SXSW 2016 Recap
Under the Sheets is an ongoing series that chronicles what it’s like inside the office of Ohlala. Written from the perspective of the social media and content creation crew, the pieces show you the thoughts and actions behind what you already know about our content and dating platform.
With our events at SXSW 2016 coming to a close, we thought this week’s installment of Under the Sheets should be a special one.
What better way to frame the subjective experience of paid dating than with an exhibition celebrating the differing opinions and perceptions of vaginas. Our SXSW event doubled as an exhibition for drawavagina.org. The concept behind drawavagina is to draw a vagina. Fairly straightforward in theory, but as you’ll find out below, what you may consider obvious or commonplace, a lot of people don’t.
Since I can’t articulate it any better than what was prepared for the event itself, I present to you Pia’s speech from Ohlala at SXSW 2016
“I am Pia Poppenreiter. I am CEO and co-founder of Ohlala.
A maxim that I’ve recently started to live by is ‘question what I think I know..’ – and this holds true more than ever.
Now, you may be wondering just what the fuck we meant by inviting you to an event that boasted 21 vaginas will be the centre of attention. It may have occurred to you by now, that this exhibition is an exercise in perception.
Drawavagina.org is an art project that friends of mine in Berlin initiated two years ago. They started asking all kinds of people to draw a vagina. It’s a simple as that. for a whole lot of people – it was the first time they had done so – ever. Almost everyone had drawn a penis before. I’m sure most of you have crudely scribbled a cock on your friend’s school textbook or an arm cast.
What was interesting to us was that the perception and interpretation of something all of us have seen or at least have an idea of could be so different for each of us. These pictures of vaginas represent someone’s way of viewing the world, or at least viewing a vagina.
When we talk about paid dating – we acknowledge that is it is a very personal and subjective encounter. I wonder, ‘who am I to interpret or judge, or even have the slightest understanding of what that encounter may or may not imply?’ At Ohlala, our core mission is to connect users in the safest and fastest way possible, whatever is happening on that date is a private matter. Full stop.
Today, I hopefully proved that most, if not all of your initial assumptions about 21 vaginas may have been off the mark a little bit. That is why I invite you to question your assumptions and opinions on other topics as well – maybe, paid dating.
For now – I am happy if you draw your own vagina tonight.”
– Pia Poppenreiter @ SXSW 2016
If your perceptions have been redefined, try our dating platform and draw your own vagina arrange a paid date tonight with Ohlala.
