Spotlight on: Diana – Too Much of a Person

Since becoming a Dot Dot Dot guardian, Diana, based in West London, has set up ‘Too Much of a Person’, a project to empower self identifying women and non-binary people and provide a safe space for participants to talk, listen and learn from each other’s experiences.

She started the project on her own in November 2017, but quickly had a great response from others who wanted to be involved, including two guardians she met through living in a Dot Dot Dot property.

Talking about the project Diana said: “I started ‘Too Much of a Person’ to build women’s confidence in taking up space, and the response has been overwhelming. Women discuss how they have been called ‘too much’ including; too intense, too intimidating, too independent, too sensitive, too crazy, too nice – I’m just too much of a person.”

“We believe that this “too much” is a strength that, through constant criticism, we tend to “shed” to fit into whatever perception society holds for women. There is constant pressure to alter parts of your personality or looks to satisfy other’s expectations of how a woman should be, and this inhibits women from excelling and becoming the best version of themselves.”

“I have asked women to come and talk about how they have been called “too much” and be photographed. We have a professional sound recordist for audio and many volunteers helping circulate the material.”

A standard Too Much session lasts around two hours and involves portrait photos with words and a story about how you were ‘too much’, including a film or voice recording of the women discussing their story and the idea in general.

Diana says “We want to take up as much space on the internet as possible. Portraits and sound interviews are posted on the website. We are thinking about a book, exhibition and website with this particular content.”

The project has had around 80 participants so far, and the aim is to share 100 stories in honour of the centennial for some British women getting the vote. They are particularly looking for volunteers to help with video editing, transcribing and admin.

If you’re interested in getting involved either as a volunteer or participating in a Too Much session you can find out more and sign up here