Loveless

Many customs and activities have been culturally linked to specific genders, though by their nature they need not be. Boxing, for example, was long considered exclusively a men’s sport, taking shape in its modern form – with gloves and rules – in 19th-century England. The first woman was officially allowed into a boxing ring there only in 1998. Yet the oldest depictions of boxing are approximately 5,000 years old.

By law, gender equality is guaranteed in Estonia, but in reality this is not yet the case. That expectations and opportunities differ for men and women is evidenced by the gender pay gap, unequal representation in politics, the uneven division of care work, and the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women. Gender norms may feel particularly violent to non-binary people, for whom conforming to the binary system is entirely unnatural.

Maria Izabella Lehtsaar’s work juxtaposes the gender binary with boxing. Both are performative, and both glorify and normalise violence. One by one, Lehtsaar has dismantled items associated with boxing and reassembled them as new objects, hand-sewn from bruise-purple fabrics and filled with softened materials. Although they still retain a clearly recognisable, functional shape, the change in material and texture means they can no longer be used for striking without causing harm to the self.

Questioning and expanding customs and norms is called queering. From a contemporary perspective, this activity may appear unsettling or disruptive to order. Viewed across time, however, it can seem peaceful and restorative – even as something that re-establishes an order intrinsic to human nature.