From the second letter below: "what makes your site stand out from others is you focus on the form and not the function."
It's
amazing that after all these years I can still sometimes hear a fresh
perspective on things which are central to the spirit of this site.
Of
course, no less amazing is the first letter. When conceived of this
site in the mid-nineties, it was light-hearted fun (still is to a large
degree), and I never imagined it would have such an impact of many
people's lives. Humbling it is.
Dear DOMAI
I
am a woman, and 22 years old. All my life so far I have been insecure
about my looks, even though I had won a couple of modelling
competitions. I used to cry myself to sleep as a teenager thinking I
was so ugly and even used to self -- harm, and feel suicidal. It all
sounds a bit extreme, but it's hard for a girl growing up in this
society, and some take it harder than others.
I used
to look at girls on internet to try to find out what I should look
like. They were all so different from me. Tanned -- colour skin (or
orange) with big breasts. I just felt hopeless. Two of my sisters had
breast implants and spent hundreds trying to tan themselves throughout
their twenties. I felt that, no matter what I did, I was flawed and no
one would ever think of me as beautiful without my make -- up and
clothes covering myself up...
Domai just makes me feel happy again, like I am okay after all. I look
at the pictures and see so many different types of girls who are just
so happy with who they are.
Looking at Domai today makes me feel comfortable going swimming
tomorrow. I won't have to just sit and watch. I can feel free being a
natural, normal, beautiful girl, even though I don't look like a
Playboy model.
Thank you.
Nam
There is an old joke which involves an artist and an engineer.
Naturally they are at a bar -- and they are arguing about which
profession created the female form. The artist is eloquent about his
claim. "Only an artist would have thought of the brilllant articulation
of space on the female body -- the geometric procession from spheres to
triangles. The light and shadow play as deep clefts meet tall plateaus.
The change in tone, color, and texture as you move around the
body. Clearly artists had to have created the female form."
The engineer is equally eloquent. "But those simple things mean nothing
compared to how all the parts work together. Touch the body in one
place and it emits a sound from another. A simple act can bring a
new life. The female body is an instrument more finely tuned than
anything in the greatest symphonies. This has to mean that the
female body was created by none other than engineers."
Now I have read all your past newsletters, letters, and articles, and I
am surprised none of them has come forward with this simple truth. What
the artist and engineer are really debating is form vs function. It is
debate as old as the ages.
And what makes your site stand out from others is you focus on the form and not the function.
Which boldly leads me to take a leap at an old debate. It is not that
hard to define pornography. It is the depiction of function.
And what is art? It is the depiction of form. I dont presume
I am the first to argue this -- I just have not seen it where
it belongs -- on Domai -- the epitome of form.
John D
