality isn’t coherent with society’s, then it can be hard to maintain it and legitimise it.
Do you think sex and wellness are connected?
I certainly think that sex and wellness can be connected. It of course depends on what kind of sex is practiced and what the goal with this practice is for the individual. Sex doesn’t always serve a healthy goal - but it should!
And finally, what do you think we can all do to create more openness around sex, sexuality, and desires to help everyone feel more free to be themselves?
It is really important to create a trustworthy space for people to talk about, and explore, sex, sexuality, and lust without feeling shame. I want to encourage people to speak up about their personal experiences. It’s about creating an open mind in regards to these subjects and breaking down taboos once and for all. It’s not easy to break the silence - but if we do it together, then I do not doubt that it can be done. And that’s what Bodytalks is here for.
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