Dana
“Resilience, from my perspective, is a rather spicy dish best served on a fabulous cake stand by a smiling woman on the first day of her period.”
You’re guaranteed to be smiling, or laughing, when Dana is around. She is the life of the party, even if you’re not at a party. Dana is fun-loving, kind and inclusive; she is someone who makes time for everyone. She has a wild sense of humour, an unlimited collection of hilarious stories, and an incredibly creative mind. Meet Dana. This is her story.
Dana making the most of, and finding the humour in, an unfortunate situation
P: Please introduce yourself!
D: I am - Thirty one years of age, owner of above average eyebrows, Māori, 5ft7 (5ft8 on a good day), loud, mildly allergic to raw zuchinnis.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
D: Titties.
Dana doing “aquatic sports”
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
D: My mother told me that on a hot summer day at the age of two I ran away from her at church, ripped my nappy off and threw it into the baptismal pool. I don't remember this day but I obviously made my point known ultimately defining my lil two year old self as a lifelong heathen.
Dana describes this photo as “vital to the whole vibe”
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
D: That time you walked away from punching a girl in your form class, who was a good foot shorter than you, who insisted on fighting because she thought you started a rumour which we found out she started. Fourteen year olds are batshit. Good on you/me for avoiding a fight, but when you walk away dramatically please say something cooler other than, 'I'm gonna be late for Shakespeare club.'
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
D: Well I don’t really know anything else. I’ve always really envied the fact that men can pee standing up. Technically I could but I would make a fucking mess.
But that’s by the by. What I will say is when I explain the process of menstruation or birth or birth control to most of my male counterparts they tend to reply with, “I'm glad I'm not a woman.” Which means we can all recognize that the shit above can be really hard sometimes but we make it work on the daily, monthly, annually because we are hard out resilient. Resilience, from my perspective, is a rather spicy dish best served on a fabulous cake stand by a smiling woman on the first day of her period.
Dana and her Nan, they were mid photoshoot when Dana realised there was a spider in in her Nan’s hair
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
Georgina Beyer. She was my first major female Māori role model outside of my mum and nan. She is a Māori trans woman, former sex worker who won a seat in parliament for a rural right leaning farming electorate during the 90s in New Zealand.
I would say to her, I remember the exact moment I learnt about who you are.
You made an impassioned speech about the decriminilising prostitution in New Zealand and I asked my mother all in the same breath, what is prostitution? What is a trans woman? What is a brothel? My mother really had to think on her feet that day.